Knitting goes down rabbit hole
Hamilton woman Jacinta Stevenson doesn’t like to do things on a small scale.
With knitting needles a metre long and 45 centimetres thick, her knitting business called Plump & Co is creating a new trend and proving size does matter.
As well as selling giant knitting needles and crochet hooks for customers to create their own chunky knitted masterpieces, she also runs workshops, teaching people how to handle the large wool.
The workshops help people get used to the scale, she says.
Despite their Wonderland appearance, she says the needles are surprisingly easy to manipulate.
Stevenson, who was taught to knit by her grandmother, says the size makes knitting accessible to everyone.
‘‘I’m not the world’s best knitter, with this scale, everything looks beautiful. It still looks pretty when you’re not following the rules.
‘‘Traditionally in knitting, people feel they have to follow a pattern, we encourage a bit of rogue knitting.
The idea for Plump & Co began when Stevenson was a university student, studying textile design at Massey University.
In her fourth year of study she created an installation piece, using ripped fabric to create an oversized ‘‘yarn’’.
After graduating she worked in the corporate world for a time, but she missed being creative, and began knitting once more – at first as a hobby, then as a business. Stevenson thought there might be a market for a new kind of knitting – to tap into a global trend, especially among millennials, for all things handmade.
Her business goals include managing growth, ensuring supply and strategic planning. There is potential to grow domestically and internationally. Police are warning rural South Waikato residents to be extra vigilant after 300 litres of diesel was stolen from a cow shed over the weekend. Tokoroa police sergeant Brett Watene said the theft took place sometime between the late hours of Saturday, April 22 and the early hours of Sunday, April 23 in Poaka Rd. ‘‘The shed was locked and bolt cutters have been used to cut the chain and left at the scene.’’ Watene said a welder and gas bottles were also stolen and police are appealing for information. A vehicle was also stolen from a rural address in Mangakino over the weekend. It has since been recovered. Anyone with information about the theft is urged to contact the station on 07 885 0100 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Thames-Coromandel District Council has extended nominations to its Youth in Emergency Services Programme (YES). The YES programme is designed to strengthen young people’s connection to their community by encouraging them to engage with a range of volunteer emergency services through hands-on work in these services. Council said it needs young people to step forward and volunteer for this experience to happen. A minimum of 15 young people (aged 16-20 years old) are required to successfully run the programme. Initially, nominations were only open to young people living on the east coast of the Coromandel. It’s now open to those living in the Thames and Hauraki area too.