Rainbow Tube Knitting with TP Roll Looms: A Complete Guide for Beginners and Beyond

There is something deeply satisfying about turning an empty toilet paper roll into a crafting tool that produces something beautiful. If you have never tried tube knitting on a TP roll loom, you are in for one of the most rewarding beginner-friendly fiber arts projects imaginable. And when you add a rainbow of colors to the mix, the results are nothing short of magical. This guide walks you through everything you need to know about rainbow tube knitting with toilet paper roll looms, from gathering your supplies to finishing your project and dreaming up new ideas.

What Is TP Roll Loom Knitting?

TP roll loom knitting, also called tube knitting or spool knitting, is a technique that uses pegs or anchors around the top edge of a cylinder to create a continuous knitted tube. Traditional spool knitting was done on wooden spools with nails hammered into the top. Today, crafters have discovered that toilet paper rolls are a free, readily available, and surprisingly effective alternative when set up correctly.

The basic idea is simple. You wrap yarn around pegs that are evenly spaced around the top rim of your cylinder, then use a hook or a blunt needle to lift lower loops over upper loops, just as you would in standard loom knitting. The result is a seamless, stretchy knitted tube that emerges from the center of the roll.

What makes toilet paper roll looms especially wonderful is their accessibility. You do not need to buy anything special to get started. You probably already have a TP roll in your recycling bin, some tape or craft supplies to make pegs, and at least one ball of yarn somewhere in your home. The technique is gentle enough for children as young as five or six with adult supervision, yet engaging enough to keep experienced crafters entertained for hours.

Why Rainbow Yarn Makes Everything Better

Plain tube knitting is charming. Rainbow tube knitting is a celebration. The transition from one color to the next as it emerges from the loom feels almost like watching a slow-motion magic trick. As you pull the completed tube out from the bottom of the roll, you see a perfect spiral of color that carries the energy of whatever rainbow you have chosen to create.

The good news is that you have options when it comes to achieving rainbow effects.

Self-striping or variegated yarn does all the work for you. These yarns are dyed in long sections of color so that as you knit, the color changes happen automatically. You simply load the yarn and knit, and the rainbow appears on its own. This is the easiest method and is especially great for kids or beginners who want dramatic results right away.

Hand-dyeing your own yarn is a more involved but deeply rewarding path. With a skein of undyed wool or cotton, some food-safe or fiber-reactive dyes, and a bit of time, you can create a completely custom rainbow sequence that is entirely your own.

Changing yarn colors manually gives you the most control. You knit with one color, cut it, join the next, and continue. This creates clean stripes rather than gradual transitions, and you can make those stripes as wide or as narrow as you like.

Combining methods is also perfectly valid. You might start with a self-striping yarn and then switch to a solid color for contrast, or use a variegated section alongside a hand-dyed section.

Gathering Your Supplies

Before you sit down to knit, take a few minutes to gather everything you need. Having your materials close at hand will make the process flow much more smoothly.

You will need one or more toilet paper rolls. If you want a longer loom with more pegs, you can tape two rolls together end to end, though a single roll works perfectly for most beginner projects. Make sure the roll is clean and dry.

For the pegs, you have a few options. Many crafters hot-glue short sections of wooden dowel or round toothpicks around the top rim of the roll, spacing them evenly. Others use mini binder clips, which clip onto the rim and provide a sturdy anchor for the yarn. You can also make simple pegs from folded pieces of heavy cardstock or foam. The goal is to have between four and twelve evenly spaced anchor points around the top of the roll. More pegs create a wider, more open tube. Fewer pegs create a tighter, narrower cord.

You will also need yarn. For a beginner rainbow project, worsted weight yarn is ideal because it is easy to handle and knits up quickly. Smooth yarns work better than fuzzy or textured yarns for this technique because they slide over the pegs more easily. Gather your rainbow colors, whether that means a single skein of self-striping yarn or several small balls in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.

