Crafty Corner: How To French Knit

In our last post we learned how to make our own knitting doll out of toilet paper rolls and popsicle sticks! If you missed that post, you can read it here.

Now we’ll learn how to French knit! This activity is a fun way to pass your time and can be learned very quickly either on your own or with aid from a helper. Knitting with this doll requires fine motor skill and enough dexterity to able to hold a knitting needle.

rows of French knitting on knitting needles.

You will need:

Your knitting doll
Yarn
A pointed stick (this could be a knitting needle or a cuticle pusher)

Step 1

Pass the end of your yarn through the center of your tube.

Handmade knitting doll with yellow yarn strung through the middle of the tube.

Step 2

Loop the yarn clockwise around the sticks, following the direction of the arrows. The yarn should always loop round each peg, starting from the left-hand side first.

Yellow yarn wrapped around two pegs of a handmade knitting doll. Arrow curve around the outside of the pegs in a U shape.

Step 3

Repeat this until all 4 sticks have a single loop around their base.

Yellow yarn wrapped around 4 pegs of a handmade knitting doll.

Step 4

Wrap the loose yarn in front of the next stick in a clockwise direction. Using the pointed stick, pull the loop below up and over the stick and loop you just created, securing the new loop in place.

To make this process easier, be sure not to pull too tightly on the loose yarn as this will make the looping process harder later.

Yellow yarn wrapped around 4 pegs of a knitting doll, one loop is being pulled over another on the same peg. A loop of yellow yarn being pulled over another loop on the same peg of a knitting doll.

Step 5

Every few loops pull the string down from the bottom end of the tube. After awhile, your work will start to appear out of the bottom end.

Loops of knitted yarn being pulled through a handmade french knitting doll tube.

Continue this process of looping the bottom loop over the newly wrapped piece of yarn and pulling it down for as long as you like!

Once you are finished you will need to cast off your knitting.
To do this, follow the steps below.

Step 1

Lift the stitch off of the first peg and loop over the neighboring peg moving counter-clockwise around the tube.

A loop of yellow yarn being pulled over another loop on a peg of a handmade french knitting doll.

Step 2

Pull the bottom loop over the new loop and peg and loop onto the next neighboring loop.

A loop of yellow yarn being pulled over a loop on a second peg of a handmade french knitting doll.

Continue around all the pegs until there is just one stitch left on the final peg.

A loop of yellow thread pulled over another loop on a peg of a handmade knitting doll.

Step 3

Cut the yarn loose with about a palm size length left to spare. Tuck the loose end though the final loop and pull. The loop will pull off of the stick and will tie into a tight knot, securing your work.

Yellow french knitted yarn wrapped around 1 peg of a french knitting doll A piece of yellow yarn being cut

Once your work is secure, tuck the ends inside of itself using a needle or your pointy stick.

A loop of yellow yarn wrapped around a peg of a french knitting doll A small tube of yellow french knitted yarn.

Watch this video for further tips on how to french knit.

Here are some ideas for what you can do with your work!

Woven coasters made of french knit tubes. flower headband made from french knitted tubes. Pillow with a french knitted piece that reads, "love" in cursive script.

However you decide to use your knitting, be sure to share photos of your creations with us on social media and tag:

Facebook: Institute for Therapy through the Arts

Instagram: @ITAChicago

Twitter: @ITAArtsTherapy