How to Finger Knit for Early Beginners
Using nothing more than yarn and your hands, finger knitting is a perfect way to start knitting for beginners. Fingers double for knitting needles when you finger knit, making it easy to complete a knitted chain for a narrow scarf, simple flowers or basic shapes while watching television or on a road trip. World records have been set because of the ease of finger knitting, the latest by a German man named Niklas Bernhard who finger knitted a 14,177 foot, 9 inch length in 2004, as recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records.
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Things You'll Need
- 1 skein worsted weight or bulky weight yarn
- Scissors
- Crochet hook
- 4 wooden dowel rods or wooden spoons
Instructions
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1
Unwind 2 feet of yarn from the skein.
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2
Hold either your left or right hand in front of you, palm facing up towards you. Spread your fingers apart.
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3
Pull the loose end of yarn between your thumb and index finger (the first finger after your thumb) from behind your hand. Keep pulling the yarn until you have approximately 4 inches of yarn draped on your palm. Let go of the end of yarn.
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4
Pick up the yarn attached to the skein and pull the yarn from behind your index finger between your index finger and middle finger.
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5
Wrap the yarn around your index finger from right to left.
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6
Pull the yarn around the back of your hand and back to the front between your middle and fourth fingers. Wrap the yarn around your middle finger from right to left.
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7
Wind the yarn around the back of your hand again and to the front between your fourth and fifth fingers. Wrap the yarn around your fourth finger from right to left.
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8
Wrap the yarn around the back of your hand one more time and then wrap the yarn around your fifth, or pinkie finger, from the outside edge of your hand to the back of your hand between your pinkie and fourth fingers. You have just cast on.
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9
Wrap the yarn around the outside of your pinkie finger again, this time bringing the yarn all the way across your four fingers. Lay the yarn on your fingers above the yarn you just wrapped.
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10
Pull the yarn wrapped on your pinkie finger up and over the yarn you just laid on your fingers. Keep pulling the loop of yarn until you pull it off your finger.
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11
Pull the wrapped loop of yarn on each of your remaining three fingers up and off each finger, over the yarn you laid on your fingers.
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12
Wrap the working yarn around your hand clockwise from back to front. Lay the yarn across your fingers.
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13
Continue pulling each loop on each finger over the working yarn and off your fingers, starting with your pinkie finger, and then wrapping the working yarn around your hand again. Use this method until the knitting is how long you want it to be.
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14
Cut the yarn attached to the skein with scissors. Leave 4 inches of yarn dangling.
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15
Pull the 4 inch tail of yarn through each loop on your fingers from top to bottom. Take the yarn loops off your fingers.
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16
Pull the 4 inch working yarn tight and tie a double knot. Push the tails of yarn at either end of the knitting in the first few rows with a crochet hook. You have completed finger knitting.
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Tips & Warnings
Use two, three or four fingers to knit with. The number of fingers determines the width of your finger knitting.
Put the yarn loops on your fingers on pieces of dowel rod or the handles of wooden spoons to take a break from your knitting.
Do not pull the yarn tightly when knitting. Your fingers will lose circulation and your knitting will be difficult to take off your fingers when completed.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images
