Summer Fun Fridays: Corking and Finger Knitting Workshop

12 Aug 2011 2 Comments

by cydlee61 in Crafting, Family, Fun Fridays

This past weekend I went to a free corking and finger knitting workshop at Museum London in honour of the Janet Morton exhibit, Tangled.  Morton is an amazing textile artist working with a variety of recycled materials and creating amazing knitted works of art.  I can’t show you any here without violating copyright but you really should check out some of these links so you can see what she’s done.

http://www.museumlondon.ca/exhibitions:38

http://www.textilemuseum.ca/apps/index.cfm?page=exhibition.detail&exhid=189

http://chezdelicious.blogspot.com/2009/01/lacy-and-free.html

http://www.ccca.ca/artists/image.html?languagePref=en&url=/c/images/big/m/morton/mort074.jpg&cright=Janet+Morton&mkey=55230&link_id=5793

http://www.paulpetro.com/exhibitions/40-return,-shift

http://www.ccca.ca/artists/artist_info.html?languagePref=en&link_id=5793

http://www.mercerunion.org/show.asp?show_id=563

http://www.blogto.com/fashion_style/2007/09/fashion_and_art_intertwines_during_nuit_blanche/

I hadn’t done any corking (also known as spool knitting, French knitting – corkers are sometimes called Knitting Nancies – there are many more names for this too) in years.  My daughter loved to do it when she was younger and we once had Judy Ann Sadler come into our school and teach corking workshops to each class.  Sadler writes wonderful kids’ craft books and tries to always use inexpensive and if possible, recycled materials.

http://www.amazon.com/Corking-Kids-Can-Judy-Sadler/dp/1550742655

These corkers made from toilet paper rolls, popsicle sticks, and rubber bands were very clever, easy to use, and make it possible to try this craft at home without having to make a big financial investment.  If you’d like to give it a try (it’s fun for kids and adults!), this video has great instructions showing you just how to do it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ua30xG4Q9o

Here’s an article with great step by step photographs on how to do it as well:

http://www.thecraftytipster.com/how-to-spool-knit-2.html

Note:  Some people like to use something like a blunt needle or a crochet hook to “lift” the yarn up and over but we just did it with our fingers and it worked really well.  You may need to experiment to see what works the best for you and you may need to try different methods with different materials (thicker yarn, thinner string, etc).

I found it really relaxing – one of those things that once you get the hang of it, you can get a rhythm going and just sort of daydream while working away.  As one of the other ladies there said, “Unlike with knitting and crocheting, there’s no counting to do so you can easily do this while chatting or watching tv or anything like that and never have to worry about losing your place.”

One of the biggest questions I’ve heard about corking is “Ok, so what do I do with this “rope” of yarn I’ve created now?”.  There are actually more projects you can make out of this than you might think. Of course, some of the old standards are for children to make a little scarf for their doll or teddy bear and to coil the piece into a hot pad or as I’ve done below, a mug rug.

Take a few stitches as you coil to secure the piece.  This can also work if you sort of zigzag the piece side by side to make more of a square or rectangular piece.  Make loops and secure with stitches to form a flower for a headband or brooch or as an embellishment on a purse or something.  There are so many possibilities here!!!  Check out yesterday’s blog post to see how I used corking as part of my Project Project Runway design:  http://cynchronicity.wordpress.com/2011/08/11/project-project-runway-challenge-2-the-unconventional-challenge/

These books have some wonderful projects in them for you to try:

http://www.amazon.com/Make-Fun-Activities-French-Knitting/dp/B000IDOJ38

http://www.amazon.com/Spool-Knit-Jewelry-Klutz-Johnson/dp/1570548048/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312766863&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.com/Loom-Knitting-Primer-Beginners-Projects/dp/0312366612/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312766863&sr=1-4

THIS ONE IS A FREE DOWNLOAD:  http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22029  Mary McCormack’s book at Project Gutenberg

Here are some links to some more projects shared online:

http://cache.lionbrand.com/printablePatterns/NCFCeltic.pdf

http://www.caron-net.com/mar00files/mar00kid.html

http://www.craftstylish.com/item/2837/three-fun-spool-knitting-crafts-to-try

http://www.provocraft.com/projects/projects.php?prdindex=kniftyknitter&dsp=project&idnum=39

http://e1.interweave.com/dm?id=DA6DD470EF9BEE0D9833C57DE0DFB19461117C9B805475E6  (This one uses wire instead of yarn)