I honestly don’t know where to start with this blog post! I’ve written about lots of crochet projects over the years, but I don’t think anything will ever quite compare to this one.

After months and months of planning, making poppies, organising, sewing, gluing and bringing hundreds of people together, our Holy Trinity & Community Poppy Project 2026 installation is finally up at Holy Trinity Church in Skipton!

And WOW!!! I am completely blown away by what we’ve achieved!

17,857 red poppies, with an estimated total of over 20,000 handmade poppies in all four colours!

Every single one has been made by someone who wanted to be part of something special, and seeing them all come together has been one of the proudest moments of my life. ❤️

🌺 Where It All Began

This project has been a long time in the making!

What started as an idea to create a beautiful poppy display for Remembrance grew into something far bigger than I could ever have imagined.

We wanted to bring people together to create a tribute at Holy Trinity Church in Skipton, using handmade poppies to remember those who served, suffered and lost their lives through war.

But we needed rather a lot of poppies!!!

So we put out the word, asking people to knit and crochet poppies, and the response was incredible.

Poppies started arriving from people across Skipton, North Yorkshire and the rest of the UK. We even received contributions from further afield, including France and America!

Some people made just one or two, while others made hundreds. Local craft groups, community organisations, care homes, families and individuals all got involved.

We also received thousands of poppies anonymously, so there are people who have helped make this happen whose names we may never know.

By February 2026, we’d already counted more than 10,000 red poppies, and the numbers just kept growing!

It was amazing to see how many people wanted to be part of it.

🧶 From Making Poppies to Building a Community

One of the biggest things to come out of this project has been the wonderful community we’ve created along the way.

We started holding monthly drop-ins at Holy Trinity Church Café, where people could bring their poppies, have a chat and find out how they could help.

As the project grew, we also organised our Big Sew On sessions at Greatwood Community Centre.

And what a lot of sewing we’ve done!!! 😂

Thousands of poppies needed attaching to netting, and it wasn’t a quick job! There were countless hours spent sewing, gluing, sorting colours, cutting netting and preparing all the different pieces.

Our regular volunteers gave up so much of their time, and we had people coming along week after week to help.

We had plenty of laughs, lots of cups of tea and a few stressful moments along the way!

But what I love most is that people who might never have met otherwise have become friends.

It’s become so much more than a project about making poppies. We’ve created a lovely community, and that is something I’m incredibly proud of.

❤️ A Change of Plans!

Of course, a project this size was never going to be completely straightforward!

Our original idea was to create a large poppy cascade, but because Holy Trinity is a Grade I listed building, we had to rethink how everything could be safely displayed.

That meant changing our plans and coming up with a new installation made from several individual pieces.

At the time, it felt like a huge challenge, especially after all the work we’d already done, but looking at the finished installation now, I actually think it worked out beautifully!

Rather than having just one large display, we’ve been able to create something that surrounds the church and continues inside, with lots of different pieces for people to explore.

And every piece has its own meaning.

🌺 Our Poppies and Their Meaning

We used four different poppy colours throughout the installation, each with its own symbolism.

• ❤️ Red poppies remember those who served and died.
• 💜 Purple poppies remember the animals affected by war.
• 🤍 White poppies remember all victims of war and represent a hope for peace.
• 💙 Blue poppies represent the French Bleuet de France, a symbol of remembrance and solidarity.

Together, these colours create a tribute to remembrance, gratitude, love and hope.

And now for a closer look at what we’ve created!

🌺 The Veil of Tears

One of the most striking parts of our installation is the Veil of Tears.

Large handmade poppy tears hang from the church tower and along the building, creating a beautiful display that can be seen from around the church.

Each tear has been covered in handmade red poppies, representing remembrance and reflection.

These pieces took so much time to prepare, and seeing them finally hanging from the church was just incredible!

❤️ Fisher Gate Panels and Swags

Another huge part of the project was creating the displays for Fisher Gate.

We made large poppy-covered panels along with two enormous swags, each measuring 12 metres long!

Just imagine how many poppies needed sewing onto those!

These were some of the pieces that kept our Big Sew On volunteers particularly busy, and I think everyone was relieved when the last few poppies were finally attached! 😂

Seeing them installed across Fisher Gate was such a proud moment.

🌺 The Field of Poppies

This has to be one of the most impressive parts of the whole installation!

Our Field of Poppies is the largest piece, covering an area of up to 25 metres by 15 metres, filled with thousands upon thousands of handmade red poppies.

And right at the front is a giant poppy made from smaller poppies!

We also included something very special within the field.

Poppies from wreaths laid at Skipton Cenotaph over the previous two years were reused to create three-dimensional remembrance poppies.

I love that we’ve been able to give these poppies another purpose and include them in our community tribute.

Standing back and seeing the field laid out in front of Holy Trinity Church was quite overwhelming.

All those individual poppies, made by so many different hands, finally together in one place.

🌺 The 3D Remembrance Poppies

Another special part of our Field of Poppies is the 3D Remembrance Poppies.

These were created using poppies from wreaths that had been laid at Skipton Cenotaph over the last two years.

Rather than letting these poppies go to waste, we wanted to give them a new purpose and include them in our installation.

They’ve been transformed into beautiful 3D poppies and placed throughout the Field of Poppies, adding another lovely detail to the display.

