Irthlingborough dresses for Christmas as knitted toppers and yarn art laid across the town

Irthlingborough WI and Methodist Church welcomed December by decorating the town with yarn ornaments and post box toppers, bringing a splash of festive flavour as Christmas inches closer.

Local children from Irthlingborough Junior School, Irthlingborough Nursery and Infant School and Huxlow Academy all joined in on December 1 to bring colour to the High Street.

Ethan Hopkinson, mayor of the town, also joined the town’s WI for the occasion.

He said: “I’d like to say thank you to the ladies from Irthlingborough WI for another spectacular display which will brighten up our High Street over the festive period.”

Some of the covers were given to local schools and youth groups for them to decorate, making it an activity involving all generations of the town.

The Methodist Church also got to work laying a series of seven post box toppers, having been lovingly created by the church’s administrator, Wendy Sturgess. They each display a pivotal scene in the Christmas nativity story, which could be seen in sequence with a trail around the town.

In addition, members and friends of the church knitted or crocheted more than 500 angels, which were placed on the fence at Parson’s Green in the centre of town on December 1. People were invited to take one home with them, and soon after all had found a new home.

‘Yarn bombing’ has risen in popularity over the last few years, serving as a sustainable, and removable form of street art.

In Northamptonshire, events like the Coronation, Remembrance, and Christmas have prompted locals to get creative.