Spool knitting, known by a few dozen other names, including Bizzy Lizzy, Knitting Dolly, and Corking, can provide hours of inexpensive fun. One of the earliest books on spool knitting is from 1909 and uses two nails (also called posts).
Making and Using the Knitted Coils
Directions for making and using a spool-knitting tool are below. Check out creating a knitter for directions using an empty cardboard tube and craft sticks that create larger coils.
Start with a simple worsted yarn and then experiment with fancier yarns and even light, flexible wire to knit long or short cords. Twist, shape, and sew coils together into different shapes for each project. Try making items to wear, for play, of to use in the home. Here are several ideas.
Projects to Wear
- Knit two 3 or 6-inch pieces of tube, tie ends of each tube together to form circles. Shape each circle into a figure eight to form wings. Put the two sets of wings together to create a butterfly. Twist a chenille stem around the center of the butterfly and form antennas with the ends. Attach it to a pin back or barrette.
- Make a coil one-inch short of going around your head (hair band fashion). Sew the ends together and wear it.
- Knit yarn or wire to a length that fits your wrist or a desired necklace length. Add jewelry fasteners or, if the cord is long and stretchy enough to form a loop that can slip over your head or wrist, simply sew the ends together.
- Beaded jewelry can be made by threading beads onto the yarn (or thin wire) before knitting. Slip the beads between the loops as you knit. Add beads every row or every few rows as desired.
- Coil cord and glue onto a plastic circle to form the top of a lollipop. Add a lollipop stick and pin back to complete a lollipop brooch.
- Cut an oval of non-fray fabric to fit from ear-to-ear. Coil the rope and sew it to the fabric. Add a longer piece to create ties to make a hat.
Make and play ideas
- Glue tiny coils onto light cardboard for dollhouse chair cushions.
- Make bendable snake puppets. Push chenille stem into hollow of the knitting tool while knitting. It will be woven into the cord. The stem may show through a bit to add more color to the snake. Finish when piece is same length as the chenille stem. Cut the yarn at one end one-half inch for a tongue. Add beads or moving eyes and color tongue with a fabric marker. Shape coil into a snake.
- Knit a very long cord for jump ropes. Create a length long enough to jump or sew ends together for a Chinese jump rope.
- Make doll hats. Cut a circle from craft foam wider than doll’s head. Coil a cord and glue to circle. Add a second, smaller coil in center. To let doll wear it, add yarn ties or pin it into doll’s head (if doll head is a soft rubber).
Around the House Crafts
- Coil the rope and glue it to a piece of cardboard to make a hot-pad.
- Use embroidery thread to make fine cords. Swirl and glue them on scrapbook pages.
- Make ropes long enough to tie into decorative bows and add to packages or use as tree ornaments.
Spool Knitting Directions:
- Use an empty spool and hammer in four nails, evenly space around the hole at one end. This is the top. Drop one end of yarn through the opening to the bottom. Each nail is called a post.
- Wrap the yarn on top around each of the nails, one at a time, moving clockwise to the next nail (this is called casting on).
- To knit, bring yarn across the back of the next nail (clockwise) and then use a small crochet hook to lift the loop on the nail up and over the yarn on the outside of the nail. This forms a new loop around the nail and is one knit stitch. Each time you loop over all the nails on the spool you have completed one row.
- Continue knitting, moving from one nail to the next on the counter-clockwise direction, until cord is desired length.
- To end (bind off) cut the yarn about 6 inches long and thread it through each loop, removing loop from nail. Or, to form an open end, slip one loop over the next one on the nail, and the draw the end of the yarn through the last loop.
Endless Hobby Fun
Children can easily learn to spool knit. This useful and inexpensive hobby provides hours of pleasure where children can make wearable art, toys, or items for the home. After mastering some of these projects, children can unleash their imagination and design their own creations.
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