the blue blog archives: kid tested: knitting spools

With a class of eleven first through third graders, I've had the opportunity to see a few knitting spools in action over the last couple of weeks. And here's what I've learned....

First up, the Lion Brand knitting spool. This is by far the cutest of the knitting spools I found for the kids. It's got the sweetest little face! Unfortunately, it also has the tiniest little opening at the bottom. To start spooling you need to drop the yarn end through the spool and then start wrapping the working end of the yarn around the pegs at the top. It was impossible to drop, push, shove, ease, or curse the yarn down into this puppy. I eventually worked out a method using a yarn needle. Thread the yarn needle, drop that in - yes, it will get stuck - then use a knitting needle to push the yarn needle down a bit so that you can grab the tip at the bottom and finally pull the yarn through. The problem of the narrow opening still persists though, since there's very little room for the knitted cord to move. This one is light-weight yarn only, folks.

Conclusion: It's frustrating to get it started. You definitely need to help the child get this one going. But, I have to say that the girl who used this knitting spool did an awesome job once she got going. She made lots of beautiful knitted cord and didn't ever seem to be troubled by the fact that the dk/light worsted weight yarn was pretty snug in the opening.

The Inox knitting spool is very similar to the Lion Brand spool, but better quality. You pay more for it, but it's entirely made of wood, it's longer, making it a little easier to hold, has nicer pegs that hold the loops better, and it's almost as cute with that adorable little face. The center opening is still a bit narrow though and because it's wood, it's still a bit grabby.

Next, the crazy looking contraption that is the Clover Wonder Knitter. This one is so different from the others that I didn't want to get it at all, but I needed eleven spools and after searching at 4 different stores, this was all I could find. Despite looking complicated, this one is by far the easiest to use. The girl who started with this one was making cord in seconds and saying, "I'm knitting! I'm knitting!" while the others were still fighting over whether they were called knitting nobbys or knitting nancys. There are several reasons why it's so easy and fast: first, there's a tab that you thread the working yarn through; second, the center section with the pegs spins; and, third the pegs are nice and big with a little lip on the end that keeps the loops in place and a grove down the center that guides the pin. With the yarn threaded through the tab on the side, the child doesn't have to hold the working yarn anymore, they just spin the center and the yarn is in the exact right place ready to work another stitch. And with those nice large pegs and a larger pin, it's super easy to move the loops around. This largeness is also its main drawback though. The spool comes with two center wheels (the part with the pegs) - one for large yarns and one for small yarns. We used the smaller one and still, I wouldn't really recommend it for anything smaller than heavy worsted weight yarn. We were using worsted weight yarn and the cord was very open and holey. The girl using this spool said that her baby brother was always pulling her cords apart because they were so loose.

Conclusion: It's great for getting started! If you've got a child who you know is going to need immediate success to keep knitting, this is the spool to start with. But in the long run, it just doesn't make nice cord.

The hands down winner in our group was the Susan Bates Crystalites french knitter. It doesn't have a cute little face, but it comes in all these fun colors like yellow, purple, green.... And because it's see through, the child can actually see how much cord they've made even before there's enough done to hang out the bottom of the spool. (Trust me, in the first few minutes, this makes a HUGE difference!) The spool is nice and long, making it easy to hold. The pegs are straight, so not particularly easy to use, but they are longer than the Lion Brand spool's pegs, giving you a little more room for moving loops around, and the pin that comes with this spool has a little crochet-type hook on one end, giving you two options for grabbing the loops (I find that the regular point works best for me, but some of the kids really liked having the hook). The opening is plenty big for the yarn to be easily threaded at the start and for the cord to fall down as it is knitted. And since it's made of plastic, the yarn slides right through nicely. It's also not any more expensive than the other spools.

Conclusion: It's cool looking, it's functional, we liked it, we really liked it! And if your kids lose the little pin that comes with it, you can always buy some of the Susan Bates Crystalites yarn needles, which come in the same fun colors, to use to pull the loops off the spool.

posted by alison at 9:33 am | in first grade knitting

Comments

I have never used a knitting spool before but am considering it as an option for an individual in a group that I am working with right now. She told me that she used (what sounds like) a knitting spool in the past so I'm wondering...

1 - Will it be easy to figure out for someone who has never used one? I'll need to figure it out and come up with a project before I broach the idea with her.

2 - What can all of the i-cord be used for after the fact? A bigger loom (vs spool) might be a better option for her eventually but I think the spool might be a good place to start.

Thanks for your help. :)

Posted by: canknitian at February 7, 2008 9:57 AM

Wow. Thanks for the great reviews. My 10 year old daughter and 8 year old son are always interested in knitting lessons. I will have to go out and get one of these! Thank you for saving me hours of frustration!

Posted by: Elizabeth at February 7, 2008 9:58 AM

My apologies, btw, if you think you've already answered these questions in an earlier post. Project-wise, I'm looking for something that would suit a young adult. Thanks again!

Posted by: canknitian at February 7, 2008 9:58 AM

Thank you for the review of knitting spools. Very informative. This will date me, but I remember using an old wooden sewing thread spool with 4 little nails in the top of it when I was a kid. It worked pretty well as I recall.

Posted by: Sallie at February 7, 2008 10:20 AM

I have my mom's spool from when she was a kid; I made lots of rugs for my dollhouse with it when I was a kid!

Posted by: beverly at February 7, 2008 10:33 AM

As a kid, I used to have a spool similar to the Lion Brand one (no problems with the hole size, though) and just made I-cord for the fun of it. I used a crochet hook, not a needle, because I found it much easier to grab the loops and pull them over the yarn.

