Recently Beith Trust ran crochet classes for children for the first time at the local community centre. We had a small but committed group of youngsters come along to the session run by local crochet enthusiast, Sandra Galloway.
Those who came along started with basic chains and picked up the knack in no time, taking their work away with them to practise. Next they progressed to single crochet stitches followed by double crochet.
One of the girls came along with her granny and it was great to see a shared experience across the generations. Another of the girls’ mums said her daughter had said she didn’t want to go out that previous Sunday because she was too busy crocheting!
Sandra then introduced a fantastic project for everyone to collaborate on crocheting into chains which were made into tentacles for lovely colourful octopi.
The octopus project was taken from an idea originatomg from a Danish hospital, who discovered that the octopi comforted and calmed the premature babies on their unit. This in turn promoted regular breathing patterns, better oxygen levels in their blood and apparently these babies who had the opportunity to cuddle with an octopus were less likely to pull out their monitors and tubes.
Research has shown that crocheted tentacles remind little ones of their umbilical cords and being inside their mother’s womb, which in turn helps them feel safe.What a fantastic project to promote a sense of giving and community whilst honing new skills.
Well done, Sandra and well done to our first childrens’ crochet class!
watch out for more classes alike!
