Community / Knitting charity launches Crowdfunder appeal
A NEW charity set up to protect and preserve Shetland’s knitting heritage has launched its first public Crowdfunder appeal.
Shetland’s Organisation for Knitters (SOK) launched the appeal on Tuesday night and has already raised almost 40 per cent of its £40,000 goal – with over £15,500 raised as of this morning (Wednesday).
The charity said the money would go towards recording and safeguarding the knowledge of older knitters, supporting local makers who want to become teachers, designers or speakers and offering workshops and talks rooted in Shetland’s knitting traditions.
The SOK is offering different benefits for people who donate certain sums of money, ranging from £5 up to £1,000.
For a £50 donation people receive a copy of “Mrs. Hunter’s Shawl pattern”.
“This shawl was originally designed by an Unst woman and sold to Patons, who wrote the pattern using dumbed-down methods,” the SOK said.
“It has been rewritten by SOK trustee, Elizabeth Johnston, to restore the methods to the process.”
For a top donation of £1,000, the SOK said backers would receive “all of the reward benefits”, as well as a “30-minute conversation with one of our trustees via phone or Zoom”
They also get a silver and enamel pendant or pin of the SOK logo made by Shetland Jewellery “to wear with pride”.
Three people have donated £1,000 each to the appeal, while another – who donated £500 – thanked the SOK “for preserving the Shetland heritage knitting skills”.
Other rewards include tickets for future online events, digital knitting patterns, and behind-the-scenes reports on SOK’s progress.
The organisation says the early response shows how strongly people worldwide feel about preserving Shetland’s knitting culture.
The SOK has already hit the headlines in the last week following its criticism of the Channel 4 show, Game of Wool: Britain’s Best Knitter.
The group said it was “shocked and saddened” by the way Fair Isle knitting was portrayed in the show, as reported first by Shetland News last week.
SOK member Terri Leask said the incident was a “perfect example” of why the SOK had been set up in the first place.
“It gives us a collective voice to deal with these things,” she said.
“This is not the first time this has happened, and it won’t be the last.”
You can donate to the Crowdfunder here.
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