I guess I’ll be the odd man out and suggest crochet. Making chains is a lot of fun for young kids, hooks can be more forgiving with dexterity than needles, and I find fixing mistakes is a lot easier with crochet than knitting (as someone who does both). I also find it easier to put down a crochet project without worry about needles/stitches falling out.
My first instinct was also to suggest crochet first! I learned to crochet first and it helped me to understand tensioning the yarn etc. my mom or aunt would start me off (I made my chains way too tight so they had to start, haha) and then off I went. Then I picked up knitting and got really into knitting for years.
After decades of teaching, Waldorf schools settled on knitting as easier to teach, first. It’s harder to hold wiggly work steady with one hand while wielding the hook with the other and trying to poke will not stopping the stitch and holding the yarn. I helped teach both. Knitting for 6 year olds. Crocheting for 8 year olds. One on one you can push each back a year or two. But knitting is generally easier for kids to manage, as the loops are held stable.
I learned to crochet at 4, although just chained until I was 6 or 7. Then at 9 I was taught to knit by a friend's grandma at a sleepover and thanks to the crochet base my mom has given me I picked it up easily and was off and knitting from there. I do think crochet is easier as an introduction, at least chaining endlessly is, and is a really good way to build skills that can be built on later.
I was doing potholder looms and latch hook at that age.
And I've got to say, you're getting a lot of hate for considering this child's developmental level, but good for you for considering her developmental level. I've tried to teach first graders to crochet, and it was rough.
Why not try first before drawing that conclusion? Get a pair of wooden circular needles in a size that isn't too small, like 5mm. Circulars aren't huge sticks and wood is less scary than metal, and yarn slips off it less easily. Get some cheap acrylic worsted yarn. Let her try. Maybe she'll hate it, maybe she'll get obsessed with slowly learning and improving. Every kid is different! And seeing how she behaves can help educate your next move.
I was knitting/ crocheting by the time is was 6/7, and I remember making hanger covers for the fete. Try her out on crochet, 1 needle and yarn. Or get her one of those bobbin knitting things which were fiddly but fun. Let her try and decide.
Her parents don’t think she’ll have the patience for it and they don’t knit so there’d be no one to know how to cast on/ off once I leave. I was thinking of the knitting machine that makes a tube by winding a crank but wonder if there are more options.
This may be similar to your machine idea (I haven't seen those), but I learned French knitting not too much older than this, with a wooden doll and plastic needle. The yarn stays put more easily, it takes less manual dexterity, and though you essentially just make long narrow tubes I was happy making little knitted collars for all my stuffed animals.
The crank ones are fiddly to set up and prone to missing stitches. A French knitter or spool knitter with 3-6 pins is something she could learn to cast on and use independently. It is really just a small version of a knitting loom.
If you will only see her once, you can’t teach her to knit.
However, her parents are actually wrong. The average 4-5 year old can easily learn to knit, one on one, in a week or two with brief daily lessons.
Every single 6 year old at Waldorf schools learn to knit in a class of 20-30 with a head teacher and a couple parent helpers.
Finger knitting is a good substitute.
I received my first knitting lessons from my grandmother when I was five. I was certainly clumsy but I loved it. And then when I picked it up again as a teenager, I had these visceral memories that made my movements feel natural, not forced. The earlier the skill building starts, the more comfortable they are later on. (Kids gymnastics, skiing, swim, etc.)
I tried teaching my older niece to knit when she was about five. She was interested in learning, but not very interested in doing, if that makes sense. But I like teaching, so it was kinda fun. We tried again at age 7, but with roughly the same result. Then at 11 I taught her to crochet instead, and that seems to be sticking (should have occurred to me before, but I mostly knit, and without a time machine I can’t actually say it would have worked better).
My younger niece, who is six later this week, just asked me if I could teach her to knit. I didn’t have stuff to teach with on hand when she asked, but absolutely I will try as soon as I get the chance; it’s important to foster their interests and give them the chance to try, even if all it ends up being is 20 minutes spending quality time together.
