By Colleen Flanagan, The Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows News
The toque.
A knitted winter hat, usually with some sort of pompom on the top, is an item many of us have in our closets to wear when the winter weather turns cold.
But many Canadians don’t have that luxury – many who live on the streets, who don’t have closets, who can’t afford the proper attire to stay warm on winter days.
So, some students in Maple Ridge used their skills in loom knitting to make toques for those living in one of Canada’s poorest neighbourhoods.
A group of 20 Grade 6/7 students at Laity View Elementary used round looms to knit more than 85 hats which will be distributed to people on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
“The idea started probably eight years ago with our past principal, Shelley Linton,” explained Grade 6/7 teacher and organizer Kirsten Bailey. “We were watching some videos and learning how to loom knit using round looms and we enjoyed it so much we thought we’d buy a class set of looms for our school and I started using the looms to knit hats with my class.”