WI Craft Club Links

To celebrate our partnership with the NFWI and the UK Handknitting Associtionwe are going to be asking everyone to knit together to make an attempt on the World Record at the Royal Albert Hall 30 May 2012.The current record for the most people knitting simultaneously in a single location is 1,146. If we all knit for 15 minutes at the AGM we think we can beat the record.

This is a simple patternto create a chain that we hope all stages of knitter will be able to do. We ask members to start off knitting a chain before they arrive at the AGM then to continue during the allotted time in the agenda. If you have colleagues that are having difficulty you could pass on your skills, or simply cast-on for them so they can join in the challenge.

There will be pure wool and needles available in white and green – the WI colours – but if you bring your own from your stash there will be more to go around and to share with the young people at our clubs.

Link-up with Craft Club

This is a simple pattern. It should take about 15 minutes to make one link of the chain. If you are really fast you could make more, but don’t forget to link them to another chain before you join the ends. If you are at home you can just stitch the loops together but if you don’t have a needle or scissors to hand, on a bus or in a meeting for instance, then the technique below will be useful.

We used DK yarn in green and white for the WI colours with 4mm needles, but the size and tension isn’t crucial here: it’s just a chain after all. Taking part is more important than your technical ability.

You will need

A small amount of double knitting yarn in green or white

4 mm needles

The Pattern

Cast on 40 stitches.
Knit 6 to 8 rows in garter Stitch (plain knit stitch).
Cast off the row loosely and break off the yarn leaving an end of about 25cm.

Link the loops together

  1. Loop your link into a previous chain and stitch the 2 short ends together, trimming off any loose ends.

OR

  1. If you do not have a darning needle and scissors you will have to be inventive. Hold the short edges one behind the other. Pick up alternate stitches from each short edge,5 or 6 stitches in all, and then cast off.

Remember to link each one through another chain first which may mean close co-operation with your neighbours; don’t be the weakest link in the chain!

This pattern has been shared by Jo MacGregor from The Women of Weston-super-Mare WI (WOW-WI).

The Craft Club Team