Most of us are still holding out for a few more weeks of summer but let’s not pretend we haven’t seen a few sneaky selection boxes on the supermarket shelves – there are only 17 Saturdays between now and Christmas.
Log fires, mulled wine, mince pies, turkey and TV and whether we thank our nans, Bridget Jones or just the force of the high street, there is no denying the rise of the Christmas jumper. Love it or hate it, it’s become a winter wardrobe staple. Not ones to ignore a significant trend we thought we’d get on board with the festive phenomenon, but in our own way.
Last year, a survey of 4,000 knitters undertaken by global fashion brand Wool and the Gang found that 90% of knitters agreed that knitting decreases anxiety levels, 40% said it helped to fight depression and 70% feel a sense of happiness after tackling a difficult project or knitting technique. It’s no wonder that 90% of US knitters and 86% of UK and European knitters said they ‘grab their knitting needles’ after a long, stressful day.
The opening lines to this article may have filled you with excitement but some of you will have been filled with dread. Edward Pola and George Wyle wrote It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year but, for many, Christmas can also be an anxious time filled with worries about money, social engagements, a hectic high street, Christmas dinner, time spent with family – the list goes on – and many people are worried to mention it.
Why, when you already have enough to worry about, should saying how you feel be another worry on the Christmas list?
So this year, we are encouraging you all to knit your own Christmas jumper with a difference. We hope that potentially learning a new skill and the process of knitting the jumper will be beneficial to you all and at the same time we’ll be sending out a collective message that sometimes, even at Christmas, we can feel anxious – and it’s ok to say it!
We’ve teamed up with Beki Rymsza founder of bespoke knitwear brand Where’s Me Jumper, who has designed a Christmas jumper exclusively for Anxiety UK. The pattern is available to download on our website and we’d love to see as many of you as possible knitting your own version to wear this Christmas – and all year round, Beki’s made this one in Christmas colours but you can knit yours in whatever colours you choose.
Get the pattern here – it costs £2 to download, with all proceeds going directly to Anxiety UK. All of the information you need to make your jumper is in there and we’ll also be posting tips and tutorials to Twitter, Instagram and Facebook so keep an eye out for those.
You may also want to get together in groups to share tips and help each other along! Of course we want to know how you’re all doing so please share your work in progress photos and finished work tagging @anxietyuk on Facebook and Twitter or @anxietyukofficial on Instagram and using the hashtag #AUKChristmas.
We can’t wait to see your creations. Happy knitting!
The post Knit Yourself a Christmas Jumper with a Difference appeared first on Anxiety UK.
from Anxiety UK
http://ift.tt/2bHodX7
from http://ift.tt/1p5GNXV
#anxiety #stress
No comments:
Post a Comment