Brighid's Cloak
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I thought it would be a fun idea to start a yearly project of creating a Brighid's cloak here at Ord Brighideach. How we would go about it would be for anyone interested to crochet or knit 5" x 5" squares using either green or blue yarn, and then mailing them to Tracy in order for her to sew them all together for Imbolc Eve.
On Imbolc Eve, she will hang the cloak out on a tree in her yard so that when Brighid passes by she will bless it. Then on Imbolc she will draw a name from all of our members and the winner will receive the cloak in the mail as a special gift for being a part of Ord Brighideach and honoring our lady with tending to her flame. It is said that by hanging a 'Bratog Bride' out on Imbolc Eve, it can then be used for healing throughout the year, this special cloak that we will be creating will serve the same purpose. (Lets try to stay away from actual wool yarn, just in case someone may have an allergy to it.) If your not familiar with the story of Brighid's cloak I definitely recommend you to head on over to our story page and read it. Non-members are welcome to join in with this creation. For those that would like to submit squares they have created please email Tracy for her address [email protected]. (Within the next few months I will be including sample patterns here to help those that were unable to make them without one previously.) |
Artwork by Bette Dickinson
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A sample of squares that was used for our 2023 cloak. Tracy both knitted and crocheted these. There is no specific pattern. Have fun with it, be creative. All that is asked, is that they are 5" x 5" and have the shades of green and/or blue in them. |
"It was such a delight to carry on the tradition of creating a cloak for the second year in a row. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the size of the cloak had doubled from last year, despite having one less person contributing.
I thoroughly enjoyed putting the squares together this year and even added a thicker border. The end product turned out to be absolutely gorgeous. This year, Lara was the lucky winner and her gratitude was truly heartwarming. I am eagerly looking forward to seeing what next year will bring. "What a joy it was to continue the tradition for our 2nd year of creating a cloak. I was amazed that we doubled the size from last year, even though we had one less person that contributed. I am excited to see what next year will bring. |
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I was so pleased with how this beautiful cloak turned out. We only had a handful of people that participated in making the squares, yet we still were able to achieve something so beautiful.
Once I sewed all of the squares together I crocheted a border around the cloak in order to truly bring it all together perfectly. This cloak was sent to our member Maria and she was beyond grateful to have been the lucky winner. |
The Inspiration Behind This ProjectOne of our members shared the following post and pictures in our Facebook group:
St. Bridget's Cloak A feature of the Kildare Yarn Bomb 22 - who have described the process of creating the cloak. So back in March the Kildare Yarn Bombers asked folks to knit or crochet some green squares – with the ambitious aim of creating a St. Bridget's Cloak of green. The squares (in many shades of green) which make up this St. Bridget's Cloak were individually made by 300 volunteers from all over the country & others from further afield. This giant collaboration took four months to put together & over 600 green squares were then assembled into the cloak by Allison Whyte of Whytes Fabrics Then Allison decided to crochet the saint herself - sure why not have a Saint to accompany the cloak! Debbie Smith then crocheted some sheep & they are placed on the cloak which is arranged to reflect the rolling hills & hollows of the Curragh Plains. So the Kildare Yarn Bombers have now set-up a display comprising of St. Bridget, her cloak, both accompanied by some crocheted sheep – and all of this with the support & co-operation of Whitewater Shopping Centre here in Newbridge. The Yarn Bomb folks have chosen the charity Kildare & West Wicklow Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals K.W.W.S.P.C.A. – there are donation jars in Whyte’s Fabrics shop located on Cutlery Road here in Newbridge or via the Yarn Bombers GoFundMe page @ https://gofund.me/bc48ab1b Fair play to all involved with creating, positioning & designing the 2022 Yarn Bomb for us all here in Newbridge - thank you all for your community spirit, dedication, volunteerism and above all for your creativity .... tá comhghairdeas tuillte ag gach duine. |
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