How’s your Summer holiday going? Have you reached the stage where your child has become bored, sluggish and cranky? It happens every year, doesn’t it? Those blissful weeks of no school start strong, with lots of good vibes…and then it quickly starts to feel like it’s six YEARS not just six weeks. Once of the best ways to combat bored, cranky children is to blitz the boredom! So, why not teach your kid to crochet?
Not only is crochet a fun and easy craft to learn, there are multiple benefits to both physical and mental wellbeing and can help your child develop a bunch of skills. Convinced yet? Be sure to check out Part One of this series first and then head back over here. Teach Your Kid To Crochet – Part One covers WHY you should teach your child to crochet, as well as some handy tips. Today, I’m going to be sharing a round-up of five beginner-friendly crochet patterns for your child to tackle.
Ready to go?
How do you choose a child-friendly beginner pattern?
There are a few things you should look for when looking for patterns to start your child on their own crochet journey. Firstly, it should only include simple stitches. This is true for any beginner. A lot of more complicated stitches use the basic stitches as building blocks, so having a good knowledge of the basic stitches is really important. I have a wealth of resources for beginners that are suitable for both adults and children:
- 12 Crochet Tips for Beginners
- Learn To Crochet In Easy Steps
- Beginner Crochet Video Tutorials
- 5 Beginner Friendly Crochet Patterns
- 10 Free Beginner Friendly Crochet Patterns
- 10 Crochet Patterns for Adventurous Beginners
Secondly, it should be a relatively small project. Remember how difficult it was to wrangle a blanket as a beginner? Imagine if you had much smaller hands too. Big projects can be really tricky for small fingers, so it’s best to focus on small portable projects to begin with.
Small in size, small in time. Let’s face it, children usually have really short attention spans so quick projects are best. We all know that hit of serotonin we get when we finish a project. It’s like a small reward from your brain! Children LOVE the feeling of accomplishment that comes from a job well done. With no schoolwork to complete over the holidays, learning crochet is a great replacement. And let’s face it, LOTS more fun!
Finally, pick something fun. Children thrive on fun and playful activity. So, make crochet that. Whether they find their fun in fashion, a crochet doll or a robot – let their faves inform your choices when picking a pattern for them.
If five patterns isn’t enough, or there’s nothing that catches your kid’s eye – there’s plenty more child-friendly patterns to help teach your child to crochet on my Pinterest board. Check it out:
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My Easy Baby Beanie makes a brilliant first project for children for a few reasons. Not only does it fit the criteria above – small in size, quick to make and simple, it’s a great way to learn the same techniques that are used in amigurumi but on a larger scale.
Learning the process and picking up the muscle memory will really help when your child wants to move on to small, trickier cute ami patterns. Plus, it’s completely customisable – so whether you want to make the hat for a baby brother or sister, a doll or a favourite stuffed animal, it’s possible!
Stay on the subject of hats. How about teaching your child to crochet with a fun, quick and simple beanie for themselves?
Using just basic stitches, it’s a great beginner pattern, and your child will LOVE making something for themselves that they can wear. This 1 Hour Easy Child’s Crochet Hat by Jess at Make and Do Crew is a quick and cute make for the littlest of hands and heads!
Let’s move away from headgear, but stick with something useful. This absolutely adorable Watermelon Pouch from Paint It Colorful is as sweet as sugar. Not only is this a little slice of cute, it’s useful too. Whether your child wants to store their headphones, coins or crochet tools – this is the perfect pouch for them.
What could be more fun than a rainbow? How about a rainbow snake? This long lovely is made from simple stitches and requires only a small amount of shaping. It’s essentially a long, rainbow tube that will be great practice for changing colours while crocheting and single crochet (double crochet in the UK). Don’t just take my word for it… the designer, GoldenLucy’s son loved this crochet snake so much, he claimed it for himself!
Finally, how can you resist a crochet breakfast? Well all know breakfast is the best meal of the day, right? This hooky little bacon and egg set is just so adorable! They look so squishable. Not only that, StringDingDing includes a whole bunch of images in their tutorial so it’s perfect for visual learners!
Have you started to teach your child to crochet? I’d love to hear about it. How old are they? Leave a comment below and let me know. I’d also love to know if they’re finding anything particularly difficult, then maybe I can help! I’d love to hear from you.
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