1. According to the British Hand Knitting Confederation four million women and 448,000 men in the UK are interested in knitting and sewing.
2. In New York in 2014, David Babcock, a professor of graphic design in Missouri, set a record of 3hr 56min for running a marathon while knitting.
3. The first knitting union was founded for men only in Paris in 1527.
4. The Guinness World Record for the longest knitted scarf stands at 4,565.46 metres (2.84 miles).
5. The record for most people knitting at the same location is 3,083 at a Women’s Institute event at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 2012.
6. The speed knitting record for most stitches knitted in one minute is 118.
7. Around the time of the Second World War, knitting was a slang term in the Navy for a girlfriend or girls in general.
8. The hook which holds the yarn at the end of a needle in a knitting machine is called a beard.
9. In 2013, Slow TV in Norway broadcast 13 hours covering a knitting marathon. The programme attracted 1.3 million viewers.
10. The first knitting machine was invented by English clergyman William Lee in 1589.
Details may be found at bhkc.co.uk
Centre Knitters Guild 