I teach crochet classes, and I love thinking of projects that younger children can make all by themselves. I am especially on the hunt for those projects that look amazing and not at all “kiddish” or only cute because your kid make it for you. You know what I’m talking about, right?

Enter the finger knit cowl. I came up with the idea when my oldest went to Kindergarten and he REALLY wanted to crochet a scarf for his teacher. Since I already taught him to finger knit (and he was a little too young to pick up crochet skills to make a scarf before Christmas) I put his forever-long finger-knit strands to good use.

I also like teaching kids to finger-knit because it’s a great way to get kids excited about yarn and interacting with it in a positive way. There’s no better feeling than making something with your hands! And finger knitting perfectly demonstrates the fundamental skill in knit AND crochet: wrapping yarn over an instrument (needle, hook, and in this case – finger) and pulled through a loop. I’ve found that kids who learn to finger knit are ready to crochet or knit with hook or needle, respectively.