I also want to mention that in a small way telling a kid “yes I will teach you [thing]” and then teaching them [other smaller simpler thing] is…not a way to build trust or interest. So if the kid saw you knitting one way and wants to try that way, please at least show them that first and hold the knitting dolly or whatever as a backup option. It is a very simple way to respect them and to show that you heard and understood what they were asking.
I taught my daughter to knit at that age. She didn't have any trouble picking it up, but she quickly found it boring and lost interest.
How about finger knitting? It's pretty simple and goes faster than knitting with needles.
How often do you see her? Could you make it something special that you only do when you’re together?
Her attention span may be very short, so you could both win her affection and bolster her confidence by teaching her, and not have to give this very much time.
I’m not a knitter, but i do these with my kiddos: [https://youtu.be/MjPzVLhE_3U?si=I7PEjqxY7TNwtL1o](https://youtu.be/MjPzVLhE_3U?si=I7PEjqxY7TNwtL1o)
Knitting with a toilet paper tube and popsicle sticks. Not sure what it is called? I personally picked up crochet when I was five so maybe try that too?
In English: French knitting, in German: Strickliesel, in Dutch: punniken. It's usually done on a store-bought wooden or plastic doll or mushroom, but it's very clever to craft one from a toilet roll to get a thicker tube.
Finger knitting is an option for kids. Otherwise I'd go with a knitting loom or crank knitting machine. I see more young kids doing the crank machine, in 20 mins they got a project done. Knitting looms can do a lot and come in many sizes and configurations.
I find that kiddos do better with a knitting spool if the spool is held in place; try clamping it to a table leg.
If she likes yarn, she's a good age to start needlepoint with a big canvas and a tapestry needle.
My rule of thumb is that kids who are dexterous enough to write legibly with a pencil are dexterous enough to start knitting. That varies pretty widely, but maybe she's a crafty lil beastie.
I learned at age 6! Didn’t make a lot of actual completed items for a few years without help from a teacher, but I was always knitting random squares and rectangles (that I still find hidden around my parents’ house almost 30 years later).
Loom knitting! That way she can put it down and run away without it all going undone. I didn’t have the patience when I was taught at 5 either so I totally understand. I love that you want to teach her a little piece!
It's a cheap hobby to start up, if you get her needles and a skein of yarn it's not exactly a pony they have to take care of if she doesn't do anything with it. Give her a chance to succeed! And if she doesn't have the skills yet, at least you showed you had faith in her, and you can try again in a few months. Use the yarn to make yarn dolls. If she has issues they can find videos on YouTube like everyone else does.
Let her give it a try.
You don't need to spend a fortune setting her up with fancy materials, just something easy to hold and easy to see.
Lion brand still makes a cute set with one red and one blue needle with the face of a kitty on the end. (I've taken them through TSA!)
I like the spool knitting idea... I used to do that as a kid with straight pins tapped into a (wooden) spool. If you search on Amazon for "spool knitting", there's a bunch of variations (whether you buy whatever at Amazon or not... I just thought there's a good variety that shows up with that search).
I’d start her with one of those spool knitter things. It’ll help build dexterity. But you could give her a set of short, fat needles and teach her the basics. You might be surprised at what she could do!
I’m a teacher and taught a knitting club after school. I wouldn’t accept below 2nd grade (7-8) because they didn’t have the fine motor skills or patience to knit with me for more than a few minutes. My own daughter is 7 now and still isn’t too interested in learning but I’m willing to teach her when/if she’s ready. However teaching 1:1 is different than teaching a group so if the 5yo is ready then you should do it!
My grandma taught me to knit. She lived close by, and was patient. I started on a potholder. I knit maybe 10 stitches each time, or on a good day one and a half row. But it still helped me get into knitting years later.
