'Crochet kindness helped honour my friend's memory'

Olivia Dieterich used the art of crochet to share random acts of kindness after losing a close friend to suicide

After losing her friend to suicide, Olivia Dieterich said she also lost her "sense of purpose".

She met her friend through group therapy sessions nine years ago and they went on to become close friends.

Olivia said her friend had a long history of mental health issues and took her own life in April 2018, aged 26.

While dealing with the grief of this loss, Olivia, found comfort in the art of crochet - a coping mechanism she learned as a teenager.

The 29-year-old began making crochet flowers and leaving them in public spaces for people to find, inspiring random acts of kindness.

A Facebook group Olivia started called Random Acts of Crochet Kindness now has more than 364,000 followers.

Followers and fellow crocheters create their own pieces for others to find, often with a label leading people to the group and allowing them to share a photograph of their finds and how it might have positively impacted their day.

She released a book of crocheting patterns on Tuesday for others to try in memory of her late friend - who the BBC has left anonymous.

The crochet pieces are left in public spaces for people to find

Speaking about the loss of the her friend, Olivia, from Loughborough, Leicestershire, said: "It was the worst grief - the most painful thing I've ever gone through and it just sent me into a bit of a haze."

She decided, as personal challenge, to crochet a flower every day for 100 days and leave them outside for strangers to find.

"I was finding it really hard to look after myself, to think about how I was feeling but I still wanted to make a positive impact on other people's days," Olivia said.

"I realised quite quickly how strong the impact was that I was having through the Random Acts of Crochet Kindness [page] and that was the thing that kept me going."

'Honouring her memory'

Olivia said she learned to crochet when she was 16, after struggling with self harm, and "fell in love" with the craft.

"It was something that kept me going," she said.

Now, her Facebook group is a "source of joy, of happiness and connection" for others, she added.

Olivia said she hoped to keep growing her online community and work with mental health charities going forward.

"I think it's helped me to honour her [friend's] memory - she was an incredible person," she added.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please visit the BBC Action Line.