Wrap with Love is an Australian charitable organisation, founded in 1992 by Sonia Gidley-King, OAM, to produce knitted wraps (used as blankets) as gifts for people who have exposed to the cold and susceptible to hypothermia and especially those who have experienced loss and trauma as a result of war.[1][2] The wraps are knitted, transported and assembled by volunteers.[3]
Over 30,000 volunteers around Australia have been involved in the project and more than a quarter of a million woollen wraps have been produced.[3] The wraps are created by knitting 28 equally sized squares in Garter stitch, sewn together into blankets of 4 x 7 squares.[4] Although simple, this formula allows for an almost unlimited variety and the resulting wrap is a unique possession for its final owner. Some wraps incorporate a single stylised kangaroo as a symbol of their origin.[5]
Knit-in
In 2003, ABC Sydney Radio Station 702 ABC Sydney and ABC Local Radio created the "knit in", so named after the "sit-in" form of direct action protest, to support the movement and increase awareness of the Wrap with Love cause.[1] Presenter Angela Catterns is credited with the "Knit-In" idea.[6] Other knitting events have been held at a variety of community halls and local libraries across the country.[7][8]