You might have heard of the Fish Creek Tea Cosy Festival, or even the Alice Springs Beanie Festival – but now there’s a new celebration of all things handcrafted from wool: the inaugural Fingers and Toes Festival will kick off in Kyneton later this year.
To run as part of the much-adored Daffodil Festival in September, the Kyneton Handweavers and Spinners Group has come up with an event encouraging people to enter handmade pieces to cover hands and feet – like gloves, mittens, socks, slippers and booties.
Festival co-organiser Annabelle MacDonald said she wanted a unique craft festival all to Kyneton’s own, but didn’t want to pinch anyone else’s ideas.
“We had to have something different… I thought, why can’t we do something, and if we do something during the Daffodil Festival we will have people coming anyway,” she said.
Items crafted by knitting, crocheting, felting or even weaving will be entered into a fun competition, with 24 classes for contestants to enter into. There’s even a novelty class and a children’s class for budding knitters.
Ms MacDonald said the festival was about promoting all things yarn – whether that’s commercial wool, cotton or handspun.
“You could knit a sock or a mitten or a glove in any commercial yarn you like, to keep people encouraged to do these things,” she said.
“We’re going to have a peoples’ choice award too. We want people to come and look [on the day]. It’s not just a competition to enter, it’s going to be displayed in Red Brick Hall too.”
Entries close on August 1, 2023, with items needed by the end of the month, with the festival display to take place on September 2 at Red Brick Hall, Kyneton.
For full and entry forms, email: fingersandtoesfestival@gmail.com .
Elsie Lange
