Well I gotta tell you, arm knitting isn’t the cheapest way to make a scarf (the wool can be pricey), but it might be the most fun!
Arm knitting is all the rage- it’s very, very quick, it’s easy (even for beginners) and it produces the most gorgeous thick scarves and blankets! In knitting, the larger the needle (compared to the wool thickness), the looser the weave. So even the thickest wool can be knitted very tightly if you use too-small needles, and even light fingering wool can be loose-weaved when large needles are used.
With arm knitting, the knitter uses their arms instead of needles, which creates large, thick stitches. Thick wool is needed to ensure the garment doesn’t become too ‘holey’ like lace, but instead looks like a really chunky weave.
I won’t go into too much detail about how to arm knit. Firstly, it’s hard to describe how to do it, even with pictures. Secondly, many people have made many excellent videos about how to arm knit, so I’ll point you towards these instead:
The main hurdle I found with learning to arm knit was finding the best wool for the project. There are no handy lists of perfect ‘arm knitting’ wools and yarns, so I’ll post a few recommendations for wool types to get you started. You will need 2 x 50g balls of most of these, and knit holding both together (most yarns out there are just not thick enough!).
- Sirdar Big Softie- very soft, lovely colours. Used in the pictures. Available here
- Sirdar Faroe Chunky – beautiful mixed colours, very natural. Available here
- Sirdar Indie- Available here
- King Cole ‘Ultimate Super Chunky’ – pre-knitted tubes to allow for really thick knitting. Available here
I hope you have a great time learning to arm knit, and I’d love to hear how you get on in the comments below.
And to all my friends and family- be prepared for a lot of these this year! š
Living Frugal 