On sale now at John Lewis & Partners Cardiff, shoppers can pick up a Christmas gift with a conscience called the One Knit Wonder. All profits from the knitting kit will go to Welsh homelessness charity, The Wallich.
After selling out of stock in Christmas 2017, the One Knit Wonder is back. The hat-making kit contains everything you need to knit a beanie hat from scratch and includes new colours such as mustard and teal.
The One Knit Wonder was designed by The Wallich and contains chunky wool, knitting needles, a knitting pattern for a woolly hat and ‘one warm, fuzzy feeling’.
Selling for £13.50, at John Lewis & Partners Cardiff for a limited time only, all profits from every One Knit Wonder will go to The Wallich and will help people sleeping rough across Wales.
Once their hat is complete, knitters have the choice of wearing their creation, gifting it or going out and giving it to a person in need.
One Knit Wonder knitters will also be able to enter a free draw for a chance to win a selection of John Lewis cashmere worth around £200.
David Donovan, head of branch, John Lewis & Partners, Cardiff said:
“We are delighted to be working again with The Wallich on the One Knit Wonder campaign to build on our success from last year. One Knit Wonder has a serious message, but it is a product that is fun and most importantly it will help raise money for an important local charity.
“One Knit Wonder will be available to buy from our Haberdashery department on the first floor of our Cardiff store. We are eager to welcome customers who might not have visited this department before and our Partners will be on hand to help any novice knitters with advice on getting started.”
Mike Walmsley, corporate fundraising manager at The Wallich, said:
“The public are aware of rising homelessness in Wales and frequently ask how they can help. The One Knit Wonder is the perfect way to support a local charity and the services that help rough sleepers break the cycle of homelessness for good.”
The One Knit Wonder boxes and knitting patterns inside were kindly printed pro-bono by Harlequin Printing & Packaging in Pontyclun.
Delme Beddow, director of Harlequin Printing & Packaging, said: “Harlequin are once again delighted to supply a sustainable packaging solution for the One Knit Wonder. As Harlequin’s chosen charity partner, we’re proud to be able to contribute to the invaluable services that The Wallich provide for people affected by homelessness across south Wales.”
Some of The Wallich’s service users volunteered their time to help pack One Knit Wonder boxes, giving them experience of working in a John Lewis & Partners environment and a unique opportunity to boost their skills and confidence.
The money from this year’s One Knit Wonder will go towards the charity’s emergency accommodation and rough sleeping services; helping people in Wales experiencing homelessness get off the streets and into safety 365 days of the year, including Christmas Day.
The Wallich’s statistics show that the number of people in need of homelessness services is increasing. In 2017, The Wallich worked with 8,019 people in Wales; a 46% increase on the previous year.
In November and December 2017, the people of Wales cleared all One Knit Wonder boxes off the John Lewis & Partners shelves, raising £12,600 to help ‘knit homelessness in the bud’.
It’s hoped that a new community of knitters who are aware of homelessness will be created from the product. Shoppers are encouraged to tweet their pictures using the hashtag #OneKnitWonder and be part of a growing conversation.
