Knitting group help create set for magical children’s show for magical children's show coming to Alnwick, Berwick and Hexham

Pat Cant, 77, transformed over 200 balls of wool into an entire stage set along with nine members of her knitting group.

The cornucopia of fabulous creations lovingly handknitted by members of balletLORENT's Knitters, Movers and Shakers group will feature alongside the cast of children’s show The Velveteen Rabbit (How Toys Become Real).

The craft creatives' designs, in lively shades of red, green, orange and yellow, include a lovable woolly rabbit, ladybird cushions, a large handful of giant knitted carrots and a 'garden rug' boasting over 6,000 individually crocheted blades of grass.

Two versions of The Velveteen Rabbit, one suitable for ages 0-3 and the other for ages 4+, are coming to Alnwick Playhouse on March 2, The Maltings in Berwick on March 16 and Queen's Hall Arts Centre, Hexham, on March 23.

The heartwarming story is based on a 102-year-old classic children's tale by Margery Williams. Updated for today's families to include a brand-new ending and additional characters, the storyline will still please fans of the original book.

Pat, from Prudhoe, said: "I learned to knit when I was seven or eight and made lots of hand-knitted clothes for my own children and now for my grandchildren.

"But before I started on this project, my crocheting wasn't much good and I could only just churn out a granny square!

"I've improved so much since working with the Knitters, Movers and Shakers ladies on creating the set for The Velveteen Rabbit, I'm now crocheting toys for my grandchildren."

Pat says the soft, tactile nature of their works adds a further dimension to the dance theatre show and is much loved by young audiences.

She said: "I took my grandchildren, who are seven and four, to see the premiere in Newcastle, and the four year old couldn't stop touching everything - which is totally encouraged!

"At the end of the show, the children get to feed knitted carrots to the rabbits, which they loved. In fact we're currently knitting a load more, as some of them 'disappeared'".

The knitters worked under the watchful eye of fashion designer Nasir Mazhar, a long-time creative collaborator of balletLORENT.

More details and ticket links at https://www.balletlorent.com/productions/velveteen-rabbit-or-how-toys-become-real