I think it’s particularly special that poppies which have already been used to remember those who lost their lives are now part of this new tribute. ❤️🌺

💙🤍 The Cascades Inside the Church

The displays don’t stop outside!

Inside Holy Trinity, we have beautiful blue and white poppy cascades representing remembrance, peace and hope.

These provide a lovely contrast to the thousands of red poppies outside.

It’s been wonderful to see the different colours and displays come together throughout the church.

💜 The Purple Poppy Curtain

One of our indoor pieces is the Purple Poppy Curtain, displayed around the font.

Purple poppies remember the animals affected by war, including the many horses, dogs and other animals that served alongside people.

It was important to us that they were remembered as part of the installation too.

🌺 The Sedilia and Remembrance Wreath

In the Sedilia, we’ve displayed four colourful poppy cones, each representing one of the different poppy colours and their meanings.

They’re such lovely pieces and bring all four colours together in one display.

We also have a beautiful handmade remembrance wreath featuring red, purple, white and blue poppies.

This was kindly made and donated by Nicky Shoesmith, and it’s a lovely addition to the installation.

❤️ 100 Years of Remembrance

Another special piece on display is our 100 Years of Remembrance Blanket.

This is a 100-square blanket created by myself and Jenny Watson to celebrate 100 years of the Royal British Legion.

It’s lovely to have this included alongside the other displays, especially with the Royal British Legion being such an important part of Remembrance.

🌺 Add Your Own Poppy of Remembrance

We also wanted visitors to have the opportunity to become part of the installation.

Inside the church, we’ve created a Remembrance Frame where people can add their own poppy in memory of someone special.

Every poppy is a personal tribute, helping our community bloom in remembrance.

Donations made through this part of the installation will go to The Royal British Legion.

I think this is such a lovely way for people to take a moment to remember someone who means something to them.

❤️ Friday 6th November 2026. Installation Day!

After all those months of preparation, the day we’d been working towards finally arrived!

On Friday 6th November, our installation went up at Holy Trinity Church.

There were so many people involved in getting everything into place, and it was amazing to see all the different pieces we’d been working on finally come together.

I don’t think any of us quite realised just how incredible it was going to look until we stood back and saw it all!

Then, on Saturday 7th November, we held a short Service of Dedication at Holy Trinity, followed by a group photograph in the churchyard.

The lovely Malcolm Stoney came along to photograph the installation and some of the people who helped create it.

And that group photo is particularly special to me.

It’s only a small number of the hundreds of people who have helped make this project possible, but it captures something wonderful.

A community coming together.

❤️ A Huge Thank You!

Where do I even begin?!

I honestly don’t think there are enough words to describe how humbled, overwhelmed and incredibly proud I am of everyone who has helped with this project.

Hundreds of people from Skipton and beyond have contributed, and every single person has played a part.

To everyone who knitted or crocheted poppies, posted them to us, donated wool, helped sew and glue, attended our Big Sew Ons, worked behind the scenes, donated materials or helped with the installation, THANK YOU!

A huge thank you to our wool sponsors, local businesses and organisations who have supported us throughout the project.

Thank you to Holy Trinity Church Café and Greatwood Community Centre for providing spaces where we could meet and work together.

And thank you to Rev Doug and everyone who helped us bring the installation together.

I also want to give a special thank you to Jill Malony, Ruth Garner and my mum, Christine Wilson.

We’ve spent so much time planning, organising, sorting things out and trying to work out how on earth we were going to get everything finished!

We’ve had plenty of laughs, a few stressful moments and lots of problem solving, but we got there in the end!

I honestly couldn’t have done it without you three. ❤️

And finally, a massive thank you to my amazing family for supporting me 100% throughout this whole journey. I know how much time and energy this project has taken, and I couldn’t have done it without their support.

🥰 And We’re Not Stopping Here!!!

Now, this is something I’m really excited about!

One of the best things to come out of the Poppy Project is the lovely community we’ve created here in Skipton.

People have made new friends, found somewhere to meet regularly and become part of something special.

And none of us wants that to end!

We’ve already organised a Christmas lunch together, and we’ll soon be getting together to brainstorm ideas for our next community project.

Our plan is to start something new in January 2027!

We’ll also be continuing with two community meet-ups every month, and everyone is welcome to join us.

You don’t need to have helped with the Poppy Project, and you certainly don’t need to be an experienced crocheter or knitter.

It’s about bringing people together, learning new things, making friends and hopefully creating something wonderful for our community again.

Who would have thought that making a few poppies could lead to all this?!

🌺 Every Poppy Represents a Life

Throughout this whole journey, one thing has always remained at the heart of everything we’ve done.

Every poppy represents a life.

Behind all the thousands of handmade poppies is a message of remembrance, gratitude and respect for those who served, suffered and lost their lives through war.

On Remembrance Sunday, 8th November 2026, seeing Skipton come together to remember made everything we’d worked towards feel even more meaningful.

I’m so proud to have been part of this project, and even prouder of the amazing community that made it happen.

To everyone who has helped, whether you made one poppy or hundreds, whether you live in Skipton or sent your poppies from miles away, please know that you are part of this.

We did it!!! ❤️🌺

And I can’t wait to see what we create together next!

Lest we forget.

Helen x ❤️