Tostock welcomes crochet group’s giant nutcracker to village green

A towering 7ft nutcracker has taken pride of place on a village green thanks to months of dedicated work by a crochet group.

Led by Sarah Reader, the team of 18 ladies spent eight months crafting their latest woolly masterpiece which was recently installed on the village green in Tostock.

Sarah said she had the idea to start creating the Christmas sculptures in 2022 which started with the creation of a 13ft tree, followed by a giant gingerbread house in 2023 — and now the festive trio is complete with its latest addition.

She said: “We’re really pleased with how it has turned out.

“I just drew a picture of how I thought it could look, so its amazing to see it come to life.

“I know one of our members Lisa worked really hard on the face, he looks fantastic - I think the face really makes it.

“It really was a group effort, everyone got involved.”

The group started the project by crocheting 320 squares to make the nutcracker’s body and after creating his arms and finishing the face, the wool was attached to a frame and base which was constructed by an engineer in the village.

Sarah believes around 20 balls of wool were required for the sculpture and she has had great feedback from the community so far — with some even driving out to Tostock to have a look at the design which features 10 hidden mice for visitors to spot.

To complement the nutcracker, Lisa Bright also crafted two themed postbox toppers which tell the classic story of the Nutcracker Prince.

Though the nutcracker marks the groups third consecutive Christmas sculpture, Sarah says it is up to the other group members if they make any more for next year.

“I think it looks quite nice with just three, but it’s a group decision,” she said. “We’ll have to wait and see about next year.”