Inspiration

What it’s like to make your own super chunky knit blanket

With the chunky knit trend sweeping the globe, Your Home and Garden Style Director Catherine Wilkinson decided to try out the Plump & Co knitting workshop. Here are the results…

chunky-knit

What it’s like to make your own super chunky knit blanket

I had seen Plump & Co’s ‘giant knitting’ workshops all over social media and became determined to create one of their supersized sculptural blankets, not to mention learn how to handle those fascinatingly large knitting needles!

The workshop, held at Auckland Art Gallery, was being run by Jacinta, the director of Plump & Co. I was a bit nervous as I’m a novice knitter and hadn’t wielded a pair of knitting needles since my grandma gave me a lesson as a child, but Jacinta assured me that this was the case for many people who take her classes.

After some chat and mingling with a glass of wine, I was guided to a chair set up with a “bump” of wool and those famous large knitting needles. We all took our seats and watched Jacinta demonstrate how to easily hold your needles and cast on.

plumpandco

Once I got the hang of operating the needles – which is quite a workout, I might add – I was hooked. As I completed my first few rows I looked around at my fellow knitters; everyone was doing so well and I began to get a little competitive. Most people were going for smaller items like scarves, bowls or pet beds, but I decided to take on the task of knitting a queen-size bed throw.

As I furiously knitted on, determined to get my project completed by the time the two hours was up, I could see my throw taking shape and was pleasantly surprised.

At the end of the class, I was really pleased with my (almost finished) throw. Everyone in the group was admiring each other’s creations and knitting techniques, and it was so cool to see all the different things you could make out of this amazing, chunky wool.

knitting

I later ordered another bump of wool online and added to my throw to make it even bigger, which was super easy to do. Plump & Co holds workshops all over New Zealand so check out its website and see if there’s one near you – I’d highly recommend it.

Plump & Co runs classes all over New Zealand and Australia. Visit plumpandco.com for more information.

Words by: Catherine Wilkinson. Photography by: Brydie Photography, Wendy Fenwick, Angie Humphreys.

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