Crochet for Kids

by Kelly

I know that Steph has been trying to teach her little girl how to crochet. Unfortunately, Steph is a righty and her daughter is a lefty, so that makes things a little tricky.

But that started me thinking about what kind of things a little girl would like to make. Well, doll clothes spring to mind, of course. But what else?

Luckily there are quite a few sources for this kind of thing. The Crochet Guild of America is a great place to start - they have a prepared list of free teaching materials and ideas.

eHow  also has a great tutorial showing how to get started, along with links to easy patterns and projects and even a printable 'graduation' certificate from the Yarn Council of America. 

But where to go for patterns?  This is a bit of a grey area for free pattern sites. Projects that kids could make themselves are mixed in with things like toys and clothes that are sized for children. 
 
Lion Brand Yarn has a couple of pages of free patterns. Sometimes Lion Brand requires a sign in, but these particular patterns seem to be readily available. Yes, there are some complicated amigurumi patterns that would make suitable  toys for kids, but there are also great small projects, including a doll afghan and a Harry Potter scarf bookmark.

Lion Brand Yarn

 


For less of a mixed bag of patterns, it might be better to look for a book. And where are lots of books to be found? Why, Amazon.com,  of course!

Amazon.com

Patterns in this book range from a cupcake shaped pincushion to a sweater with a hood. Stitches are limited to single crochet, with increases and decreases, so as not to discourage kids with too much of a learning curve. Personally, I haven't even made a sweater yet, but have mastered more than single crochet. Maybe I'm not pushing myself enough.




Of course, trying to find patterns that boys would like to crochet is a whole other problem. There are sports hats and  Hacky Sacks, (do kids still play with those??), but not much variety. But the Internet is a big place, so there may be something out there that I missed.


Meanwhile, how about something fun for both girls and boys - a kids playground in Japan, made entirely with crochet? I think this is still installed at the Hakone Open Air Museum, which sounds like a cool place in it's own right.

Crochet Today

Pretty amazing, right? But I have to say that I would hate to be the one keeping that place clean. That sounds like an art in itself. I'm picturing a really big vacuum cleaner...