Gone fishing.

I'm When I asked little knitwits what he wanted to do this morning he replied fishing. 

I don't fish

I can't ever remember fishing , (I do however remember my brother chasing me with a box of maggots when he went fishing)

So I decided my best bet was to make him his own little fishing set. 

Here's what I started with:

Bamboo cane (short)

Thread 

Felt

Wool

Stuffing

Scissors

Paper clips

Buttons

First I cut a fish shape

Then I blanket stitched around it, and little knitwits added some stuffing. 

Next I used a paper clip to create a loop so the fish could be hooked, I secured this using an over and over stitch. 

And then quite simply I added some button eyes, little knitwits picked which buttons we used! 

And voila one fish ready to be hooked! 

Now the rod was a bit more complicated:

I used the same technique that is used when you whip the ends of rope to stop them fraying (I learnt how to do this as a Royal Navy cadet) 

First you create a loop, and starting at the bottom wind the wool up making sure you don't leave any gaps. 

Keep winding! 

All the way up to the top then cut the wool leaving about 10inches of wool (your loop should still be visible. 

Thread your tail through the loop and pull the extra piece of string at the bottom, the loop will close leaving you with a tidy finish! That completes your handle! 

For the hooked end do exactly the same but this time cut a much longer tail and a paper clip hook! 

Then attach this to your long tail. 

I used an over under, type weaving stick to make it nice and neat. 

I also added a bead for weight! 

And your finished! 

And the beauty of this project is that there's so many ways to make it, you can sew, use paper, knitted fish. You can use magnets for littler children and turn it into an environmental game for older children by added things that pollute the ocean and getting them to hook them out! 

Either way I hope little knitwits likes it! 

Much love

Frankie

Xxx