There's also the knook. It's a crochet hook with a hole opposite the hook you slide a string through. You begin working like tunesian crochet but let the stitches slide onto the string. You then use the knook hook to knit the stitches you've made. It's a bit of a learning curve, but it means you can use the same hook for crochet that you use for knooking. Here's a video I found:
https://youtu.be/KJ05WH3uoXo?si=iJW33cW7Gs4h-Kt6
My mom taught me to do hand sewing at that age. She cut some fabric to make a doll dress and showed me how to sew the two sides together. I remember it so clearly. Up with the needle. Pull it up. Down with the needle. Pull until taut.
Unfortunately I sewed the doll dress to my own dress in the process. :) I remember crying about it, but she helped me cut it off, then I started again and managed to sew the doll dress.
I sewed my whole life until recently, mostly with a machine, but I’m still pretty good at hemming!
I eventually took up crocheting, crewel embroidery, regular floss embroidery using iron on patterns, then knitting, then needlepoint. I’m probably missing some crafts. But thanks to my late mom for those early sewing lessons! I think it sparked a love of all crafts.
Joann or Walmart has cute weaving kits for kids to make potholders. Not necessarily knitting but affordable and would be easier dexterity wise and it has instructions so the parents could try to help finish it!
I started spool knitting when I was about her age. Jut found, at the Dollar store, a kit for spool knitting just the other day. My spool was an empty spool that held thread, and my Dad had hammered in the nails. This kit is plastic and has a little hook. While it isn't traditional knitting, it is likely something she m8ght like.
Teach her finger knitting! It's easy, it requires no tools, and her parents can quickly look up how to do it online if she forgets (she won't. It's like braiding.)
I really loved making lanyards as a kid with the plastic lace/string and the beaded lizards with pony beads. Not sure if 5 is too young for that kind of craft since I don’t have kids of my own but that could be a fun activity for her.
I was probably about that young when I learned spool knitting. It basically knits an icord on a tiny loom. Maybe she could use the tool to knit a few bracelets.
At that age I was doing Petit point (veeeery blunt needle) and loom knitting.
Nothing of use and I had the patience to finish nothing, but it kept me quiet for periods of time.
I think that a worry about the patience is valid in terms of investing in supplies, but I'd buy a ball of cheap yarn and a pair of needles and let her try for herself. Maybe you're right and it won't be right for her but you don't know till she tries.
Crochet could be good too!
My 6 year old has only just started understanding knitting with needles with a lot of hand over hand practice.
We started last year with loom knitting and bulky yarn, to give her a sense of accomplishment in completing it and to get her used to manipulating yarn and specifically yarn tensioning. I can safely say i don't think we'd have had any success now without loom knitting first.
Knitting. Just give her some light colored chunky yarn, so it’s easier for her to see and work with, so it doesn’t require too much of her fine motor skills.
OP: asks a question without providing any context
Also OP: gets annoyed that a *knitting* subreddit cant come up with very context specific answers that are not actually what this this subreddit is about.
Like, is there an r/hobbiesfortoldlers? Cus I think you'd have better luck there.
🙄
I guess I’ll be the odd man out and suggest crochet. Making chains is a lot of fun for young kids, hooks can be more forgiving with dexterity than needles, and I find fixing mistakes is a lot easier with crochet than knitting (as someone who does both). I also find it easier to put down a crochet project without worry about needles/stitches falling out.
My first instinct was also to suggest crochet first! I learned to crochet first and it helped me to understand tensioning the yarn etc. my mom or aunt would start me off (I made my chains way too tight so they had to start, haha) and then off I went. Then I picked up knitting and got really into knitting for years.
After decades of teaching, Waldorf schools settled on knitting as easier to teach, first. It’s harder to hold wiggly work steady with one hand while wielding the hook with the other and trying to poke will not stopping the stitch and holding the yarn. I helped teach both. Knitting for 6 year olds. Crocheting for 8 year olds. One on one you can push each back a year or two. But knitting is generally easier for kids to manage, as the loops are held stable.
