Knit Gibraltar

The power of a good yarn

It can help with stress and reduce the risk of dementia. Do it in a group and it’s a great way to connect with people from different backgrounds and combat loneliness. Some people, like this group of Gibraltarians, do it for charity.

Knitting has the power to do good.

Knit Gibraltar is a group of around 30 people, aged from late teens to early 90s, representing around 10 different countries, who get together to knit or crochet. They meet every week and have been doing so since 2011.

Many of the items they make are given to charities in Gibraltar and Morocco. They’re used as raffle prizes or sold to raise funds. Charities they’ve supported include: Samaritans, Cancer Relief Gibraltar and RifCom, which supports people in poverty in Morocco’s Rif Mountains.

Knit Gibraltar is a great way for local people to develop new skills and hold on to old traditions. The group teaches new members to get started or improve their technique. They welcome everyone, particularly newcomers to Gibraltar, and are there to offer companionship for people who’ve been recently bereaved.

Over the year ending March 2019, Knit Gibraltar gave more than 520 items, such as baby and children’s clothes, blankets, hats, shawls and bed socks, to 13 charities, including Mount Alvernia Hospital, Women in Need, and the Flying Angel Club.
The group gifted 23 blankets and 5 shawls to be used as prizes in fundraising activities for local charities including Samaritans and Gibraltar Cancer Relief.
In 2019, they almost doubled their output from the previous year.

Supporting Knit Gibraltar to buy materials

To make a difference, you need a good yarn. So, we give a yearly grant to Knit Gibraltar to buy materials to make their products. Since 2013, we’ve supported the group with approximately £4,200.

“We buy in bulk to benefit from offers and use acrylic yarn in a wide range of colours,” says Anna Serra from Knit Gibraltar. “With our grant from the Kusuma Trust we’ve been able to buy ample quantities of good quality yarns, so that our charitable donations are hardwearing and suitable for machine washing. Many of our members are expert knitters and crocheters, who pass on their skills to those who are at the beginning of their love affair with yarn.”

“While our members are free to create whatever they like, most choose to work, for at least part of the time, on items which can either be given directly to one of the many local charities we back, or which can be raffled to raise funds for good causes. Our members take pride in the high quality as well as the large quantity of items we make. Kusuma Trust funding gives us the opportunity to achieve these aims and our consistently high standards.”

Penny Feeney from Knit Gibraltar