A GROUP of warm-hearted crocheters from Redditch have joined a project that will eventually see them break a world record and provide blankets to thousands of people all over the world.
The Sixty Million Trebles project was launched three weeks ago by Ellen Roche, who decided to get people thinking and acting on the worldwide refugee crisis.
Ellen, from Cumbria, said: “At the end of 2015, the UN estimated that there were at least 60 million displaced people worldwide, so I decided to start a project where knitters and crocheters from all over the world could contribute and work together to create a visual piece that would reflect this number.
“We plan to have a UN flag in the centre, surrounded by crocheted flags of every country to highlight the many nations affected.”
To make a blanket containing a stitch for every displaced person’s life requires around 8,000 36-inch square blankets, so an online social media campaign, which already has more than a thousand members, was born.
Claire Davies, from Headless Cross, joined the team and has already completed two blankets.
She said: “It’s a massive project, but is really worthwhile. Crocheting is something anyone can do, or learn to do, and is a very relaxing way spend a few hours. The more people we can get on board, the better.”
The international crocheting project will eventually join together and produce a huge blanket with 60 million treble-stitches – one for each displaced person.
Once completed, the blanket will be displayed as a yarn-bomb, before being dismantled into its smaller counterparts. These will then be distributed, half to UK charities, half to ‘Hand in Hand for Syria’, a charity supporting refugees. Yarn-bombs are fabric-based graffiti-style public campaigns often designed to make people think about social and political issues.
It is hoped the project will reach completion at the end of summer 2017. Visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/sixtymilliontrebles for details.
