Snakes and Ladders

We made two versions of this afghan/floor game. The first was knitted entirely from oddments of yarn and cost absolutely nothing to make. The bits of yarn were, individually, rather dull and uninteresting but together they create a very harmonious effect. The second was made on a knitting machine with a garter carriage, using a single colour as the background. The pattern has instructions for both.

The numbers are embroidered on - which is very easy as the garter stitch construction acts as a grid for adding the stitches. The snakes and ladders can be made in various different ways.

These afghans have proved to be very popular with both groups and individual children. Children with impaired movement, or problems with coordination, can particularly benefit from the large scale of the game.

One of the photos, of us under a Snakes and Ladders afghan, appeared in the colour magazine of the Times Educational Supplement.

The pattern is also available in Afghan Games, a book of 6 games.