Woman crochets ‘incredible’ life-size soldier to mark Remembrance Day in Derbyshire

Ria Ghei
By Ria Ghei

Journalist

Published 8th Nov 2023, 10:49 BST
A woman has crocheted a 6ft soldier which now stands guard in a Derbyshire church | Image Colin Tomlinson - A Breath Of Country AirA woman has crocheted a 6ft soldier which now stands guard in a Derbyshire church | Image Colin Tomlinson - A Breath Of Country Air
A woman has crocheted a 6ft soldier which now stands guard in a Derbyshire church | Image Colin Tomlinson - A Breath Of Country Air | Colin Tomlinson - A Breath Of Country Air
The soldier now stands guard at All Saints church, Stanley Common, near Ilkeston, Derbyshire.

A crochet fan who worked tirelessly for six months on a ‘secret’ project has unveiled the hard work of her ‘labour of love’ - a 6ft crochet soldier.

The life-size structure is made by Jilly Crofts who crocheted the soldier as a mark of respect for Remembrance Day.

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BBC reports that the solider stands 6ft tall and can be seen at All Saints church, Stanley Common, near Ilkeston, Derbyshire.

Miss Crofts started working on the unique crochet project in May and kept her plans under wraps, despite her ‘not being very good at keeping secrets.’

The creative crocheter fashioned chicken wire to make the solider’s body shape, using broom handles for the legs, and covered the entire structure in a muted grey crochet.

She worked tirelessly on the crochet project for around six months, taking it everywhere with her so she could finish it on time for Remembrance Day.

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The solider took Jilly Crofts around 200 hours to create | Image Colin Tomlinson - A Breath Of Country AirThe solider took Jilly Crofts around 200 hours to create | Image Colin Tomlinson - A Breath Of Country Air
The solider took Jilly Crofts around 200 hours to create | Image Colin Tomlinson - A Breath Of Country Air | Colin Tomlinson - A Breath Of Country Air

Reflecting on the challenging nature of the creative project with a twist, Miss Crofts said: "It’s been a nightmare to keep it to myself all these months and I’m not good at keeping secrets."

Crocheting was a childhood hobby of Miss Crofts but she hadn’t picked up needles since the age of seven.

It was during recovery for an operation in 2014 that led Miss Crofts to rediscover her passion for crocheting.

Several posts featuring the crochet soldier have garnered hundreds of reactions online, with people hailing her soldier creation as ‘incredible,’ ‘amazing,’ and ‘brilliant.’

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In the past few years, crocheting, which is reported to aid wellbeing and calm a busy mind, has emerged as a fun hobby - on Instagram the crochet hashtag has over 50million posts.

People in lockdown also explored other creative outlets and knitting, sewing and crocheting were pastimes that rose in popularity.

Crochet poppies lie at the feet of the solider in the All Saints church in Stanley Common | Image Colin Tomlinson - A Breath Of Country AirCrochet poppies lie at the feet of the solider in the All Saints church in Stanley Common | Image Colin Tomlinson - A Breath Of Country Air
Crochet poppies lie at the feet of the solider in the All Saints church in Stanley Common | Image Colin Tomlinson - A Breath Of Country Air | Colin Tomlinson - A Breath Of Country Air

Celebrity crochet fans include Olympic diver Tom Daley, who caught the crochet bug during the UK’s first lockdown and wowed fans with his fun crochet creations including a tea cosy, swimming trunks and poncho.

Related topics:BBCWorkLabourDerbyshireTom Daley

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