Youngsters find they click with knitting

KNITTING classes at Telford College have been inundated with applications from youngsters wanting to learn the craft.

Tutors say celebrity knitters such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Julia Roberts, combined with catwalk trends for cashmere, chenille and mohair, have prompted the surge in interest.

It comes after a Leith bar launched the city's first pub knitting event. Sofi's in Henderson Street started a weekly session to teach drinkers how to knit while enjoying a glass of wine.

Carole Redpath, assistant head of the school for creative arts, said: "Suddenly it has become trendy to knit. Combined with the accessibility of craft materials at high street stores and a growing number of speciality shops selling unusual wools, the recent publicity has made a hip and popular activity out of knitting."

She added: "It seems that today's knitters have discovered the secret to relaxation that the grandmothers of our past always knew."

The College's Knit Club and Textile Club both start later this month and run for eight weeks at the College's North Campus.