Volunteers from across the country have come together to complete a very special challenge - to make the UK's largest ever knitted hat. The Big Knit - a collaboration between drinks company Innocent and the charity Age UK - saw the knitted masterpiece come to life after research showed that around 1.7 million elderly people were living in poverty across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Since it launched in 2003, the Big Knit has seen over 11 million tiny hats placed on Innocent smoothie bottles and more than £3 million raised to support the elderly in the process. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the partnership between Innocent Drinks and Age UK, knitters from across the country joined together to knit the 23ft tall and 20ft wide hat with a 1m tall pompom. The giant bobble hat is made up of 545 individual knitted squares and an estimated two million yards of yarn.
Attendees at the event, which was held in Nottingham on Monday (January 30), included the city's Knit and Natter craft group, Nottingham Trent University’s knitting society, Knit Soc, members of Fairway View Care Home, and an assisted living facility unit whose residents knit cosy blankets for Nottingham Hospital. Also among the knitters was Welsh TikTok star Lewis Leigh.
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Lewis, 21, from Merthyr Tydfil, has more than 1.7m followers on TikTok after gaining a fanbase during the Covid-19 pandemic. He is most known on the platform for his dance videos and comedy skits - which regularly feature his parents and grandmother Phyllis - with millions of viewers engaging with the heart-warming clips. One video of the pair dancing together during lockdown has been viewed more than 10 million times.
Speaking to WalesOnline from the event, Lewis said: "I thought it would be something cool to be involved in. I'm glad I came up as it's been an awesome event so far." This is Lewis' first time knitting and he said the professionals were very impressed with his work. He said: "I've never tried it before and after 15 minutes I kind of got the hack of it. The professionals were quite impressed with me - I really enjoyed it."
Lewis admitted that he may even have found himself a new hobby on the back of taking part in the epic challenge. When he spoke to WalesOnline, the 23ft hat was still being put together in the centre of the room. "I've met loads of lovely people and had some Innocent smoothies too," he added. "It looks awesome, I can't wait to see the final product. I've had a great day and I've finally learnt to knit. When I go home, I can finally surprise my Nan and show her my knitting." His grandmother Phyllis used to love to knit "back in the day," and Lewis said he has fond memories of her knitting a lot when he was growing up.
The Big Knit campaign aims to help fight loneliness, especially among the elderly. Lewis understands how loneliness can impact the elderly, especially as his grandmothers are both widowed. He said: "The Nan I do my TikToks with, I've kind of taken my grandfather's place. Obviously, I can't imagine what it's like to be with someone for years and years and then just lose them in a blink of an eye. I can imagine it's lonely. I always see my Nan every day, I don't want anyone to be lonely."
25p from every hatted Innocent smoothie bottle sold - which are available in stores across the country - goes to Age UK, a charity which aims to provide life-enhancing services and vital support to people in later life.
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