A Christmas trail filled with knitted and crocheted festive items will be scattered across Formby village from Saturday, November 1.
The Formby Yarn Bombers, a voluntary group, have spent months preparing for the spectacle all with the hope of creating a buzz around the village.
Leanne Jones, member of the group, said: “There’s a huge excitement in the air, and it’s lovely seeing grandparents with young grandchildren creating new and fun memories.
“The group has a great sense of pride (amongst the tiredness as we start putting it out at 4:30am!) and feel like their efforts are making a difference.”
40 festive knits will be dotted all over the village, including some in shops.
Leanne added: “A few weeks ago, one of the independent shops asked if we could do a ‘Christmassy’ thing in November as that was a quiet month for them. Hence, we came up with the Christmas Trail idea.”
The group has held an International Yarn Bombing Day in previous years, which has proven a huge success in Formby village.
It is thought that several hundred extra visitors travelled to the village that day.
“We’re hoping that the Christmas Trail will encourage people to go into shops and cafes that they wouldn’t usually go into,” said Leanne.
Next month, visitors can look forward to exploring all the different creations, while helping to support local businesses as they hunt all the displays.
“The central item is the 12 Days of Christmas Carol. There are 12 separate panels, each about 2ft square with each of the ‘days’,” Leanne said.
“It’s taken Margaret a year to make! The panels will be distributed around the shops.”
She added: “The items vary in size – there’s a cute Rudolph who’s only about six inches tall – but there’s also a few Santa’s (about 12 inches), three carol singing Victorian mice, plus a small sleigh of gifts.”
QR codes have been included for people to send selfies with their finds to the Formby Yarn Bombers Facebook group.
The excitement around yarn bombing has become especially popular in recent years with the rise of the hobby and the shareability of the finds.
“After lockdown I thought people needed something to smile about, so I researched International Yarn Bombing Day. I did the first on my own and had about 40 items on display in Formby Village,” said Leanne.
Since then, the group has grown to 14 members who have all taken part in making the village festive.
“The group is a mixed bag of ages and backgrounds, but we all have such a laugh and have become great friends,” Leanne said.
“Some live on their own so have enjoyed the company and being part of a group that has a purpose. Others got involved to get them through illness, or as they were new to the area and wanted to develop social links.”
View more of the group’s creations here.
Featured image: Leanne Jones
