Wool You Help Knit the Biggest Scarf in Manchester?




Jim Giles
Jim Giles


A Northwards tenant is planning to knit perhaps the biggest scarf Manchester’s ever seen in a tribute to his historic home.

Artist Jim Giles, 83, is looking for volunteers to help complete his latest project, which you might say is “knit for the faint ‘arted”: a scarf so big that it will stretch all the way around Northwards Housing’s Victoria Square, a Grade II listed retirement scheme in Ancoats.

To fit around the Square - which is thought to be the oldest municipal building still in use in the world – the scarf will have to measure 1,050 feet!

Mr Giles, who graduated from The University of Salford earlier this year with an MA in Contemporary Fine Art, came up with the idea while attending his regular knitting group at The Mustard Tree charity, just across the street from the Square.

He said: “I love this building. It’s been my home for eight years and kept me alive!

“I’ve chosen to do this project because the scarf captures all my feelings about this place – it symbolises and embodies warmth, comfort and security.

“I’m looking for anyone who can knit to join me in this venture. I can provide the needles and all the wool, and it may be the longest scarf in Manchester – quite an achievement!”

Victoria Square was the first municipal housing built in Manchester when it opened on Sherratt Street in 1894. As well as providing a unique home for around 170 residents, it has been used as a location for countless television and film productions – from Coronation Street and Life on Mars to Prime Suspect and Clocking Off.

If you would like to take part in Jim’s project, please give him a call on 07761054735.

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