Knitting Tuition for Youngsters Supported

A crowd-funding campaign to support the teaching of knitting to Shetland youngsters has already raised the money needed for the five pilot projects planned in the first year and the appeal has been extended in the hope that a second year of tuition can be supported. There’s been concern in the community that Shetland’s much-admired knitting culture may be at risk if insufficient young people learn to knit. The skills used to be taught in schools, but economies have meant that children must now learn from their parents or grandparents. The new scheme is intended to provide extra support to ensure that the tradition is sustained.

The intention is that experienced volunteer tutors will provide the free lessons to be offered under the scheme, which is backed by the Brough Lodge Trust as part of its vision to support Shetland’s heritage.

The organisers intend to run five pilot projects in different parts of Shetland and are raising funds to help meet basic expenses, such as car mileage and the cost of knitting belts. A local firm is donating wool and the volunteers are giving their time free.

An appeal was launched using a crowd-funding website and it very rapidly reached £4,500, enough to fund the first year’s work. The target has since been raised to £9,000 and money has continued to come in from donors in Shetland and around the world, with the total now well over £6,000.

You can find out more on the project site, where there’s a video that explains the plans.