Crafty Irish ladies lovingly recreate map in wool to make world's largest knitted diorama
A crafty group of friends from Ireland have lovingly recreated their country with wool.
The largest knitted diorama features everything from houses and trees to a lighthouse and even a cheeky dog cocking his leg up to take a pee.
The stunning woolly display, unveiled in September, measures 15.92 m² (171.36 ft²) and was made by Creative Crafters Ireland at Carnew Community Care in Carnew, Co. Wicklow, Ireland.
For context, that's about as big as a car parking space.
The group's mission is to “inspire creativity and self-expression through inclusive and engaging craft projects rooted in folk art traditions and modern techniques”.
The group of ladies embarked on the project in 2018, inspired by a pop-up tourist map featuring iconic Irish landmarks.
They used approximately 200 balls of wool, at least 80% of which was donated to them, over 1,500 metres of tin foil for topography, over 5,000 dressing pins, approximately 10 insulating boards, over 50 metres of wire, over 100 sticks of glue and “a bit of laughter” to create the map.
The creation even features a miniature Titanic as a nod to the famous ship being built in Belfast.
Starting with a small A4 map of Ireland, the ladies began outlining what they were going to do.
They had the image blown up to help them fully visualize the project, and then they began knitting.
And they did it all without using any patterns, just following their own vision.
Read about more record-breaking creations in our Hobbies and Skills section.
Group member Liz Butler told us: “Creative crafters evolved from Home First Knitting Group founded by Mary Blake, who is still a member today.
“My favourite thing is all of it - the journey, experience and especially the story. A group of ladies in the small town of Carnew, Co. Wicklow, that met once a week in Carnew Community Care to produce the largest knitted diorama.
“I believe I can speak on behalf of all the ladies to say this project was a lot of fun and as we say in Ireland, great Craic!”
The coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns brought stumbling blocks and heartache. With the group unable to get together, they were forced to pause their project in 2020.
Liz said: “We returned in 2022 but sadly two of our members had passed away due to illness - we will forever think of them.
“We knew we now had to complete this project not just for ourselves but in their honour. We set to work again and completed what now was our mission. We launched our exhibition in July 2024. It was, and still is, a huge success.
“We did not set out to break a world record or to get the attention that we and our beloved map have received from around the world. It was the challenge, however we are very grateful and we all appreciate the support and attention.”
Liz said the group also faced difficulties with creating some of the larger pieces of the diorama.
“We had to be very creative,” she said. “The Giant’s Causeway located in Ulster, this form was made from 12 Smarties boxes… perfect for its hexagonal formation and if I say so, genius!
“We also had help from our families, they were all very supportive, we really do appreciate all of them.”
Creative Crafters Ireland are: Mary Blake, Liz Butler, Molly Cullen, Marion Healy, Teresa Moran, Trudi Mills, Helen Carroll Kelly, Josie Doyle, Geraldine Coogan, Mary Connolly, Betty Kavanagh, Betty Jeffers, Ann Fogarty, Mary Cathrine Murphy, Daphne Hollingsworth, Magaret Douse, Susan Redmond, Ann Edwards and Ellen Elliot.
Images: By Brendan Lawrence