Knitting Us Together: 67 Blankets

Three years earlier Zelda la Grange, Madiba’s former trusted assistant, had set a challenge for Carolyn Steyn to sew or crochet 67 blankets for Mandela Day. Carolyn reached out to her friends for help and the 67 Blankets movement had begun.

In the first year Absa employees participated, they produced an admirable 47 blankets. It was a charitable endeavour – these blankets would go to those in need – but there was something about the process of hand-making blankets, of sharing tips and stories, of sitting together and working on squares that would be joined to form a common project. The idea caught on, and colleagues took notice. The following year Absa employees knitted 800 blankets. By 2018 the community of “KnitWits” and “Happy Hookers” (for those that choose to crochet), doubled their output: 1 600 blankets.  Participation has continued to increase and 2021 saw 2 800 blankets being made.

Why did the idea catch on? A cynic will tell you that it’s cheaper to buy a blanket that’s been mass produced. Why waste time and money for the same result? The answer is that clearly, it’s not the same result. This is a process that changes people. It captures a realisation that the ability to be a force for good is in our hands. And it creates powerful connections.

Here’s an example: The first year that 67 Blankets became a bank-wide initiative, the 67 Blankets ambassador in our Sandton office would find, every morning, a knitted square on her desk. This carried on for weeks, with no clue as to the identity of the knitter. Finally the time came to join all the knitted squares, and the next morning there was a note alongside the square. It was from one of the night-shift cleaning staff, saying how much she’d enjoyed the process. The following year the team taught her how to make a full blanket. She clearly had a talent for it. By the third year she’d begun making and selling a range of knitted gear in her community – beanies, blankets, sweaters.

Another example: an employee told us that she loved knitting but found the process emotional. When she was young, knitting had been a school activity. All the other kids got help from their mothers, but her mother had struggled with mental health and wasn’t able to help her. The other kids would bring in perfectly knitted squares and she’d get in trouble for her roughly made pieces. Knitting the 67 Blankets squares reminded her of this painful time. What she decided to do was visit her mom, who was living in a care home at that stage, and finish the blanket with her. They sat and her mom helped her to assemble it. It became a process of healing and reconciliation with the pain of the past.

There are hundreds of these stories, of connections made and lives changed – sometimes in a small way, but always in a significant way. 67 Blankets knits people together as well as yarn, if you’ll excuse the pun.

By 2019 we were in full swing. We set up knitting corners across our offices where staff could knit or crochet, or learn to do so, or contribute wool or a coffee, or simply enjoy the spectacle and the conversation. That year we knitted together the 2 430m² World’s Biggest Banking Blanket! That’s the equivalent of a blanket the size of almost ten tennis courts, being stitched together! The following year, as COVID-19 struck, we expected the project to take a hiatus. But people’s need for connections was stronger than ever, and we made 2 000 blankets, couriering wool to people’s houses and finished blankets to the 67 Blankets team for distribution.

This year we’ve set ourselves our biggest challenge to date. Before the end of November, we want to knit 6 700 blankets to celebrate the enduring strength of Nelson Mandela’s spirit and legacy. It’s not just an internal Absa initiative anymore: friends, family, community centres, care facilities, safe houses, schools, old-age homes and groups of good-hearted people across the country are pulling together. We’re well on our way to our goal.

We want you to join us! We’ve set up a cosy knitting corner at Fourways Mall in Johannesburg, which is where the finished blankets will be displayed from 8 July before they’re distributed. Come and chat with us – even if you’ve never knitted a stitch you’re welcome. If you knit at home you can bring your blanket in to be counted. If you just want to donate wool that’s also wonderful – Absa has sponsored R12 of every ball of wool, so you can buy a ball for the project at just R10. Fourways Mall will have a designated blanket drop-off zone until end of August.

As the blankets come in, from colleagues, friends, and supporters across the country, they form a burst of colour and love that will transform Fourways Mall. It’s a transformation that those who have been swept up in this project recognise well. It’s the same change that we feel when we look at what we’ve created together over the years – a community.