A blunt tapestry needle or a small crochet hook is your main tool for lifting loops. You will use it to pick up the bottom loop on each peg and pull it over the top loop and off the peg. A tapestry needle works well for smooth yarns; a small hook with a handle can be easier for beginners or for children.

Scissors, a yarn needle for weaving in ends, and a small amount of tape for securing your initial tail complete your supply list.

Setting Up Your TP Roll Loom

Setting up your loom correctly makes the knitting process much easier, so take a moment to do this carefully.

If you are using toothpicks as pegs, mark evenly spaced positions around the top rim of the roll with a pencil, then use a small amount of hot glue to secure a toothpick upright at each mark. Let the glue dry completely before adding any yarn. Toothpicks are fragile, so handle the loom gently and keep them from being pushed sideways under tension.

If you are using binder clips, clip them evenly around the rim. The metal loop at the top of each clip serves as your peg. This is one of the sturdiest and most reliable setups, and it has the advantage of being adjustable. You can change the number of pegs without destroying the roll.

Some crafters punch small slits or notches into the rim of the roll itself and use those as anchors. This is fast and requires no additional materials, though the roll can become fragile over time.

Once your pegs are in place, thread a length of yarn through the inside of the roll and out the bottom. This is your tail, which will become the starting end of your tube. Tape it loosely to the outside of the roll to keep it from pulling back through while you work.

The Basic Knitting Process Step by Step

With your loom set up, you are ready to begin.

Start by wrapping the yarn around each peg once in a counterclockwise direction, working your way around the full circle. This is called the cast-on row. When you have wrapped every peg, go around again, wrapping a second time so that each peg now has two loops on it.

Using your hook or tapestry needle, pick up the bottom loop on the first peg and lift it up and over the top loop and off the peg entirely. That bottom loop is now knitted. The top loop remains on the peg and becomes the new bottom loop. Wrap yarn around the peg again so it has two loops, and move to the next peg.

Continue around the circle, always lifting the bottom loop over the top loop and off the peg, then wrapping fresh yarn around the peg before moving on. After a few rounds, you will start to see a small tube forming inside the roll. Give it a gentle downward tug every now and then to help the stitches settle and to see your progress.

Once you get into a rhythm, tube knitting on a TP roll loom becomes almost meditative. Many crafters find it ideal for watching television, listening to podcasts, or sitting outside on a warm afternoon.

Adding Rainbow Colors

This is where the fun really begins. If you are using self-striping yarn, you do not need to do anything special at all. Just keep knitting and watch the colors emerge.

If you are changing colors manually, work until you have used as much of the current color as you want. Cut the yarn, leaving a tail of about six inches. Thread the new color and wrap it around your first peg, leaving its own six-inch tail. Continue knitting with the new color. When you are finished, you will weave in those tails with a tapestry needle to secure them.

A few tips make color changes cleaner and easier. Try to make color changes at the same point in the round each time rather than in the middle, as this creates neater stripes. If you are making very narrow stripes of just one or two rounds, you can carry the unused color up along the inside of the tube rather than cutting it each time, which saves time and reduces the number of ends to weave in.

For a true rainbow effect, work your colors in order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. You can make all the stripes the same width for a classic look, or vary them for something more playful and organic. A wide yellow stripe surrounded by narrow orange and green stripes, for example, gives a painterly quality that feels hand-crafted in the best possible sense.

What Can You Make with Tube Knitting?

One of the most common questions beginners ask is what they are actually making when they sit down to tube knit. The answer is wonderfully open-ended.

The simplest project is a knitted cord or rope, which you can coil into a trivet or placemat, stitch together into a basket or bowl, wrap around a wreath form, or use as a decorative garland. Rainbow cords coiled into trivets are especially popular because the spiral shape shows off the color sequence beautifully.

Longer tubes can be seamed together to make flat panels, which in turn become coin purses, small bags, or even patchwork pillowcases. You can stuff a tube lightly with fiberfill and sew the ends closed to make a worm or snake toy, which children absolutely love. With the right yarn and enough patience, you can make a complete infinity scarf, a headband, or a wristband.

