The UK’s crochet experts have picked up their hooks to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – recreating the monarch and her corgis in miniature to sit on top of post boxes across the country.
Keen crocheters have decorated their communities with bejewelled crowns and googly-eyed versions of the Queen’s Guard to mark her 70 years on the throne.
Jasmine Colley, 27, dedicated six weeks to her Jubilee-themed creation, which she displayed on a post box near her home in Harwich, Essex.
The design features a purple and gold crown flanked by one of the Queen’s corgis and the monarch herself, sporting a matching purple dress and hat.
“It is so admirable that the Queen is the longest reigning female monarch of all time,” Ms Colley, a customer master data lead, told the PA news agency.
“I loved (the process). I spend all my spare time crocheting, it’s so nice driving past and seeing people looking at it.
“I even have a little competition going locally to get people involved if they choose to. All they have to do is share and take a selfie with ‘the Queen’ for a chance to win their own crochet Queen.
“It’s so nice to see the community getting involved especially when we were all locked down for so long. I can’t wait to see the town all decorated and the street parties in action in June.”
Julie Walker is the mastermind behind a yarn replica of the Queen’s head, topped with a sparkling crown and matching earrings.
The decoration, which took her three weeks, perches on a post box near her home in Wallasey and has attracted attention from many passersby.
“I loved making this one, watching her come to life,” Ms Walker, 54, told PA.
“I am a royalist and think the Queen has done an amazing job.
“I’m really looking forward to celebrating the Jubilee with family and friends.”
Another red pillar box in Doveridge, Derbyshire has also been given an extravagant crown ahead of the bank holiday weekend.
Creator Leonie Edwards, a 36-year-old electronics manufacturer, told PA: “I’ve only just moved to the village, so thought it was a nice way of connecting to the village community.
“It was meant to be a secret – I went out at 6am on Sunday morning to install it but the postmaster spotted me. I thought it would be a nice mystery for the village.
“I love royal history, especially Tudor history and our Queen is part of that.”
One creative, who requested they be referred to as Yarnsy, made a version of the Queen in a turquoise ensemble with one of her guards next to her, the pair backdropped by a blue, white and red rainbow.
“I’m a big fan of anything that encourages a nice community spirit,” the 46-year-old from Didcot, Oxfordshire said.
“The jubilee is a perfect opportunity to connect with your friends and family and have a jolly good get together. I think the UK is unique in having such a long-standing figurehead.
“It really is nice to see people stopping to take a look or responding to social media posts with their lovely feedback.”
The projects take many hours to complete but mailbox toppers are a “fast-growing phenomenon”, according to an avid crochet fan who asked to remain anonymous.
“It started in lockdown with people who could crochet or knit, leaving covered post box tops or little gifts out in their local community,” the 68-year-old from Stopsley, Luton, explained.
The Jubilee weekend will take place between Thursday 2 June and Sunday 5 June.
