knit gift idea for five year old

[samstress]

my niece is turning five next month. around the x-mas holidays she saw me doing some knitting and was very curious and interested. was thinking it would be nice to knit her something for her birthday. maybe a little purse. nothing too time consuming (seeing as how i've put it off until now).

any cute suggestions?

[zech13_9_goforgold]

A mini purse (just big enough for some chapstick) made with fun fur. I bet she would play with it when she plays house and take it with her as she goes out with her mom or you. Knit an I-cord for the handle and sew it on.

If you're a little more adventurous, you could knit this ball-thing (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/celestine-sox). It's a docecathon- math is fun!

[Buddhamom]

How about a small book bag to take with her to the library when she gets books? And you can buy her the book Knitting Nell to put inside too. My daughter loves that book.

[notjustmamie]

My daughter is 4. Here are some things I've made/gotten for her that she loves:

• Purses
• Coin purses
• Hats
• Shawls/capes
• Market bags
• Slippers
• Washcloths
• Doll clothes

[Ellien C]

I was going to suggest a poncho or washcloth/doll blanket.

[4evermom]

Legwarmers?

[ernestmanning922]

How about a hand-knit pair of socks in some funky yarn?

[DeerMother]

If you aren't too busy, how about giving her some knitting lessons? The yarn harlot talks about very young knitters in one of her books.

[SophieAnn]

I've actually taught my 5-year-old neice to knit, though I usually re-teach her whenever I see her again. I don't think she gets much practice.

A set of big, plastic (less slippery) needles and a ball of chunky yarn if you think she'd like to learn.

Otherwise, my neice was really enthralled by the cherry pie I was knitting.

I made cherry pie, using chunky yarn scraps:
Free pattern here: http://pieknits.com/pattern.html

There's also a pattern for pie with a basket-weave crust: http://pieknits.com/pattern7.html

There are plenty more playfood knitting patterns on ravelry. Just do a pattern search for "food".

[SophieAnn]

More knit playfood (for those not on ravelry):

Ice cream cones:
http://i-like-lemons.blogspot.com/20...-patterns.html

Pumpkin:
http://www.curlypurly.com/pumpkin.html

Eggs:
http://www.curlypurly.com/eggs.html

Peach, lemon, lime, banana, pear, apple:
http://pcakeknits.blogspot.com/2008/...-patterns.html

Olive:
http://maryjanemidgemink.blogspot.co...torial_07.html

Banana (actually comes out of peel):
http://kimberlychapman.com/crafts/kn...ns-banana.html

Squash:
http://gerwerken.blogspot.com/2008/0...er-squash.html

Strawberries (pattern in photo notes):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pezdiva/133734949/

Mushrooms:
http://kathrynivy.com/patterns/free/myriad-mushrooms/

[mom2snugbugs]

I've knit my 5yo dd lots of stuff, but what she likes the most are purses and doll/ build a bear clothes.

This is also a good way to go through my HUGE stash of yucky acrylic.

Good luck!

[mlh]

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayn...g-bagstopper-3
my 5 yr old loves playing with this bag I made her

You could also do a doll blanket if she like to play with dolls (very quick and easy!).

A wash cloth with a design on it. Hello Kitty, heart, or something else that she is in to

A hat is always an easy gift

[samstress]

thanks for all the great ideas!

i ended up making her a simple purse (very simple - i was strapped for time), felted it and sewed on some cute dragonfly buttons. she LOVED it!

i will definitely be using some of your suggestions in the future (i especially love all the food).

now, i'm working on a purse for my niece who's turning 16. i'm a bit nervous because i'm afraid she won't be quite as easy to please as her 5-year-old sister. :

thanks again! :