I'm teaching my kids spool knitting
@Masihi (4413)
Canada
December 28, 2011 11:49am CST
My son caught on very quickly, too! 
For Christmas I purchased both my kids a spool knitting kit (I got one for myself as well) and I re-arranged the yarn so that my son got the boy-colours and my daughter got the girl-colours, and I split my own yarn between my kids as I already had plenty of yarn in my own stash. So today my son caught on very quickly and had a long blue knitted tube. My daughter is having a lot of difficulty. She's left-handed so I tried to teach her the left-handed version, and them she said she wanted to try the right handed version because it was easier for her, but still she had a lot of trouble. I wish she wasn't so difficult to teach 
I hope she learns sometime, though. I have one myself and I remember when I was their age my 1st foster mother gave me a spool-knitting kit and I used to make so many of those long strings, I was addicted!!! I dont' have the little plastic spool anymore but at least I have this hardwood one I got this year, though.
For Christmas I purchased both my kids a spool knitting kit (I got one for myself as well) and I re-arranged the yarn so that my son got the boy-colours and my daughter got the girl-colours, and I split my own yarn between my kids as I already had plenty of yarn in my own stash. So today my son caught on very quickly and had a long blue knitted tube. My daughter is having a lot of difficulty. She's left-handed so I tried to teach her the left-handed version, and them she said she wanted to try the right handed version because it was easier for her, but still she had a lot of trouble. I wish she wasn't so difficult to teach
I hope she learns sometime, though. I have one myself and I remember when I was their age my 1st foster mother gave me a spool-knitting kit and I used to make so many of those long strings, I was addicted!!! I dont' have the little plastic spool anymore but at least I have this hardwood one I got this year, though.2 people like this
4 responses
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
28 Dec 11
I wonder if that is why I never got the hang of knitting, because I am left-handed???
If so, I need someone who can teach me by showing me how to knit left-handed, not right handed..I think your daughter is brave to try it with her right hand, and I think she can do it; after all I learned how to use a computer with a right-hand mouse...
If so, I need someone who can teach me by showing me how to knit left-handed, not right handed..I think your daughter is brave to try it with her right hand, and I think she can do it; after all I learned how to use a computer with a right-hand mouse...@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
28 Dec 11
I just did a youtube search and there's a whole bunch of videos for left-handed knitting (beginners) - here's the search list. http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=knitting+left+handed+for+beginners&oq=knitting+lef&aq=0&aqi=g5g-m2&aql=&gs_sm=c&gs_upl=1934l4004l0l7801l12l10l0l0l0l0l251l1432l0.3.4l7l0
Here's a how-to article to make your mouse left-handed friendly, including screenshots. http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/15833/make-your-mouse-pointers-left-hand-friendly/
I hope this stuff helps :-)
1 person likes this
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
28 Dec 11
The knitting one may come in handy, but as for making the mouse for left-handers, my husband and son would have a fit..lol We share a computer, and since I am the only left-handed person, I have learned to use it with my right hand..I am also horrible at drawing, even with a pencil and paper, so I don't draw on the computer like my oldest son use to..But I will check out the knitting link, maybe I'll finally get to learn knitting and will knit my own sweaters and afghans...
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169439)
• United States
29 Dec 11
I would guess some of your daughter's problem could be visual? At a previous job I had a left handed client who had a lot of vision problems, glaucoma, etc. She wants so badly to do yarn and needle crafts and she cannot see and also gets clumsy and tangles the yarn. I wonder if someone had started with her at your daughter's age if she could have learned more of those kinds of things. Keep trying with your little girl. She just may take longer to figure out her own best method.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169439)
• United States
30 Dec 11
And you can make things like rugs out of those yarn snakes. It will take your daughter longer, but if she wants to she will succeed and be happy to have done it.
@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
29 Dec 11
No, she can see the spool and the yarn, she's just clumsy by nature. I did try to teach her left-handed (it was hard for me) and she does have a snake, a very messed-up snake, butshe's still practising on the stitches. My son is doing very well with his yarn snake. The stitches are very nice and even.
I don't know of anyone who does spool knitting, it's not at all popular at the school, she's never heard of it before. I'm just teaching her because my 1st foster mother taught me when I was her age, and I was addicted to those yarn snakes :-)
1 person likes this
@leeloo (1492)
• Portugal
29 Dec 11
I had never seen spool knitting being done until a while back when I saw a video, I was looking at some knitting techniques and they had a link. It seems interesting and a fun craft for children to learn.
I think it may be possible that your daughter being left handed may have something to do with it, but it sometimes takes certain people longer then others to learn something, it can be disheartening taking so long to learn something everyone else picks up so easily. I am sure she will get it sooner or later, and maybe next time she will have the easier time learning something new.
1 person likes this
@jazel_juan (15745)
• Philippines
29 Dec 11
I am also left handed..and i also suck at knitting..was never my talent and i guess i just do not have the patience for it. I tried knitting way back in third grade, it started as a class project. While others were making cute knit products like a small bag to those pen holders.. the only one i was able to make is a small pouch lol so i know i suck at it. My mom though ( right handed) is very good at it. She made these table runners all hand knit.. but i never got that gene.
1 person likes this
@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
29 Dec 11
It's very difficult for a left-handed person to learn how to knit the right-handed way, so I did a youtube video search and posted a link in the response to carmelamirel's post (1st comment here in this discussion). It's a list of videos featuring knitting for beginners for left-handed people. I hope you'll find that useful.
