My knitting class is over.
I ended up with three girls who are now on their way to becoming knitters. Well, they have a little bit more to learn, like how to purl, but they are well on their way and I'm quite proud of them!
I wasn't sure of the abilities of 9 and 10-year-old girls, but I have since found out that 25 minutes a week and only 5 weeks is not enough time to teach casting-on, knitting, purling and binding-off. I started with slip-knots and the single loop (e-wrap) cast-on. If I do this again next year, I think I will give each student their needles with a garter stitch swatch already started and the first lesson will be the knit stitch, just to get them going more quickly.
They were really a lot of fun to work with. I had pointed them to videos on KnittingHelp.com and how-to photos from the Knit Picks Knitting Room, but these were not as helpful as I had hoped, although I think they're wonderful resources. One girl was confused by the photos, as she didn't know what the "stuff" was below the needles. I told her that was the knitting!! Another called me on the phone because she had to start over, and forgot how to make a slip knot. It's rather hard to try to walk someone through making a slip knot over the phone! I told her just to tie the yarn on the needle, but not to count the knot as a stitch. It worked...
Friends had suggested I give them a pattern to keep them interested and to give them something to work toward. I came up with a scarf with varying "picture blocks," purl stitches on a stockinette background, with each "picture" getting progressively more difficult as their skills improved. They're still working garter stitch, so I think it'll be awhile before they're ready for this. If anyone is interested in trying this pattern for themselves, I've included a link for downloading at the end of this post.
I plan on continuing to meet them at our local library until I feel they are ready to knit independently. They're not there yet, but we've got a nice little knitting group going.
Sampler Scarf Pattern (on Ravelry)
I ended up with three girls who are now on their way to becoming knitters. Well, they have a little bit more to learn, like how to purl, but they are well on their way and I'm quite proud of them!
I wasn't sure of the abilities of 9 and 10-year-old girls, but I have since found out that 25 minutes a week and only 5 weeks is not enough time to teach casting-on, knitting, purling and binding-off. I started with slip-knots and the single loop (e-wrap) cast-on. If I do this again next year, I think I will give each student their needles with a garter stitch swatch already started and the first lesson will be the knit stitch, just to get them going more quickly.
They were really a lot of fun to work with. I had pointed them to videos on KnittingHelp.com and how-to photos from the Knit Picks Knitting Room, but these were not as helpful as I had hoped, although I think they're wonderful resources. One girl was confused by the photos, as she didn't know what the "stuff" was below the needles. I told her that was the knitting!! Another called me on the phone because she had to start over, and forgot how to make a slip knot. It's rather hard to try to walk someone through making a slip knot over the phone! I told her just to tie the yarn on the needle, but not to count the knot as a stitch. It worked...
Friends had suggested I give them a pattern to keep them interested and to give them something to work toward. I came up with a scarf with varying "picture blocks," purl stitches on a stockinette background, with each "picture" getting progressively more difficult as their skills improved. They're still working garter stitch, so I think it'll be awhile before they're ready for this. If anyone is interested in trying this pattern for themselves, I've included a link for downloading at the end of this post.
I plan on continuing to meet them at our local library until I feel they are ready to knit independently. They're not there yet, but we've got a nice little knitting group going.
Sampler Scarf Pattern (on Ravelry)
