how to use a knitting nancy
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How to Use a
Knitting Nancy Doll
pattern and images by Carole Terwilliger Meyers
Knitting nancys and knitting dolls have been around for a while. Here’s how to use a knitting nancy doll.
According to Wikipedia, they are also called knitting spools, knitting looms, French knitters, French knitter bobbins, tomboy knitters, and corkers (more names are found here) and they might date back more than 400 years in their simplest spool form. Considered to be a primitive sort of a knitting loom, spools often called “knitting nancys” were painted to resemble a doll. Knitting dolls are available new today, and sometimes, if you’re lucky, you might find an antique homemade knitting doll or spool.
I bought a new knitting doll for each of my children when they were in the age range of 6 to 10. The best ages seems to be between 8 and 12. Several I like are sold on amazon. It is worth considering buying a set of two dolls even if you have only one child, because then you or another adult can work along with the child or you can let a friend borrow it during play dates and maybe even send that child home with their own knitting doll. I bought two because I was giving them to twins. Though for esthetic reasons I prefer wood, modern versions are sometimes plastic–which I don’t dismiss because it is a smoother medium and the yarn is less likely to stick in the hole.
wood dolls
wood mushroom
plastic bees
Historically, a knitting nancy’s resulting cord was used to make horse reins. Though children can be challenged to simply see how long a cord they can make (the Guinness World Record is held by an English fellow who knitted a cord that measured 12.26 miles!), there are many items that can be made from the resulting tubular cord. Perhaps a rug, or a clothing draw string, or a flower shape made from looping the cord. Visit here for more knitting nancy project ideas.
Video directions for “How to use a knitting Nancy.”
This video also includes some ideas on what to do with the finished cord.
This video is a slightly different take on “How to use a knitting Nancy.”
Printed directions for “How to use a knitting Nancy.”
(www.berkeleyandbeyond2.com; copyright Carole Terwilliger Meyers)