Knitters make 12ft Remembrance Week poppy dress

The dress is made up of almost 2,000 poppies, which took about 1,000 hours to knit

A dress made entirely of woollen poppies has been created by a group of knitters to mark Remembrance Week.

The dress, which features a 12ft (8m) long train, was made using 175 balls of wool and took Ripon Community Poppy Project volunteers at least 1,000 hours to knit.

The striking red garment will be modelled by soprano singer Charlotte Potter at a Remembrance concert in Ripon Cathedral on 6 November, but in the meantime it is on display in a shop window in the city's marketplace.

Hazel Barker, from the group of volunteers, said she was "very proud of all the ladies who have knitted all year round" to create the dress, which in total took about five weeks of work to complete.

The women have knitted several creations over the years, including a life-sized tank for D-Day commemorations.

Pictured from the left, Hazel Barker, Carol Dunkley and Edna Plunkett spent hours putting the dress together

Ms Barker, who heads most of the group's knitting projects, said about 2,000 poppies were featured in the design of the Remembrance dress.

"I haven't done it on my own, other people have helped," she explained.

"But it has been in my house and every spare minute I've been sewing poppies on."

She added: "I'm very proud of all the ladies who have knitted all year round and just kept steadily knitting away, even though it was Easter, summer - not thinking of Remembrance time."

Stuart Martin, who helped organise the project, said the idea for the dress originally came about a year ago when a similar one was spotted in Wales.

"We were hoping to borrow theirs but we couldn't for various reasons, so the ladies and I decided we'd make one of our own," he said.

"I know my limitations, so I keep well away from them when they're knitting and sewing things together.

"But this is a fantastic achievement from the ladies and I'm incredibly proud of everybody that's been involved in it."

The volunteers have previously been honoured with the King's Award for Voluntary Service

Joining Ms Barker on an evening was Carol Dunkley, who would regularly drop in to sew a few more poppies on.

"I don't think I've got a favourite [project] because everything we do is something new," she said.

"So, be it the cycling jerseys, the tank, the gritter, whatever we've done, even for the Queen's Jubilee, the King's coronation, we just go from project to project."

The group has previously been honoured with the King's Award for Voluntary Service - the equivalent of an individual being appointed MBE.

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