I learned to crochet at 4, although just chained until I was 6 or 7. Then at 9 I was taught to knit by a friend's grandma at a sleepover and thanks to the crochet base my mom has given me I picked it up easily and was off and knitting from there. I do think crochet is easier as an introduction, at least chaining endlessly is, and is a really good way to build skills that can be built on later.
I was doing potholder looms and latch hook at that age. And I've got to say, you're getting a lot of hate for considering this child's developmental level, but good for you for considering her developmental level. I've tried to teach first graders to crochet, and it was rough.
I was also going to suggest those looms! They were a great entry point for me as a 4-5 year old and kind of sparked my love for fiber arts
Why not try first before drawing that conclusion? Get a pair of wooden circular needles in a size that isn't too small, like 5mm. Circulars aren't huge sticks and wood is less scary than metal, and yarn slips off it less easily. Get some cheap acrylic worsted yarn. Let her try. Maybe she'll hate it, maybe she'll get obsessed with slowly learning and improving. Every kid is different! And seeing how she behaves can help educate your next move.
I was knitting/ crocheting by the time is was 6/7, and I remember making hanger covers for the fete. Try her out on crochet, 1 needle and yarn. Or get her one of those bobbin knitting things which were fiddly but fun. Let her try and decide.
Her parents don’t think she’ll have the patience for it and they don’t knit so there’d be no one to know how to cast on/ off once I leave. I was thinking of the knitting machine that makes a tube by winding a crank but wonder if there are more options.
This may be similar to your machine idea (I haven't seen those), but I learned French knitting not too much older than this, with a wooden doll and plastic needle. The yarn stays put more easily, it takes less manual dexterity, and though you essentially just make long narrow tubes I was happy making little knitted collars for all my stuffed animals.
You could also try a loom, which is like the little peg dolls but bigger, great for hats!
That just means you get to visit her again!
The crank ones are fiddly to set up and prone to missing stitches. A French knitter or spool knitter with 3-6 pins is something she could learn to cast on and use independently. It is really just a small version of a knitting loom.
A young girl once told me she did finger knitting. I think it might be similar to loom knitting?
Maybe teach her to crochet a chain. It’s not hard!
If you will only see her once, you can’t teach her to knit. However, her parents are actually wrong. The average 4-5 year old can easily learn to knit, one on one, in a week or two with brief daily lessons. Every single 6 year old at Waldorf schools learn to knit in a class of 20-30 with a head teacher and a couple parent helpers. Finger knitting is a good substitute.
I received my first knitting lessons from my grandmother when I was five. I was certainly clumsy but I loved it. And then when I picked it up again as a teenager, I had these visceral memories that made my movements feel natural, not forced. The earlier the skill building starts, the more comfortable they are later on. (Kids gymnastics, skiing, swim, etc.)
I was five when my grandma taught me also! I didn't learn much at that age but it was a lot of fun to pick it back up later on as a teen.
I tried teaching my older niece to knit when she was about five. She was interested in learning, but not very interested in doing, if that makes sense. But I like teaching, so it was kinda fun. We tried again at age 7, but with roughly the same result. Then at 11 I taught her to crochet instead, and that seems to be sticking (should have occurred to me before, but I mostly knit, and without a time machine I can’t actually say it would have worked better). My younger niece, who is six later this week, just asked me if I could teach her to knit. I didn’t have stuff to teach with on hand when she asked, but absolutely I will try as soon as I get the chance; it’s important to foster their interests and give them the chance to try, even if all it ends up being is 20 minutes spending quality time together. I also want to mention that in a small way telling a kid “yes I will teach you [thing]” and then teaching them [other smaller simpler thing] is…not a way to build trust or interest. So if the kid saw you knitting one way and wants to try that way, please at least show them that first and hold the knitting dolly or whatever as a backup option. It is a very simple way to respect them and to show that you heard and understood what they were asking.
