A Canberra knitting group that has kept hundreds of the city’s most vulnerable people warm through freezing winters is now calling on the public for help – in the form of wool.

The Brindabella Trefoil Guild, a group of dedicated knitters of all ages, has ramped up its efforts over the past year through an annual winter charity event known as the Beanie Big Good Turn.

What began as a small, informal project knitting beanies for St Vincent de Paul’s night van clients has grown into a major community undertaking, with nearly 1100 handmade items donated this year.

But after this month’s record contribution – 979 beanies, 46 fingerless gloves, 40 scarves and two pairs of slippers – the group’s wool stash is all but gone.

“We’re now asking for donations of 8-ply wool or good quality acrylic yarn so we can continue knitting until 31 August, when we will hand over the extra beanies we have received,” says Christine Brill, the driving force behind the group.

“After this date – and please keep knitting and donating wool to us – we will start stockpiling for our 2026 event.”

More than 30 knitters gathered in early June to finish off the financial year’s donations, working away over bowls of soup and donated bread rolls from Three Mills Bakery.

Representatives from St Vincent de Paul, St John’s Care, and Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services attended the event to collect the winter goods.

The charities receiving the items all work directly with people sleeping rough or living in poverty, many of whom are without heating or secure housing during Canberra’s bitter winters.

“There but for fortune go so many of us,” Ms Brill said.

“The least we can do is make life a little more comfortable for our fellow travellers.”

Lyn Hanley from the Brindabella Trefoil Guild showing how it’s done when it comes to knitting beanies. Photo: Christine Brill.

The group chooses to knit primarily with genuine wool because it’s warmer and longer-lasting.

“We only make things we’d be happy to wear ourselves,” she added.

“And we make it clear to the charities that these items are never to be sold. They go directly to people in need.”

Ms Brill has been knitting since before she went to school.

“My grandfather … would get wooden skewers from the pot roast and smooth them off and varnish them … he taught me to knit as a four-year-old.”

Since turning the beanie-making into a formal project last year, her group’s output has grown rapidly – from 600 items in the first year to nearly 1100 this year.

With bigger targets already set for 2026, the group will continue stockpiling through the warmer months.

Wool donations can be dropped off at the electorate offices of ACT senators Katie Gallagher and David Pocock, who have set up collection boxes.

The group is working to set up an additional drop-off point in Tuggeranong and donors can also arrange direct pickups with Ms Brill on 0407 123 670.

“The real tragedy is is that we need them,” she said.

“There’s too many people out there in these freezing temperatures and it’s a societal problem we need to come to grips with, I think.”