How To Finger Knit
In this workshop, you’ll learn how to finger knit!
Artist Valérie Gobeil is always thinking about colour, composition, textures, and patterns. Like weaving, knitting is a technique used to make textiles from yarn. Knitwear is made up of loops – called stitches – passed through each other.
Grade 3-4
Duration : 1 period
Objective
Learn how to knit using your fingers.
Guidelines
Watch ”Valérie Gobeil – Matériel” video capsule.
Watch this short instructional video with your students as many times as necessary (French with English subtitles).
Read the written instructions if needed.
Then, it’s your turn to knit with your fingers!
Material
- ”Valérie Gobeil – Matériel” video capsule
- Online tutorial
- Ball of yarn (‘’bulky’’ (5) weight yarn works fine)
Written instructions
1
Wrap the yarn twice around your right thumb, leaving a 10cm tail.
2
Pass the yarn under your index finger, over your middle finger, under your ring finger, and then over your pinky finger
3
Bring the yarn to the back of your hand and pass it under your pinky finger, over your ring finger, under your middle finger, and over your index.
4
Bring the yarn behind your fingers and bring it back to your pinky finger. Bring the yarn over the first four fingers, leaving it between your index and your thumb.
5
Take the knot at the base of your pinky finger, pass it over the yarn and drop it from your finger. Do the same with the knot at the base of your middle finger.
6
Repeat step five with the knot at the base of your ring finger, than the index. You have completed a row!
7
Slide the knots down to the base of each finger. Bring the yarn behind your fingers and bring it back to your pinky finger. Bring the yarn over the first four fingers, leaving it between your index and your thumb.
8
Repeat steps 5, 6 and 7 until you reach the desired length. After repeating these steps 5 times, you can then remove the yarn wrapped around your thumb.
9
Once you have reached the desired length, cut the yarn, leaving a 20cm tail. Transfer the four stitches on your left thumb, pass the yarn through those stitches, and pull. Voilà!
Food for Thought
Knitting can seem very complicated – imagine how long it takes to knit a sweater! Back in the day, every child had one for winter, and throwing it away at the slightest hole was out of the question! People would repair and recycle their clothes.
What happens to your old clothes when they’re worn out or when you outgrow them? Do you have more than one sweater?
