Tom Daley - Made with Love: Get hooked with 30 knitting and crochet patterns

Without knitting and crochet I wouldnt have won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Now, Im not saying that I couldnt have done it. I have been diving for 20 years and Tokyo was my fourth Olympics. Essentially I have been training for my whole life to win Olympic gold. I have put in an enormous amount of effort and made many sacrifices; it has not been an easy journey, nor one without preparation. However, it was the calmness and focus that knitting provided me when sitting up in the spectator stands between events, that helped to stop my mind spiralling into anxious thoughts and stay present in the moment, aided by the rhythmic movement of the stitches in my hands.

Team Great Knittin

When the photographs of me knitting poolside at the Olympics went viral it felt quite surreal because I was just sitting there doing what I love to do, not thinking about anything or anyone else. I now wonder whether knitting and crochet may have been my secret weapons in that competition. There were no spectators at the event and our families were at home on the other side of the world, so for me, knitting gave me a concentration and a way to pass the time without getting stressed. I loved the fact that, after seeing me knit, other people thought about taking up knitting too and I was happy to be flying the flag for Team Great Knittin!

When people talk to me about knitting or crochet if they dont already knit or crochet themselves, (when they do they will usually get out their latest project to show me!) they often say I would love to do that, but it looks so complicated. I promise you do not need to be a crafting genius or have exceptional dexterity to have a go at knitting or crochet. They are both simply a series of interconnected loops that are formed by a continuous length of yarn (thats just another term for wool, or cotton, or whichever fibre you choose!) using needles or a hook to create a pattern. With a bit of patience and concentration, anyone can do it!

When I first started knitting; I remember I found the hardest part was holding the needles and yarn at the same time as trying to make the stitches I dropped loads along the way. My knitting looked atrocious but I persevered and as my technique improved, I fell in love with the simple joy of the craft. Now I knit in every spare moment I have. It has brought me so much pleasure and allows me to be mindful and focus on the task at hand. If you are focusing on knitting, counting stitches, and creating textures, there is no space for other thoughts to creep in, and it allows me to reset, like meditation. It is also an incredibly creative outlet; your knitting can be whatever you choose it to be and it will always be unique to you. It allows me to step outside of mainstream fast fashion to make my own catwalk-inspired looks that are totally individual to me, and that I know Im going to love and feel amazing wearing.

Knitting and crochet are about much more than just making something new to wear or to gift to a loved one. Every item I have knitted tells a story; from the sweater that I made during the lockdown in 2020 (I was so proud of making something I could actually wear!) to the Olympic cardigan I finished while competing at the games in Tokyo, my projects are filled with colourful memories of the times they were created, literally knitted into every stitch.

How I started

I first picked up a pair of knitting needles after my husband Lance suggested that it might be a good way of relaxing at the poolside during diving training and competitions. During the bigger competitions, there can be a lot of waiting around and, for me, this was when the worries started to take hold. Lance told me that a lot of actors knit during downtime on a film set as a way of taking their minds away from their work. I decided to have a go. At the start of 2020, I watched a YouTube video and then practised on the plane during a long flight to a competition in Canada. I attempted to knit a simple square, but I ended up with a scrap of fabric riddled with holes. It was a disaster! While I was in Montreal, two of the other springboard divers one from Australia and the other from Russia spotted my attempts and both helped me to get started properly. They sat alongside me and taught me the basics and my second effort looked much better. This taught me another lesson about knitting; it is universal and can create a natural trust and ease between crafters.

By the end of that trip, I had made a scarf and I havent looked back since! The year 2020 was a time when many of us were at home working, trying to keep busy or isolating and with pools and training gyms closed, it gave me both the time and opportunity to practise my craft. As an athlete, I am continuously trying to develop and hone my skills. While it would be great to make lots of scarves to wear myself or gift to others, I realised that I wouldnt be progressing with the craft if that was all I made. So with each item I knitted, I tried to learn a new technique or stitch. In doing this, I became more confident in my ability. Through knitting, I found a new challenge, something separate and different to my diving, that allowed me to both switch off from existing worries, and also to keep my brain engaged on an activity. I found that once you begin to understand the mechanics of the stitches, you can make them work for you, find ways to correct mistakes and discover the determination to follow your projects through to the end. Hopefully, resulting in a cool new item of clothing or eye-catching accessory to show off. Not to mention a great sense of achievement and pride.

Since then, I have created hundreds of items for my friends and family, I have launched my own Made with Love knitwear brand, and I have designed and knitted the scarves for my friend, designer Daniel Fletchers AW22 London Fashion Week show. I have also become a part of a really welcoming community of knitters and crocheters. Its such a sociable activity and everyone is so encouraging about each others creations. Its like a safe space of totally different, but like-minded individuals all sharing brilliant colours, amazing designs, and exciting textures. It is a world I knew nothing about until I became a part of it. Now I never want to leave and I want to invite everyone I know to the party!