Two years ago I decided to learn how to knit. Trust me it’s no easy task, especially when your resources for instructions are very vague. Even purchasing a self-help book will leave you with bald spots (pulls out hair). It’s frustrating, and odds are you will have to seek out an actual knitter in order to learn even the most basic of techniques (Thank you Carmen, my bonita Spanish knitting junkie of a friend).
Once you learn the techniques, and you make your first knitting piece, you will be hooked. I know I was. I was knitting scarf after scarf, and shortly afterward advancing to harder pieces, such as socks, and hats.
Knitting takes a long time though. One scarf, could easily gobble up a month of your time if you work a full time job.
When I came across the 19″ Long Loom by Knifty Knitter, I was intrigued. I had seen these odd peg boards before, but I never took interest in them. I assumed they would be harder to use. After looking it up though, it turned out that looming would be faster than knitting with needles.
I wondered though, if the quality of the knit would be greatly decreased. The Loom I was looking at though was only $7.99, and I was itching to give it a whirl. I figured I would pick it up in a few seconds, seeing how I already knew how to knit.
I got my yarn ready, opened the package and took a look at my contents.
The Knifty Knitter comes with a 19″ loom, that has 18 pegs on each side (a rake loom is what some call it). There was also a crochet needle, and a 3 inch plastic needle with a hole in it. I had no clue what the hell that plastic needle was for, because after studying the directions that came with the loom, it showed no signs of this needle being used.
Next I studied the directions before beginning.
I wrapped my yarn around the looms pegs, just like the directions instructed. That part was easy, there was a small picture to follow. After that though, everything got very vague, and lacked direction. I had no clue what the hell to do for my next row.
I read over the directions again and again, and still I was stumped. The lack of direction, and the lack of up close easy to view photos made working with the loom impossible.
I was pissed. I know knitting instructions tend to be vague, but at least they are comprehensible, and eventually you will get the technique down. With the Knifty Knitter kit though I was left in the dark when it came to finishing just one freaking knit.
After following the directions step by step, my first few rows looked like hell. My knit was very loose, and my project (garment) looked like hell.
I knew something was wrong. I knew that something about the directions were off.
I actually had to come online to seek out proper directions on how to loom knit. After seeking instructions out, I found that it was a hell of a lot easier than I thought. The one step that the instructions were missing in my kit, was the fact that I didn’t have to figure 8 row 2, like the instructions implied. All I had to do was wind the yarn around the pegs, in sort of an S fashion.
I was pissed that the directions that came with the kit failed to mention that. The instructions are written in a manner, that they just assume you already know what you are doing.
For a beginner it was nothing more than a headache. Once you have ‘proper’ instructions you will be loom knitting in no time.
Overall:
I liked the peg board, it was sturdy and easy to work with. After looking things up a bit though, I discovered that using a wooden board would be more suitable for my needs.
I wouldn’t recommend this kit for beginner loomers. The instructions are way to vague, and there are even spelling errors within the text. They also use knitting phrases that only intermediate knitters would make sense of. Half hitch was a term used that stuck out for me, because I knew beginners would not have a goddamn clue what the hell a half hitch meant.
After doing my own research, it turns out this term was thrown in there to make them look smart. Nowhere else was this half hitch term used.
For me, the Knifty Knitters kit was a headache, however looming is easy. I do not recommend beginning with this kit though.
Where To Find:
You can find this kit in any local crafting store. I picked mine up at Michael’s. Most likely I’ll be packing it up and returning it in exchange for a wooden loom rake.
