French Knitting/Tricotin with the ‘Djeco Coffret Tricotin Princesse’ set.

When I was a child I can remember fondly sitting comfortably at my Nan’s house as I made meters and meters of French Knitting. I can’t remember what I ever did with it, in fact, it seemed to serve no purpose but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Avalynn has mentioned a few times that she wanted to try French Knitting. We tried before with a French Knitting Doll bought in Flying Tiger, but that was a bit of a disaster. The prongs were too short for Avalynn to be able to use it properly without the wool slipping off. I thought that would be the end of it until I saw this beautiful little set in a local farm shop. It looked absolutely gorgeous and so of course I couldn’t resist picking it up, doubtful that Avalynn would actually end up using it successfully.

The set includes:

• 3 balls of wool
• a knitting doll
• a lovely little metal pin which sits in a little hole between the doll’s hands when not in use
• a metal star which you make a lovely decoration with

The box looks like this

I had my doubts that Avalynn would be interested in this craft. I am pleased to say that I was quickly proven wrong. Avalynn took to it right away and it felt like such a lovely hygge activity.

What’s great about the doll in this set is that it is designed really well so Avalynn could grip onto it really easily and found the prongs generous enough in size to be able to work out how to loop over without all of the wool slipping off.

In no time, Avalynn was knitting away and couldn’t put it down. The instructions were really clear and had great picture instructions.

The set also came with a little metal star which you could use to make this lovely ornament. It also inspired us to buy some wire so that we could make other shapes with Avalynn’s French Knitting.

Overall I thought this set is absolutely delightful. I would absolutely buy this as a gift for a child who is around 6+. It comes in a beautiful presentation box which can be used to store all of the wool and creations and I personally feel you get a lot for your money at around the £20 mark. The box says 7+ but it will all depend on the child. Avalynn is 6 and picked this up really well.

We bought ours from an independent farm shop but you can buy online at amazon too.

Educational Toys: Review – Green Creativity Flower Press Art Kit

We took a lot at the Green Creativity Flower Press Art Kit.

We love going on nature walks as a family and learning through nature is a huge part of our home learning. I am yet to invest in a proper flower press as usually we use books and newspaper. I bought this art kit as a gift for my daughter as she loves getting crafty.

Initially I was drawn in by the ‘eco’ nature of the product, however there was a small amount of plastic in the packaging – definitely not excessive, but still not ideal.

Pros:

• It makes for a lovely birthday present. Coming up at around the £12.
• It comes with a lovely selection of papers and crafts to stick your pressed flowers to, so you end up with finished products.
• It is a great introduction to flower pressing.
• The press is small and lightweight and you could easily take it with you on your nature walks.

Cons:

• The press is made of cardboard and although sturdy enough for flowers, I imagine a keen and frequent flower collector would prefer one made of wood.
• A small amount of seemingly unnecessary plastic inside the box.