The Happy Hookers is an informal crochet and knitting group of Belles that meets Monday afternoons from 1:45pm – 3:45pm at Chicken & Frog Bookshop, Crown Street, Brentwood. Cost is £2 to offset room cost.
Occasionally we work on a group project and have donated blankets and other items to charity. We have also been known to yarn bomb locally, but generally we each work on our own individual items.
We have an online Facebook group where we share ideas and photos.
All levels welcome – if you wish to learn to knit or crochet, it’s likely there’ll be someone on hand to help you.
All Belles are welcome. No need to book. We like to knit or crochet for charity projects, so if you have any ideas, please do let us know.
Previous Projects
International Knit in Public Day 2019
Members of The Brentwood Belles WI were delighted to be invited to take part in local community projects for Knit in Public Day, The Brentwood Art Trail and some yarn bombing of a prominent tree outside the local theatre in May 2019.
An ‘Under the sea’ theme was chosen to tie in with the WI campaign, ‘End Plastic Soup’ and to raise awareness of the plight of our oceans. This proved to be very popular and for the last couple of months Belles had been furiously knitting and crocheting all forms of sea life.
Those with more experience tackled complicated patterns and produced characters such as the walrus and the octopus but even beginner knitters got involved by making coral and seaweed.
As a result of all this work, our installation for the Art Trail comprised a tree yarn bombed with all sorts of sea life ranging from fish large and small, to crustaceans, jellyfish, a turtle, a seahorse, a mermaid and even a yellow submarine. It created a very visual display with an important message for all. The Brentwood Belles feel proud to have their work included in the Art Trail and just hoped their installation could withstand the British weather!





Remembrance Day 2018
We knitted and crocheted poppies that were displayed at Bennetts Funeral Directors , Brentwood Theatre, Chicken and Frog Bookshop, and Piccola Toy Shop.


Yarn Bombing in Brentwood
We recently enjoyed creating birds, insects and animals to adorn the tree outside Brentwood Theatre as part of the theatre’s ‘Get Into Arts Festival‘. Well done, everyone, the tree looked amazing!

Bonding Squares for St. Thomas’s Hospital
St Thomas’s hospital have run out of bonding squares on their Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Bonding squares are pairs of 5 inch by 5 inch knitted or crotchet squares (any colour, design, and wool – please do be aware it needs to be washable in a machine for accidental spit up moments). One square is put with the poorly baby, and the other square is with the parent, and then these are swapped over daily. They are so crucial for our little superstar premature babies, our sickly newborns and parents who are separated at such a stressful time.
I’m sure we can all help out on this one. Please give any completed bonding squares to Tricia who will send them to St Thomas’s hospital.
A Slither of Snakes for Alzheimer’s Research

Our latest project is perfect for using up scraps of yarn in your stash. You can knit or crochet a snake that will be sent off to be a part of a record breaking attempt to create the longest ‘slither of snakes’ and to then be sold off to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research. We only have until the end of March but I’m assured the snakes knit or crochet up very fast. You can see pictures of other snakes on the slither of snakes facebook page.
The patterns can be found here: SNAKE KNITTING PATTERN-3 & Crochet Snake Pattern
Refugee Support for Knit for Peace
Last year we made a number of items for refugees. We donated a total of eleven blankets plus hats and scarves to Knit for Peace. In response we received this lovely letter:
I am delighted to say that we have received your wonderful knitted donations. We look forward to delivering the hats, scarves and blankets, as they will undoubtedly make a big difference to those in need. Thank you for your support, we truly appreciate it. Your donations have a great impact on the communities where they are sent, not only do they provide much needed warmth, but the recipients are always so touched by the time and effort that you put into making these items. Thank you once again for your support. We couldn’t do our work without the generosity of knitters like you. For the latest information from Knit for Peace, remember to sign up to our e-newsletter and follow us on Twitter!
Warm wishes from the whole team,
Izzie On behalf of Knit for Peace
Green Hearts
Happy Hookers crocheted green hearts to make bunting in support of the Climate Coalition’s action on climate change for our national Show the Love Campaign on Valentine’s Day. We also knitted squares with a heart motif which were sent to York Knits & Crochets to be made into blankets for flood victims. Find out more on the WI campaign for climate change and our many green heart projects here.
