How to Finger Knit Shirts
Finger knitting is a simple, needle-free alternative to traditional knitting. The technique allows you to create panels of fabric that measure the same width as your hand, and you can make them as long as you want. Finger knitting is usually thought of as the go-to technique for making scarves, headbands and belts. However, by creating several panels and sewing them together, you can also use the practice to create shirts and sweaters that bear its distinctive woven look.
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Instructions
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Unravel about 2 feet of yarn from the ball of wool. Trap the loose end between your thumb and forefinger, leaving about 3 inches behind the hand. For this project, the yarn's size is not of the utmost importance. It is best that you select a yarn that you can manage easily in your hands, although a bigger yarn will result in a thicker knit.
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Draw the yarn across your forefinger and behind your middle finger. Weave it in front of your ring finger, then behind your little finger. Wrap it all the way around your little finger before weaving it back behind your ring finger, in front of your middle finger and behind your forefinger. Hold the second end between your forefinger and thumb.
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Tie the loose end to the woven end of the yarn, and trim away the excess loose yarn. This will keep the woven stitches stable.
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Weave the yarn over your fingers once more, beginning at the forefinger and looping around the little finger to come back to the row's origin. This should leave you with two loops on the front of each finger. Grasp the end of the yarn between the thumb and forefinger once more.
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Lift the bottom stitches over the top loops, beginning with the loops on the middle finger. Once the loop is over the finger, release it to make a chain.
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Weave the yarn over your fingers once more until you have two loops on the fronts of each finger again, then repeat the lifting process. Continue this until your chain is long enough to stretch from your shoulders to your waistline.
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Cast off by putting the loop on your little finger onto your ring finger and lifting the ring finger's loop over the top of the little finger's loop. Continue this process until there is only one loop left, then knot it.
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Measure the circumference of your chest or waistline, whichever is wider. Measure the width of the finger-knit panel, and divide the circumference measurement by the panels width. This will tell you how many panels you need to create for the shirt to go around your body.
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Create the required number of panels, ensuring that panels that comprise the neckline are slightly shorter than the panels that comprise the shoulders.
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Sew the panels together, keeping all the seams on the same side of the garment. Leave openings for the neck and armholes. Alternatively, you can leave the front open for a waistcoat-style shirt.
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Tips & Warnings
If you want to create a shirt using the finger knitting technique but want to avoid the seams holding the narrow panels of fabric together, purchase a knitting loom. This will allow you to create wider panels of fabric, enabling you to fit garments to your own size more easily.
References
Resources
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