Knitting is a great skills for kids (and their adults!) to learn. Not only is it a soothing creative outlet, it’s also good for fine motor skills, patience, and perseverance. If you don’t already knit, it can be intimidating to figure out how to begin. Luckily there are many videos to get you started and simple projects that will be fun and motivating.

Get ready to enter the world of yarn and needles!

Materials

• needles – Get wooden or bamboo needles in size 9, 10, or 11. Below size 9 will take a long time to finish a project, and above 11 can get tricky to hold. Avoid metal or plastic needles because they are slippery
• yarn – Chunky/Bulky yarn is great to start with because it is easy to see each stitch and a project can be completed faster
• tapestry needle – This is for finishing at the end of your project
• crochet hook slightly smaller than your needle – for picking up dropped stitches

See my Amazon list for specific recommendations.

Videos for beginning knitting

Learning from someone is person is ideal since you can troubleshoot as you go. But, of course, YouTube is a great second choice. It can be overwhelming to know which videos are best, so I’ve sifted through to find my top recommended choices:

The Very Beginning

Casting on + Knit stitch (a basic stitch you will use day 1 and for every project after!) + Binding Off and finishing

Pearl Stitch – the second most common stitch

Plus, these videos will be helpful to understand common mistakes: 5 Common Mistakes and How to Pick Up a Dropped Stitch.

First knitting projects

When a child starts a knitting project, I believe that it’s a lot more motivating to do an actual project versus just knitting for practice. There are plenty of project types that will get your child excited for sticking to their project. Here are a few ideas:

Scarves

Scarves are an obvious place to start because they’re easy, but yet the project will take long enough to get comfortable with knitting. Choose a fun color or multiple colors – it’s very easy to use more than one color! Keep it a short scarf so it’s not overwhelming, and finish with fringe or buttons for fun. Elodie’s first project was a bulky scarf where she changed colors and practiced different stitches. While there are many dropped stitches and somehow the stitch count changed a few times, it was a great way to get started.

Squares

Squares are practical and straightforward projects that introduce kids to the rhythm of knitting. Use knit and purl stitches that can be used in a variety of ways. What can a square be?! A dishcloth, a face cloth, a doll blanket, picnic blanket for stuffed animals, the front of a small pillow, or even a bunny (the bunny below is just a square!). Or, make multiple squares a stitch them together to create a larger pillow or blanket. Squares are quick to finish, providing a sense of accomplishment and then they can instantly see their creations being used.

Headbands

Knitting headbands is another simple yet rewarding project for beginners because it knits up quickly. You can experiment with different stitches and color combinations, as well as types of yarn. You’ll also learn about sizing and shaping, and you can optionally learn knitting in the round so there are no seams.

Stuffed Animals

Introduce kids to the world of three-dimensional knitting by making small stuffed animals. Patterns for knitted animals often involve basic techniques like increasing, decreasing, and seaming. The easiest way to get started with stuffed animals is with basic shapes, instead of those with a separate head, arms, legs, and body that need to be seamed together.

Small bags

Small bags are a fun and practical project for kids to store their treasures. The relatively small size makes them manageable for beginners, and they can experiment with different stitch patterns to add flair. You can finish the bag with tassels, pompoms, and buttons.

Additional Resources

As a knitter you must know: Ravelry is the best pattern source around! It’s a treasure trove for knitters of all skill levels. The platform offers a vast selection of free and paid knitting patterns, including many designed specifically for kids. The best part of Ravelry is that many knitters have shared their results of each pattern, so you can browse different color combos, yarns, and tips for the pattern. You must create a profile to use Ravelry, but it is free to sign up.

AllFreeKnitting: AllFreeKnitting is an online resource that curates a collection of free knitting patterns for various skill levels. It is useful for browsing knitted possibilities and for trying new types of projects for free.

Lion Brand Yarn has many free patterns for all levels.