Home’s residents knit city’s ‘longest scarf’

STAFF, residents, friends and family of a Liverpool care home have teamed together to knit what they believe is the city’s longest woollen scarf – long enough to reach twice as high as the iconic Royal Liver Building.

Oak Springs has spent January knitting and stitching together a giant wool patchwork scarf which stretches all the way along the home’s corridor and back.

The scarf has been knitted to celebrate Dignity Action Day #DAD2023 which is an annual opportunity for health and social care workers and members of the public to uphold people’s rights to dignity and provide a truly memorable day for people who use care services.

Registered manager Andrea Lyon said: “We wanted to do a dignity day with a slightly different approach this year.

“The idea was to capture people as individuals by asking them to knit squares in various patterns, giving them the freedom of choice to create their own designs, use their own colours and choose different textures of wool to represent them.

“We offered staff, residents, families, and external professionals the opportunity to add their own choices to our scarf knitting too and we have been busy this week attaching all the sections together – wrapping them around us all to bring us together as one community.

“The scarf is symbolic, allowing us to recognise that all our residents are individuals and have their own preferences and choices, but everyone is cared for in the same caring way.

“We have been absolutely blown away by the support we have had from staff, residents, family and friends and the local community to our project.

“Everyone has worked so hard over the past three weeks to knit their own individual squares for the scarf and, when we measured it, we couldn’t believe it was 340ft long and still growing.

“I think we’re going to have to relabel the day Dig-KNIT-y Day.

“To celebrate the Dignity Action Day workshop we invited everyone who has helped in the project in to see the finished scarf.

“It will then be divided up and made into blankets and donated to Liverpool Women’s Hospital and a local homeless charity.”

The group also received knitted donations from staff at Liverpool’s John Lewis, The Reader’s Knit and Natter Group charity and a local Girl Guides and Brownie group.

Richmond Villages Northampton put on the workshop for its residents, which was so well-received that it is due to become a regular event.

Swedish weaving is the latest DIY endeavour to be explored within the village, with plenty of other crafts being part of its extensive activities programme.

This craft involves a special basket weave-style fabric called monks’ cloth, originating from the United States, where this genre of craft is more popular.

The session was led by activities manager Chris Rayatt, who learned the craft in 2012 and has honed his skills ever since.

He said: “It was great to see our residents so enthusiastic about our Swedish weaving class.

“We host a plethora of activities here at Richmond Villages Northampton, and putting a smile on the faces of our residents makes them all worthwhile. Such is the community spirit within the village, there’s no surprise that there was such a high take-up for the first Swedish weaving workshop.”

As he has continued to perfect his hobby, Chris founded a Facebook group called Swedish Weavers Around the World, which he continues to run today.

Such was his passion for the craft that residents at Richmond Villages Northampton requested a masterclass session from Chris himself.

The clamour for a Swedish weaving class within the retirement village was so great that there is already a waiting list for further sessions to be scheduled.