Meet Tom Daley, Olympian and Knitter

Tom Daley is best known as a member of the British Olympic team, who recently won gold with Matty Lee in synchronized diving.

When practices and meets were curtailed in 2020, Daley found himself with a lot of time on his hands and took up knitting, and, later, crochet. He started an Instagram account where he shares his makes, and has even released a pattern for a crocheted granny square jumper that’s sold on Love Crafts as a benefit for a brain tumor research charity.

In an interview with Rowan Yarns he said his first project was a knit scarf for his mum, and while he likes the ease of shaping and adjusting sizes in crochet, he prefers the look of knitting.

He’s been quite prolific in his year and a half as a stitcher, making sweaters, toys, baby things, even a crocheted cat couch.

He said in that post he planned to take his knitting to Tokyo, and he posted the adorable medal cozy he made for his new hardware on Instagram. We wish him and all crafty Olympians well in the Games!

[Photo via Made with Love by Tom Daley.]

Looking for more Tom Daley knitting items? Check out these items we found on Etsy

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Just about anything you can make in fabric you can make in knitting, but there are some styles that you just don’t see that often translated into knitting.

For example, a button down collared shirt. This is a classic design, of course, and it looks great in a knit version, but it’s just not something you see much of.

Noma Ndlovu’s Guglethu shirt is the pattern to try if you want to knit your own button down shirt. This one is inspired by cashmere tops (though the sample was made out of yak yarn, not cashmere, and uses two strands of lace weight yarn held together) and includes lots of high-fashion details like double-knit cuffs, collar and shoulder seams.

It has a patch pocket on the front and 10 buttons including the button band and the cuffs.

The designer says you can also use a DK weight yarn held singly if you’d rather, and that the shirt looks good in a variety of yarns. There is another version on Ravelry that uses Berroco Remix Light, which is a mix of nylon, cotton, acrylic, silk and cellulose fibers. It has a more relaxed look but it still really pretty.

The pattern has 12 sizes, with a full bust measurement ranging from 32.35 to 72.25 inches, or 82 to 183.5 cm. The designer suggests 2 to 6 inches, or 5 to 15 cm, of positive ease when you pick your size. I could totally see knitting one that’s even bigger to wear more like a jacket, because I do that a lot with button down shirts I already own.

I love all the details on this shirt, which isn’t necessarily difficult to knit, but might introduce you to some things you’ve never knit before (like those cuffs with the plackets, or a shirt collar like this).

To learn more about this shirt and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself, head to Ravelry.

[Photo: Noma Ndlovu]

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