Rainbow worms made from toilet paper roll tubes have become something of a social media sensation among crafting parents, and for good reason. They are inexpensive, quick to make, irresistibly colorful, and soft enough for small children to play with safely.

For more advanced crafters, multiple tubes can be braided or twisted together, joined in patterns, or used as the starting foundation for more elaborate woven or knitted structures.

Tips for Success

Keep your tension consistent. One of the most common pitfalls for new tube knitters is varying the tension between rounds, which creates an uneven tube. Try to wrap the yarn with the same amount of pull each time.

Do not knit too tightly. If the loops are very snug on the pegs, they will be difficult to lift off and you risk breaking a toothpick or distorting your loom. Aim for loops that sit comfortably on the pegs without slipping off on their own.

Use smooth yarn at first. Fuzzy, fluffy, or textured yarns are harder to work with because the loops catch on each other and on the pegs. Once you are comfortable with the technique, you can experiment with more interesting textures.

Count your pegs and stitches periodically. It is easy to accidentally skip a peg, especially when you are getting into a groove and not paying close attention. Checking every few rounds helps you catch mistakes before they become problems.

Keep a small tray or dish nearby to hold your tools and yarn tails. Tube knitting generates a lot of small snippets and tails, and having a dedicated spot for them keeps your workspace organized.

Making It a Family or Classroom Activity

Rainbow tube knitting on TP roll looms is one of the very few craft activities that genuinely works for a wide range of ages at the same time. Adults can sit alongside children as young as six or seven, each working at their own pace and skill level, and everyone produces something they are proud of.

For classroom settings, the activity also carries educational value. It teaches fine motor skills, sequential thinking, color theory, and even basic math when children count pegs and rounds. The fact that the materials are essentially free makes it accessible for schools and community programs with limited budgets.

Setting up a rainbow station where participants can choose their own color sequences is a particularly joyful approach. Give each person their own TP roll loom and a selection of yarn in rainbow colors, and let them experiment freely. The variety of results, even from the same basic instructions, is always surprising and delightful.

Caring for Your Finished Projects

The care your finished tube knitting requires depends on the fiber content of your yarn. Acrylic yarns can generally be machine washed and dried. Wool and other animal fibers need more gentle treatment, typically hand washing in cool water with mild soap and laying flat to dry. Cotton and plant-based fibers are often the most durable and easiest to care for.

For items like trivets or placemats that will see heavy use, blocking your finished piece by wetting it, shaping it, and letting it dry flat will help it hold its form and lie flat on the table.

Coiled pieces that are stitched together benefit from a few extra passes of thread through the coils to keep everything secure, particularly if children will be handling them frequently.

Where to Find Inspiration and Share Your Work

The tube knitting community online is warm, generous, and full of creative inspiration. Searching for terms like TP roll knitting, toilet paper roll loom, spool knitting, or cord knitting will turn up tutorials, project galleries, and communities across Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, and dedicated fiber arts forums. Many crafters share their rainbow creations with great enthusiasm, and seeing the variety of what is possible with such a simple technique is genuinely motivating.

If you are just starting out, consider photographing your finished pieces and noting what you did differently each time. Over the course of even a few projects, you will notice your technique improving and your creative instincts sharpening.

Final Thoughts

Rainbow tube knitting with TP roll looms is the kind of craft that sneaks up on you. What starts as a rainy afternoon project or a way to use up yarn scraps can quickly become a genuine passion. The combination of a zero-waste loom, the meditative rhythm of the knitting process, and the slow-motion joy of watching a rainbow emerge from a cardboard tube is hard to resist once you have experienced it.

Whether you are making a coiled trivet for your kitchen, a colorful worm toy for a child you love, or simply exploring the technique for the first time, you are joining a long tradition of creative people who have found beauty and satisfaction in simple tools and bright threads. Pick up a TP roll, gather your favorite rainbow of colors, and see what you can make.