Networking: Knitting In Schools

Schools are listed under counties in alphabetical order

We hope that you will use this page as a means of networking with other teachers/helpers who are actively encouraging knitting in schools.

Please contact us to share examples of good practice and ideas - all of which will be posted on this website to help others plan and organise their school knitting clubs. We'd love to know what works, and what doesn't, which projects are the most popular, which projects appealed to the girls/boys and of course any Group Projects and any Knitting for Charity Projects.

Click here to contact us

Cambridgeshire

Linda Gray is a teacher and hopes to start a knitting club in the New Year at her school. The information she would like to see on the website at the moment would be ideas for making, instructions, etc.

Linda Gray,
Sawston Village College,
New Road, Sawston,
Cambridge.
CB22 3BP

Click here to contact Linda

Essex

Maureen House is a primary school teacher and has started a lunchtime knitting club at school. At the moment (October 2009) she has 10 children aged 9-11 in the group, girls and boys. They are starting with a pouch which will hold a mobile phone or i-pod. All are very keen and are doing well - they are only using the knit stitch at the moment. It's so popular that Maureen is starting a second lunchtime club on another day for a different group of children.

Maureen House,
Highfields Primary School,
Colchester Road,
Lawford,
Manningtree,
Essex,
CO11 2BN

Click here to contact Maureen

Margaret James is a PTA member of St Aiden's School and began knitting classes in school at the beginning of June through to July 2009. The children enjoyed the course and they had a long list of complaints from mothers who wanted to do the classes with their children or independently. Added to the success of the course there has been a request for crochet classes and a development from learning the basics of knitting to do a further course that is a little more advanced. For this level we taught the children how to knit, purl, cast off and cast on. A more advanced course would be to learn how to make up and change colours, as well as creating texture or basic lace patterns.
 
The Children from St. Aidan's would like to thank the UK Hand Knitting Association for giving them the opportunity of learning such a fantastic craft

Margaret James,
St Aidans RC Primary School,
Ilford,
Essex
IG1 4AS

Click here to contact Margaret

Gloucestershire

Kirsty Derson has just set up an afterschool knitting club at Stow on the Wold Primary School and a lunch time one at Blockley Primary school (April 10)

Stow-on-the-Wold Primary School
St. Edward’s Drive,
Stow-on-the-Wold,
GL54 1AW

Blockley C Of E Primary School‎
Park Road,
Blockley,
Moreton-in-Marsh
GL56 9BY

Click here to contact Kirsty

Gloucestershire/Oxfordshire/Worcestershire

Dominique Simpson currently working as a supply teacher in Primary schools in the above counties

Click here to contact Dominique

London

I have been asked to run the knitting club at my children's school in Hackney, London. We meet once a week for an hour during the Play Centre hours. I work with 10 7-9 yr olds.

Millfields Community School,
Hilsea Street,
Hackney,
London
E5 0SH

Click here to contact Gosia

London

Teresa Eastwood is a teacher and aims to set up a knitting club at some point this school year

St Mark’s Catholic School
106 Bath Road
Hounslow
Middlesex
TW3 3EJ

Click here to contact Teresa

London

Sarah Eatwell is a teacher and would like to place a knitting request where she is about to start a school knitting and crochet club. Sarah would be grateful for any yarn, needles, hooks or patterns anyone has spare.

Westgrove Primary School
218a Chase Road,
Southgate,
London,
N14 4LR

Click here to contact Sarah

London

Anna Clancy is a study support co-ordinator working for The Learning Trust who run education in Hackney. She assists, advises and supports schools in setting up their out of hours clubs and is interested in producing a 'How to' sheet for setting up a knitting club in schools.

Anna Clancey
Study Support Co-ordinator
The Learning Trust
Hackney Technology & Learning Centre
1 Reading Lane
London, E8 1GQ

Click here to contact Anna

Merseyside

Val Buhagiar is currently a volunteer lending support at Knitting and Stitching shows on the UK Hand Knitting Association's Learn To Knit Stand. Val runs a shop in the Wirral and would be happy to be involved with any local schools hoping to introduce a knitting club. As well as teaching knitting and crochet, Val is an expert with a knitting loom.