Posted by: Susanna at February 7, 2008 11:30 AM

Ah the memories! I'm old ya know. :O) My dad used to make me "corking" spools with the wooden spools from thread. He'd nail four tiny finishing nails into the top of the spool and away I'd go. We were allowed to have our corking in our desks to work on when we were done our schoolwork. I made miles of the stuff but I don't recall actually making anything with it. LOL I'm having the urge to do some corking right now! Thanks for sharing this. And I have no idea why we called it corking.

Posted by: samm at February 7, 2008 11:51 AM

I have one that looks like a bee. So cute!

Posted by: Lara at February 7, 2008 12:27 PM

Really interesting post. When I was a kid, my best friend and I used to make those with large wooden thread spools and little nails. We made so much cord that I was able to make several small rugs by sewing it around and around.

Posted by: Suzanne V. (Yarnhog) at February 7, 2008 12:39 PM

I had one similar to the Inox one as a kid - I still remember making tons of potholders. They're called 'Strickliesel' in German, which I always liked - it's so nice and old-fashioned.

Posted by: Kristin at February 7, 2008 1:41 PM

Canknitian, check out the comments to this post where I asked for ideas on what kids can do with the i-cord. So far the girls in my class have worn them as necklaces and bracelets mostly. We did a little craft project with them (see this post) also. You can also fold them up in different ways or knot them together to make little animals or dolls.

Judy Sadler's book Corking gives instructions for some little animals and things that you can make as well as instructions for making your own knitting spools. If you make your own spool, you can make it larger so that the cords you make are larger and useful for more things. Check it out!

As for it being hard, it isn't complicated or anything. Certainly not like learning how to knit! It is a little fiddly though and takes patience to get those loops with your little pin and pull them over the pegs. If you think the person in question would find that frustrating, you could definitely try the Wonder Knitter. It is so easy to use!

Posted by: ALISON at February 7, 2008 1:42 PM

Um, what the heck is a knitting spool? I've been knitting for several years and never heard of such. How does it work? Is it just for making i-cord?

Posted by: spoiledonlychild at February 7, 2008 1:59 PM

Shoelaces! Instant gratification! (Well, pretty instant.)

Posted by: Diane at February 7, 2008 2:41 PM

I taught knitting to some fourth and fifth grade girls for a few years at my kids' school's "Hobby Day." The first year, I tried to teach them actual knitting with needles--one teacher (me), six girls, one hour--nothing doing but a lot of frustration. The following year I used those Cristalite spools too, with pretty variegated Red Heart and it was a HUGE success. Glad to hear they worked well for you too!

Posted by: Deb at February 7, 2008 4:04 PM

I had a spool as a kid, except mine was a Barbie brand one.

It came with pink yarn and with black wound with silver tinsel, and it was to make tube dresses for Barbie. Man I loved that, I may even still have the dress somewhere.

Posted by: Arsie at February 7, 2008 4:15 PM

Thank you so much for this report! My brother has a friend with a 6 1/2 year old daughter and has asked me if I would be willing to help her learn knitting sometime...I think I'll pick up one of these and see if she's ever used one. It'll at least give us somewhere to start.

Though the question of what to do with all the cord remains...perhaps a fleecy doll with cord arms and legs.

Posted by: Sarah R at February 7, 2008 6:55 PM

Eeee! I have an aversion to the knitting nancy ever since I tried to siphon the yarn through the body and ended up choking on about a half a yard of wool. Ugh. I had a sore throat for a week! Glad your group had a better time of it.

Oh, just to clarify, I was 8 at the time. My decision making skills are greatly improved since then :)

Posted by: reluctantmango at February 7, 2008 7:59 PM

Your knitting spools (or knitting nob as we called them) brought back memories. My father made me one when I was about seven years old. We went up to the university where he taught Chemistry and used the lathe in one of the workrooms there. He used an old chair leg and even put a little decoration on it. Then he put in four brads to use instead of plain nails. I still have it and remember that Sunday to this day. I made miles of I-cord with it but never got around to sewing it up into dollhouse rugs or coasters. It's a great way to get kids started with yarn. I'll bet that years from now, some of these children will remember your introducing them to yarn and knitting and the fun they had with it.

Posted by: Ginny T at February 7, 2008 8:08 PM

This post is so timely! I just started spool knitting with my daughter who is 5. Our spool is wooden with pegs that have an edge just like a nail. The edge seems good for keeping things from slipping off, but each stitch requires an "up and over" action that seems cumbersome to me. My daughter is not bothered by that at all, and in fact has an elaborate two needle system going. Of course, she checks after every_single_stitch for progress. I think we will go in search of a Crystalite this weekend!

Posted by: kathleen at February 7, 2008 9:14 PM

This info has been very inspiring! My almost-4 year-old has been asking when he can learn to knit, since his brother (7) knits with me and we help with the school's knitting club every week. It never occurred to me to try a knitting spool...I think we'll go shoping for the Crystalite this weekend, and see if he has the patience to "knit"!

Posted by: Lynn at February 8, 2008 9:23 AM

How on earth do those spools work and what do you make with them?

Posted by: Debbie at February 9, 2008 9:23 AM

I still have the Strickliesel from my childhood and have fond memories of the hours spent making hotpads. I've been haunting ebay Deutschland for old Liesels. The variety of shapes, mushrooms, little people, are such fun to collect. I found this heart on the Lion Brand website. A fun project, although maybe a little too advanced for first graders.
http://www.lionbrand.com/archives/lbyarnblog7/2006/01/a_valentine_to.html

Posted by: Patricia at February 11, 2008 6:59 AM