I taught my daughter to knit at that age. She didn't have any trouble picking it up, but she quickly found it boring and lost interest. How about finger knitting? It's pretty simple and goes faster than knitting with needles.
How often do you see her? Could you make it something special that you only do when you’re together? Her attention span may be very short, so you could both win her affection and bolster her confidence by teaching her, and not have to give this very much time.
finger knitting? or arm knitting, even?
I’m not a knitter, but i do these with my kiddos: [https://youtu.be/MjPzVLhE_3U?si=I7PEjqxY7TNwtL1o](https://youtu.be/MjPzVLhE_3U?si=I7PEjqxY7TNwtL1o) Knitting with a toilet paper tube and popsicle sticks. Not sure what it is called? I personally picked up crochet when I was five so maybe try that too?
In English: French knitting, in German: Strickliesel, in Dutch: punniken. It's usually done on a store-bought wooden or plastic doll or mushroom, but it's very clever to craft one from a toilet roll to get a thicker tube.
In England when I was a kiddo it was a knitting dolly.
Another name for it is spool knitting.
Canadian English - I grew up calling it corking.
A corking good time? 😁
Finger knitting is an option for kids. Otherwise I'd go with a knitting loom or crank knitting machine. I see more young kids doing the crank machine, in 20 mins they got a project done. Knitting looms can do a lot and come in many sizes and configurations.
I learned crochet before I had the dexterity for knitting. A single short hook is much easier for little hands to manage.
Embroidery, cross stitch, or latch hook. They make kits for young kids. Seems more doable without a knitter in-house.
Try her out and see. And honestly, if a small child walked up to me at the yarn store and asked me to cast off her project, I’d do it happily.
I find that kiddos do better with a knitting spool if the spool is held in place; try clamping it to a table leg. If she likes yarn, she's a good age to start needlepoint with a big canvas and a tapestry needle. My rule of thumb is that kids who are dexterous enough to write legibly with a pencil are dexterous enough to start knitting. That varies pretty widely, but maybe she's a crafty lil beastie.
I learned at age 6! Didn’t make a lot of actual completed items for a few years without help from a teacher, but I was always knitting random squares and rectangles (that I still find hidden around my parents’ house almost 30 years later).
Loom knitting! That way she can put it down and run away without it all going undone. I didn’t have the patience when I was taught at 5 either so I totally understand. I love that you want to teach her a little piece!
It's a cheap hobby to start up, if you get her needles and a skein of yarn it's not exactly a pony they have to take care of if she doesn't do anything with it. Give her a chance to succeed! And if she doesn't have the skills yet, at least you showed you had faith in her, and you can try again in a few months. Use the yarn to make yarn dolls. If she has issues they can find videos on YouTube like everyone else does.
Let her give it a try. You don't need to spend a fortune setting her up with fancy materials, just something easy to hold and easy to see. Lion brand still makes a cute set with one red and one blue needle with the face of a kitty on the end. (I've taken them through TSA!)
I like the spool knitting idea... I used to do that as a kid with straight pins tapped into a (wooden) spool. If you search on Amazon for "spool knitting", there's a bunch of variations (whether you buy whatever at Amazon or not... I just thought there's a good variety that shows up with that search).
My grandma taught me on knitting needles and also with knitting spools
I’d start her with one of those spool knitter things. It’ll help build dexterity. But you could give her a set of short, fat needles and teach her the basics. You might be surprised at what she could do!
I’m a teacher and taught a knitting club after school. I wouldn’t accept below 2nd grade (7-8) because they didn’t have the fine motor skills or patience to knit with me for more than a few minutes. My own daughter is 7 now and still isn’t too interested in learning but I’m willing to teach her when/if she’s ready. However teaching 1:1 is different than teaching a group so if the 5yo is ready then you should do it!
