Knitting and crochet may not seem like the most traditional of summer activities - although certain crowd members at Wimbledon may disagree – but with last month being reportedly the wettest June in the UK since 1910, there is surely no better excuse to stay in the dry and get hooked on some creative projects for The Donkey Sanctuary.

Over recent years, many of the charity’s supporters have picked up their needles to create wonderful, donkey-themed, knitted and crochet projects to raise money to help donkeys worldwide. The resulting woolly donkeys, keyrings, phone socks and tissue holders have been flying off the shelves in the charity’s Visitors’ Centre in Sidmouth, Devon, and online at www.donkeyworld.org.uk.

The free patterns for these fun and quirky projects are great to get cracking with if you already know your ‘garter stitch’ from your ‘stocking stitch’, but what if your ‘slip one, knit one, pass slip stitch over’ leaves you with your needles in a twist and your knitting in a tangle on the floor? The Donkey Sanctuary has the answer.

For more information about The Donkey Sanctuary’s donkey-themed knitting and crochet patterns, please contact the charity’s Volunteer Fundraising Team.

Alternatively, sign up to receive a copies of our free patterns.