We have a crazy goal of creating a 10m high Community Christmas Tree covered in crocheted squares!
The annual TOTS Blanket Challenge run by The Creative Fringe, is taking our community initiative to the next level.
For Christmas 2023 we want to create a 10m Christmas tree that is covered in crocheted squares. The goal is to engage our community to help build this tree and after it’s been on display at Nepean Village for Christmas, we will take it down and turn the squares into blankets for those most in need in our community.
Who wants to join us in making a difference?
There are a number of ways that you can participate in this Community Christmas Tree.
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You can crochet squares or help us sew them together or onto the frame.
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You can get your family and friends involved by spreading the word.
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Visit our stand at The REAL Festival.
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Share our posts with the wider community.
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We always need help at our community crocheting bee’s teaching people how to crochet squares.
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We need a number of sponsors (see below) so if you know of anyone who could help, please let them know about our amazing tree.
Thank you to the Western Sydney University industrial design, engineering, architecture and indigenous students who, under the supervision of Prof. Olivia Mirza, have put their hands up to design and construct the 10m Christmas tree frame. We are excited to have you on board for this inaugeral tree.
Safety always comes first when building a giant 10m (taller than a 3 storey building) Christmas tree. We are so very grateful to Coffey Engineering Group who have offered to check and sign off on the student’s frame design and then provide a safety certificate once the tree is installed.
YARN & CROCHET HOOKS
We hope to have a stand at the REAL Festival in Penrith in September. Our aim is to encourage community members to crochet a square to contribute to the tree (we need 4000 squares). To do this we need donations of yarn and crochet hooks. Contact us if you would like to be a sponsor
FRAME MATERIALS
We are so grateful to the students at WSU for taking up the task of designing and making the frame. However, we need a sponsor who will donate or pay for the materials required to make the frame. The students will give us a list of what is needed and how much. Contact us to be a sponsor
INSTALLATION & DISMANTLING
We are looking for a sponsor who can supply or pay for the moving of the frame from The Creative Fringe to the installation location and then the installing of the tree. This will require a truck and crane. Please contact us if you are able to support.
TEACHING CROCHET
We have a stand at this years REAL Festival from 16-18 September at Tench Reserve. We would love to teach the general community how to crochet. If you can teach this craft, we would love to hear from you.
STAR & LIGHTING
We can’t have a tree without a star on top, and we’d also like to light the tree up from the inside so that it shines at night. If you are able to sponsor the star (we have a design) and the internal lighting please contact us.
CATCHUP CATERING
All this crocheting is hard work so we like to feed and water all our volunteers when they attend any of our crochet catchups. Please contact us if you are able to sponsor the catering for these catchups – we have 7 to cater for.
CLEANING SQUARES
Once the squares come down they will need to be cleaned before being turned into blankets. There will be 3000-4000 squares that have been exposed to the elements for 6 weeks. If you can sponsor this please contact us.
Frequently Asked Questions
What size crochet hook should I use?
We recommend a medium size hook – H-8 (5mm)
What ply wool should I use?
All squares should be made of 8ply yarn. Please do not use pure wool as this tree will be outdoors and exposed to the elements.
Do we have to use Christmas colours?
How big should the squares be?
How many squares do you need?
When do you need the squares by?
How do I get involved?
There are a number of ways. You can crochet squares, sew squares together or help us sew the squares onto the frame. When the squares come down we also need volunteers to sew them into blankets. Of course you can also help by spreading the word amongst family and friends. Don’t forget to join our email updates so that you are kept in the loop with everything that is going on, including our community meet-ups.
Will you have community events?
We sure will. Head to our Workshop page to see when our next community meet-up is on. You will need to register as we like to cater for these events. Don’t forget to join our email updates so that you are kept in the loop with everything that is going on.
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