The Social Sofa Project - Crochet and Knitting Workshop

The Social Sofa Project is holding a series of crochet and knitting workshops at No.76 Coffee and Confectionary, with the first one on Monday 9 November. It's a drop-in session, so you can just turn up when you fancy it rather than booking a slot. The whole thing is part of a new public art piece by local artist LJ Ellam, which he's building around the people and the community of Gloucester.

The idea is to take illustrations, embroidered patches, and knitted or crocheted pieces and attach them to furniture. That furniture then gets exhibited in specific locations across the city, and also loaned back to the places that helped create the pieces, so everyone can see and use them. It's a community project in the truest sense: the things you make end up as part of the final work, and the work itself stays out in the city for people to actually sit on and interact with.

Inside the workshop, you'll be making a fabric collage patch. You start by printing onto fabric and then build your collage around your own experiences of Gloucester and how you feel about your community. It's a relaxed, drop-in session open to everyone aged five and up, and you don't need any previous experience to take part—all the materials are provided on the day, so you just need to bring yourself. If you've never picked up a needle or a hook before, this is a good place to start.

The first session is Monday 9 November, 11:00–13:00, at No.76 Coffee and Confectionary, 76 London Road, GL1 3PB. If you can't make that one, there are two more on the same day and time: Monday 23 November and Monday 14 December. Admission is free.