Start a knitting group!

Being part of a group means that you can pool resources when sending in your donations. Be sure to fill in the Knitted Goods Recording Sheet and tell us the name of your group, and send us some images so that we can shout about it.

group of people sitting at table knittingWe currently receive knitting from over 1,000 groups in the UK, in schools, universities, community groups and prisons. We even have groups abroad, in America and France. You do not have to be a member of a Knit for Peace group to send us knitting. We are here to promote knitting and make it easy.

Here are some of our tips on starting a knitting group:

  1. Consider how people will know about your group. Where can you put flyers? Examples: local faith and community groups, local libraries, cafes, book shops and yarn shops.
  2. How else can. you let people know? Online forums such as Ravelry can be helpful, as well as Facebook and Twitter.
  3. Practical Considerations: Choose a venue that will feel welcoming to knitters from diverse backgrounds. Ensure seating and tables can be arranged to create a sociable space.
  4. Make any new members feel welcome and be friendly!
  5. Create a regular ‘day’ and time for the group to meet so that people can put it in their diaries whether it is weekly/fortnightly/monthly etc.
  6. Be generous with skills – if someone is interested but does not know how to knit or is feeling a bit rust, pair them up with someone who can get them started. A knitting group is a source of mutual help.
  7. Sometimes members may not always want to knit for charity, we encourage that individuals work on their own projects if they prefer to.
  8. The group leader may find it useful to sign up to our newsletter as we often share information about appeals we are running for particular items or causes and also new patterns on the website!

Good luck! Please contact us if you need any further advice.