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Crafting group creates unique homage to Olympics dubbed ‘Yarnlympics’

Crafting group creates unique homage to Olympics dubbed ‘Yarnlympics’
The toppers will be on display from July 21 (The Secret Society of Hertford Crafters/PA)

A crafting group in Hertfordshire is celebrating the forthcoming Olympic Games in Paris by crocheting and knitting sporting events to decorate local postboxes.

Around 100 members of the Secret Society of Hertford Crafters spent months knitting, crocheting and crafting the 37 postbox toppers which will appear in Hertford and Ware.

Yarn figure skateboardingSky Brown has been made in yarn form (The Secret Society of Hertford Crafters/PA)

Nicknamed the Yarnlympics, the sporty tributes will be on display from Sunday July 21 until August 11, with the group hoping to raise money for the Hertfordshire Breast Unit Appeal.

The decorations, made of mostly recycled materials, pay tribute to different events and aspects of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, with spectators, athletes, flags and medals making up the pieces.

Yarn figures playing a sport with racketsOne of the toppers made by the group (The Secret Society of Hertford Crafters/PA)

Marge Ellis, 74, a retired teacher and project supporter of the group from Little Hadham, Hertfordshire, told the PA news agency: “Sometimes we need something to smile about and we want to bring a bit of joy.

“It’s a wonderful feeling to know that you have made someone happy.”

Yarn figures doing acrobatic movesSo many sports and events have been replicated in yarn form by the group (The Secret Society of Hertford Crafters/PA)

One intricate topper shows triathletes competing while spectators watch in the background, while another shows numerous pairs of knitted legs poking out of a pool to represent synchronised swimming.

Ms Ellis said the creations took “months and months” to craft, adding “We just generally follow patterns. Some of us, some very, very clever ones can make them up.”

Mini yarn monumentsFamous monuments in Paris have been replicated in yarn form (The Secret Society of Hertford Crafters/PA)

The project has included 11 knitted para-athletes, which Ms Ellis said was “important”.

Another piece, which Ms Ellis worked on, shows knitted figurines of the group with “TEAM YB” (Yarnbomber) written on their tops, with some engaging in sports, others knitting and two figurines placing yarn and needles on top of a postbox.

Yarn figures movingMembers of the group have been replicated in yarn form (The Secret Society of Hertford Crafters/PA)

Ms Ellis said: “We wanted something sporty but we are not really sporty, we would rather knit!

“The people who know us can identify each one of us… I’m on a ladder putting the basket of wool on the top and I am the one with the straight blonde hair.”

Synchronised swimming yarn figuresSynchronised swimming topper (The Secret Society of Hertford Crafters/PA)

But such an uplifting hobby is not without its difficulties, with faces being one such obstacle.

Ms Ellis said faces are the hardest things to create and, while some people are very good at them, they are “really really tricky”.

Yarn figure movingThe group said it was important for them to honour the Paralympics too (The Secret Society of Hertford Crafters/PA)

She added: “For one of our yarnbombs we actually had a face team because they were the people who could do faces.

“They were doing the faces because we wanted them all to be more or less the same.”

Yarn people fighting and yarn people watchingYarn spectators watching a boxing match (The Secret Society of Hertford Crafters/PA)

The group meet three times a week where they drink tea and discuss their hobby, and have raised approximately £167,000 for charity over the last seven years.

To find out more, visit: https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/yarnbombing2024

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