How to Use A Knitting Mill CCBC

Last Updated on February 14, 2018 by lydiaf1963

When I was a tween knitting spools were very popular. Some kids had the fancy ones that looked like dolls, others had wooden spools (yes, it was that long ago) with small nails as the pegs. We spent hours wrapping yarn around the pegs and creating foot after foot of knitted cord. Back then it was fun, nowadays I prefer to use a knitting mill to make my cord whenever possible. Check out the video below to learn how to use a knitting mill. It’s not difficult and you can crank out yard after yard of cord in a short period of time.

I bought the knitting mill a while back and tucked it away. This month the Creative Craft Bloggers Group’s challenge is yarn and I wanted to do something that didn’t depend on knowing how to knit or crochet. So I thought I’d dig it out and see what could be done. You can find the knitting mill I used on Amazon. There are others to choose from and the basic operation is the same for all of them.

The thickness and texture of the cord will depend on the type of yarn used. In the photo above I used DK weight wool, light worsted weight acrylic, blended sock yarn and merino lace yarn to make the cords. I prefer the cords made with wool but for kid’s crafts I’d probably go with an acrylic to keep the costs down.

Once you’ve made your cord, what can you do with it?

As it turns out there are loads of fun projects you can make.

The cord is perfect for making colorful jewelry. Expand your search to include paracord for even more ideas. You could also use the cord to make woven projects like placemats, coasters and baskets, even rugs.

There are lots of Christmas ideas, too. You could form the cord into trees or other shapes for ornaments or, since you’re actually making a tube, thread the cord onto wire or pipe cleaners to form shapes like stars or snowflakes, even words!

Some of my favorite projects are home decor related, tying the cords around accent pillows for example or using a cord as an applique to make a design.

If you’re feeling really ambitious the cord itself can be used as super chunky yarn and used to make garments.

You’ll find all of the projects from the collage above plus many more on my Spinning Yarns board on Pinterest and you will come across more by searching for French knitting or spool knitting with your favorite search engines.

Terry at In The Loop Knitting has curated a set of I Cord Projects in this post.

I used the cord I made to cover a pair of cans to hold notions in my craft room. It was easy to hot glue the cord to the can, although if your yarn is acrylic you might want to use white glue instead.

Have you tried your hand at this type of knitting before? What did you make? Tell me about it in the comments!

 

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This post is part of a wider monthly challenge sponsored by the Creative Craft Bloggers Group. This month we worked with yarn or other fiber. Drop by and visit the other blogs and check out their projects. Next month’s challenge is to use up supplies or work from a kit. If you’d like to join us, leave me a comment and I’ll help you get set up.

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Try it – Like it – Create it | How to Needle Felt a Cute Nome House

5 Little Monsters | Cobble Stitch Dishcloth