Independent yarn shop Truro Wool has gifted 215 hand-knitted and crocheted hats to city-based charities St Petrocs and Cornwall Refuge Trust over the festive period. 

The hats were the result of Truro Wool’s Bobble Tree of Kindness Appeal – a community craft project to create a Christmas tree display made entirely of handmade bobble-hats to be gifted to the clients of these two invaluable local organisations.  

Truro Wool owner Julie Cowan said: “For the past few years, our Christmas window here at Truro Wool has featured a Christmas tree made in some way of yarn. We’ve had lots of lovely comments on our festive creations, but this year, we wanted our tree to be more than just a decoration, we wanted it to be something that did real good.”  

After coming up with the idea, Truro Wool spoke with representatives at both charities before launching the project in mid-October. 

It was just a few days before the first handmade hats started to arrive. In total, 215 hand-knitted and hand-crocheted have been donated from crafters near and far. 

Julie added: “Once again we have been blown away by the kindness, generosity and creativity of the knitting and crochet community – we never dreamed that over 200 hats would be gifted. 

“Whilst many have been created by our local crafting community, we’ve had lots of donations sent from across the country too – with one even coming all the way from Canada! We really can’t say a big enough thank you to everyone that contributed.”  

Truro Wool recently learned it has been shortlisted in the best independent retailer South West and best workshops and courses categories of the inaugural Yarn Industry Awards by Craftworld. 

Commenting on the nominations, Julie said: “We’re over the moon to be the only shop in Cornwall shortlisted in these categories. As the Bobble Tree project demonstrated, Truro Wool is supported by a fantastic community of knitters and crocheters and we’re grateful to each and every one of our lovely customers for their ongoing support.”