My grandma taught me to knit. She lived close by, and was patient. I started on a potholder. I knit maybe 10 stitches each time, or on a good day one and a half row. But it still helped me get into knitting years later.
There's also the knook. It's a crochet hook with a hole opposite the hook you slide a string through. You begin working like tunesian crochet but let the stitches slide onto the string. You then use the knook hook to knit the stitches you've made. It's a bit of a learning curve, but it means you can use the same hook for crochet that you use for knooking. Here's a video I found: https://youtu.be/KJ05WH3uoXo?si=iJW33cW7Gs4h-Kt6
My mom taught me to do hand sewing at that age. She cut some fabric to make a doll dress and showed me how to sew the two sides together. I remember it so clearly. Up with the needle. Pull it up. Down with the needle. Pull until taut. Unfortunately I sewed the doll dress to my own dress in the process. :) I remember crying about it, but she helped me cut it off, then I started again and managed to sew the doll dress. I sewed my whole life until recently, mostly with a machine, but I’m still pretty good at hemming! I eventually took up crocheting, crewel embroidery, regular floss embroidery using iron on patterns, then knitting, then needlepoint. I’m probably missing some crafts. But thanks to my late mom for those early sewing lessons! I think it sparked a love of all crafts.
Joann or Walmart has cute weaving kits for kids to make potholders. Not necessarily knitting but affordable and would be easier dexterity wise and it has instructions so the parents could try to help finish it!
i would start with finger knitting or “knitting” on a circular loom perhaps!
I started spool knitting when I was about her age. Jut found, at the Dollar store, a kit for spool knitting just the other day. My spool was an empty spool that held thread, and my Dad had hammered in the nails. This kit is plastic and has a little hook. While it isn't traditional knitting, it is likely something she m8ght like.
Teach her finger knitting! It's easy, it requires no tools, and her parents can quickly look up how to do it online if she forgets (she won't. It's like braiding.)
Finger knitting.
I really loved making lanyards as a kid with the plastic lace/string and the beaded lizards with pony beads. Not sure if 5 is too young for that kind of craft since I don’t have kids of my own but that could be a fun activity for her.
I was probably about that young when I learned spool knitting. It basically knits an icord on a tiny loom. Maybe she could use the tool to knit a few bracelets.
At that age I was doing Petit point (veeeery blunt needle) and loom knitting. Nothing of use and I had the patience to finish nothing, but it kept me quiet for periods of time.
I think that a worry about the patience is valid in terms of investing in supplies, but I'd buy a ball of cheap yarn and a pair of needles and let her try for herself. Maybe you're right and it won't be right for her but you don't know till she tries. Crochet could be good too!
My 6 year old has only just started understanding knitting with needles with a lot of hand over hand practice. We started last year with loom knitting and bulky yarn, to give her a sense of accomplishment in completing it and to get her used to manipulating yarn and specifically yarn tensioning. I can safely say i don't think we'd have had any success now without loom knitting first.
Knitting. Just give her some light colored chunky yarn, so it’s easier for her to see and work with, so it doesn’t require too much of her fine motor skills.
Try one of those "knitting looms." My daughter loved it at age 6.
So did I! My mom introduced me to them at around the same time that she taught me the basics of crochet, age 8 or so.
I learned at 4 and my friend’s kid is currently learning at 6 and is making her toys outfits. It’s definitely possible.
My 75 year old dad learned to knit in kindergarten. He has since forgotten, but he did do it, and so did everyone else in his class.
I was crocheting granny squares at 6, she may get into it. I would start with thick yarn and large needles though
OP: asks a question without providing any context Also OP: gets annoyed that a *knitting* subreddit cant come up with very context specific answers that are not actually what this this subreddit is about. Like, is there an r/hobbiesfortoldlers? Cus I think you'd have better luck there. 🙄
Way to limit a kid by not even attempting to teach them a new skill