Hand-knitting crowdfunder gets off to a flier

A CROWDFUNDING campaign that aims to boost the future of hand-knitting in Shetland has raised nearly £3,500 in just ten days.

Shetland PeerieMakkers launched on 12 October to gain support for a one-year pilot project that would see volunteers give free knitting tuition to young people.

The campaign was launched by the Fetlar-based Brough Lodge Trust amid concerns over the future of hand-knitting in Shetland after it was cut from the school curriculum.

After ten days of crowdfunding to raise money for the classes, the campaign has raised £3,530 – 78 per cent of the overall £4,500 target.

The project has seen over 115 donations fly in from countries as far-flung as the US, Canada and Australia.

Brough Lodge Trust chairman Pierre Cambillard said the campaign organisers were “really heartened” by the support.

“Apart from receiving donations, we’ve also had dozens of messages of encouragement,” he added.

“The amount of goodwill that exists for Shetland hand-knitting is really remarkable and the comments we’ve received have driven home the message that we have a culture here in Shetland that is valued and celebrated wherever knitting takes place.”

Cambillard also suggested that local authorities could learn from the popularity of the campaign.

“Knitting clearly has a central role in Shetland’s culture and we really need a strategic approach to securing that for the future,” he said.

• Donations for the PeerieMakkers project will continue to be taken until 11 December via this link.