There’s no escaping the facts: knitting is big again. Handcrafts in general have enjoyed a major resurgence in recent years as more people realise how enjoyable it is to make something with their hands after a day spent slaving over a hot computer, and knitting is perfect - it’s simple, portable and practical.

I Knit London is a community of knitters who meet weekly to drink, watch films and knit together. It all started small - Gerard Allt and Craig Carruthers just wanted to get out of the house to knit and were soon joined by an increasing number of fellow enthusiasts. Alongside regular pub meetups, a Spitalfields market stall was born and grew in to a shop run by the pair in Vauxhall’s Bonnington Square where a social whirl of knitting events took place on a weekly basis.

In March, IKL moved to new premises in Waterloo to continue the good work, currently hosting two regular knitting nights (one at the shop and one in a central London pub), a film night, a book group and a plethora of other activities - including knitting classes - alongside the rigours of running a shop. Most nights are free to attend, and it’s a testament to their passion that they even manage to find enough hours in the day to blog about it all.

Free tonight? The regular knitting group are meeting at The Albert in Westminster from 6pm. If you need a bit of time to dust off those needles get yourself along to the next pub meetup on 23rd April at Retro Bar instead. Everyone’s welcome!

IKL are involved in all sorts of charitable concerns and were instrumental in the 2007 WaterAid Knit A River and Breakthrough Breast Cancer Knit A Tit campaigns. This Sunday I Knit Londoner Susie Hewer will run the Flora London Marathon while knitting a scarf - as well as raising money for Alzheimers Research Trust she’ll be trying to beat the Guinness World Record she got for doing the same thing last year! That scarf might come in handy if it snows again…

Photo credit: World Wide Knit In Public Day by Todd Huffman (CC License)