The Big Knit
How little wooly hats can help end loneliness
Loneliness can be a big problem in later life. As many as 200,000 older people say they haven’t spoken to friends or family for over a month.
The hats on Innocent smoothies raise money for activities at local Age UK centres where people can enjoy a wide range of activities, from exercise classes to lunch clubs to craft sessions.
The Big Knit started back in 2003 with an idea. Innocent asked some older people, and some younger people, to knit little woolly hats. They put those hats on their smoothies, and for each one sold they made a donation of 25p to Age UK.
The idea snowballed and so far the people of the UK have knitted an astonishing 6 million hats. Together, Innocent raised over £2 million for Age UK and we hope to raise much more in the future.
If you are interested in taking part in the Big Knit, we have a leaflet explaining more about the campaign, and about what to do once you have knitted your hats, and also a range of patterns to suit all abilities. Click on the links below:
Download The Big Knit Leaflet here
Download the Beginner pattern here
Download the Intermediate pattern here