A couple weeks before her birthday, Annie had a sudden interest in knitting. I have no idea where it came from, since she hasn't seen me knitting anything, but she was very insistent that I go to the attic and find my supplies. I only have one circular needle, however, and it's a rather small gauge. I was afraid it'd be difficult for her, so The Husband and I went on a search for a beginner's knitting kit. Instead, we came across the Knifty Knitter by Provo Craft. Annie said she wanted to knit a scarf, so I bought the 19" long loom. I also bought some pink, fuzzy clearance yarn.
She wanted to get started right away after opening the loom on her birthday, so we opened it, and I quickly went over the instructions with her. It was immediately apparent that the yarn winding was a bit confusing for her, but she really loved doing the hooking. The real surprise was that Airius loved it more! We ended up knitting as a team of three with me weaving the yarn on the loom, Annie hooking one row and Airius hooking the second. Before we knew it, we had half a scarf done!
I felt the biggest negative of the product was the amount of plastic it involved. The loom itself is plastic, as well as the hook handle, needle, and all packaging. If you're trying to avoid plastic in your life, it's best just to skip the Knifty Knitter and try your hand at regular needle knitting.
Another negative is that for even a mediocre knitter like myself, the loom is soooo much slower than needles. I'm sure I could have whipped the scarf up in an hour or two with needles, but even without helpers it took much longer on the loom. It does do away with having to count stitches though, definitely a plus. Provocraft.com has plenty of Knifty Knitter projects to expand upon the very simple knit project given with the loom, so at least there's a certain amount of versatility. Unfortunately, there are several different looms in various shapes and sizes that may be needed for any given project. You can't just buy one and complete every project on their site.
I don't think it'll be long before Annie and Airius both can do the entire process by themselves, so the product is probably appropriate for most children 5 and up.
Overall rating (out of 5 stars): ***
Durability: *****
Ease of use: ****
Versatility: ***
Environmental friendliness: *
Usefulness: **