Click here to contact Val

Surrey

Stephany Gardiner is a mother who has started a knitting club with one of the teachers at her daughter's school St Johns in Kingston upon Thames. So far they have 10 children, and are aiming to have 50 by Christmas. The club has been going for 3 weeks and so far 2 new children have been joining every week. The teachers allow the children to knit during register time every morning (about 15 min).
"It is like a mini wildfire sweeping through the school LETS HOPE WE CAN KEEP IT UP"

Mrs. S. Gardiner/ Miss. S. Elford
St John's C of E Primary School
Portland Road,
Kingston upon Thames,
Surrey.
KT1 2SG

Click here to contact Stephany

West Midlands

Stoke Park School and Community Technology College has recently reintroduced Textiles at GCSE level and the students new to this course have taken a keen interest in this subject. Textiles are also taught at Key Stage 3 level and we also run a Stitch Club at lunchtimes to try and promote textiles within the school.

Stoke Park School &
Community Technology College
Dane Road
Coventry
West Midlands
CV2 4JW

Click here to contact Michala

Wiltshire

Janice Botterill is a freelance consultant, initiating and developing creative and craft-based projects. I have worked with schools, families and communities on art and craft-related projects and am hoping to develop that work with other groups and in other settings. My background has mostly been project-based in the fields of health promotion and education. I'm obsessive about all textile based art and craft, particularly knitting. I see making, crafting and creating as a way for individuals to explore their creativity and enjoy learning new skills. I'm particularly interested in the social aspects of knitting and the resurgence in craft groups. I organise a monthly knitting group, and teach adults and childrens to knit and crochet and am available to advise or help set up knitting projects.

Click here to contact Janice

Yorkshire

Sally Holmes has taught a Y10 Applied Art group to knit for the past two years. They only have a couple of lessons so it's not realistic to expect much, but they need a small sample to put in their portfolios. The boys are reluctant to pick up needles in case they get girl cooties so Sally is looking forward to teaching them finger knitting instead.I'm also about to start a Knit & Stitch Club as quite a few pupils have seen my knitting and told me they can knit. I've got a small budget and lots of Freecycled yarns and needles. I'm very interested in suggestions for marketing such a club. A resource I'd find very useful would be a CD-ROM of videos of the knit and purl stitches, looping over and over again, to run on an electronic whiteboard. It would need to be well-filmed, with needles, yarn and background that contrast well, showing both hands, with no sound. An animation of something like the excellent TechKnitter's illustrations would be great, either. I know that there are some on the internet but our LEA is a bit over-zealous in blocking dodgy sites and we can't get Youtube or blogs. Staff spend a good deal of time and effort trying to work round the blocks.Sally is a keen member of Ravelry and is currently setting up a group for UK knitting teachers under 'SallyH' Sally Holmes
Resources Centre Manager
Spen Valley Sports College
Robettown Lane
Liversedge
West Yorkshire
WF15 7LX

Click here to contact Sally

YorkshireJulie Yates is starting Knitting, Crochet and Textile club. "We have a group of students who are very eager to get started to 'keep the crafts alive'."Julie Yates
Bradfield School
Kirk Edge Road, Worrall,
Sheffield
S35 0AE

Click here to contact Julie

Scotland

Lynn Gray Ross has a wealth of experience of teaching knitting in schools and has devised her own guide which is available on request.

Click here to contact Lynn

Jennie Bradley teaches knitting to children in Shetland primary schools, where her pupils can usually knit Fair Isle pattern and lace techniques by the age of twelve. Jennie is currently involved in the Creative Connections Summer Schools, 3-9 August 2009 on Shetland where she will be teaching the basic structures of knitted Shetland lace and colourful Fair Isle and their applications for creative textiles.

Click here to contact Jennie