Needle match

KNITTING challenge: Lucy and her scarf creation

Nimble-fingered knitter Lucy Mills could bring a national title back to Oldham after she was short listed for a Clothes Show Live competition in Birmingham this week.

Lucy Mills (13) who is a Year 9 pupil at Hulme Grammar School, travels to the show at Birmingham’s NEC today with her knitted scarf. She is one of the finalists in the Young Knitter of the Year contest, and created her heather-hued original, trimmed with ostrich feathers, after contestants had to make a piece of knitwear from scratch for their favourite celebrity. Lucy, from Diggle, chose “X-Factor” winning singer Leona Lewis.

The brief was to create a piece of knitwear for the celebrity in the form of a hat, beret, scarf, cowl, snood, gloves, mittens, or socks. Lucy created design boards for judges and was selected as one of the five finalists, and went on to create her scarf. Lucy, who knitted the scarf on size 15 needles, will get into the VIP area at the Clothes Show and hopes to meet celebrity designer Gok Wan.

Her design boards will be on display and the scarf will be modelled on the catwalk.

She will be with a group of 28 textile students from her school taking GCSE and A Levels, and their tutor Mrs Caroline Eliot.