French knitting is sometimes called spool knitting. I wonder whether kids still do this? My sister and I loved it. Tasmanian winters are long and cold and this fireside occupation was perfect. Little boys enjoyed it too. My cousin Frank grew up in Deloraine and told me his grandmother stitched his efforts onto cloth to make kettle holders.
To be honest, it’s the only sort of knitting I ever mastered. You could always find an old cotton reel, some left over wool and a few tacks.
I’m not sure the one pictured was made using the spool method, but this is what they looked like;
French Revolutionary Hat
Source – Pinterest.
Here is how to do French knitting via newspaper diagrams. There was such excitement waiting for the little woolen tube to appear at the bottom of the reel.
Source – Farmer & Settler, Jun, 25 1955
FRENCH KNITTING – WHAT SHALL WE MAKE?
Yes, well once you had produced a suitable amount of tubing the idea was to make something for your Mum. You could coil it up, then stitch it together to make a pot holder, or even a mat if you had a grand vision and unlimited wool.
As in the following photo, the tubes were usually multi-coloured because kids just used any old scrap wool they could find.
Source – Pinterest
In reality I don’t think my sister and I ever actually made anything. The novelty wore off after a yard or two of tubing and we just wasted the wool.
This was a novel idea, but I couldn’t imagine going off to school wearing it even in the 1950s and 60s. The two smaller pieces were to decorate cuffs;
. 
Source – Sydney Morning Herald, Sept. 24 1947
Here is a modern version of a head band, you know those cute ones for babies? Does that coil really enhance the pink band? Dear me, I don’t think so. 😰
Do you know what? You could also make friendship bracelets for a Taylor Swift concert!
These days there are special spools available at craft shops. Here is a vintage example of what was called a Knitting Nancy.
Fancy Nancy
I still think Nancy lacked the charm of the old cotton reel though.
To watch a You Tube video on this form of knitting, CLICK HERE.
