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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Adding eyelets to a project is a great way to make it more wearable in the summer, and these mesh and eyelet sweater patterns are perfect for summer (and beyond!) for layering.

The Inez Summer Sweater from Happy Love Co combines eyelets and dropped stitches (along with some garter and stockinette) to make a casual and fun summer sweater. The pattern is one size (56 inches or 142.24 cm) around, and is meant to be worn oversized. But it’s an easy enough pattern you could alter it to suit you without too much difficulty. It calls for worsted weight cotton yarn.

Another fun project using dropped stitches in the Stella Blouse from Thelma Steimann. It calls for a fingering weight silk yarn and is worked on larger than expected needles and also uses dropped stitches. The pattern includes eight sizes, with a bust circumference ranging from 33.5 to 51.5 inches, or 85-131 cm. You can grab a copy on Ravelry.

The Design Studio Knits has a nice summer cotton tee that uses worsted weight yarn worked on larger needles so it has a mesh effect while still being worked in stockinette stitch. It’s worked in one piece and is another one size pattern, meant to fit an actual chest measurement ranging from 34 to 46 inches (that’s 86 to 117 cm).

A similar look with a cropped shape and four available sizes comes from A Box of Twine. This one is a DK weight yarn knit on large needles and still has an oversized look (for instance the size small is 42 inches/106.68 cm at the bust). It’s worked flat so this is a great one for beginners.

If you want something a little more structured, try the Pip Cardigan from Yoko Johnston. This sport weight cardigan has an allover eyelet pattern and options to close with a zipper or buttons. It’s worked from the top down and has six size options. This one is also oversized, with finished measurements ranging from 51.5 to 64.5 inches, or 131 to 164 cm). You can find this one on Ravelry.

Or check out Endlessly by Amy Gunderson, a free pattern from Knitty. This pullover uses a cable and lace pattern that is easy to knit and to wear. It uses DK weight yarn and has nine size options. The chest measurement ranges from 34.75 to 66.75 inches, or 88.5 to 169.5 cm, and is meant to be worn with a little positive ease.

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