Today, October 14, a new Ukrainian record for the largest knitted flag was set near Catherine’s Church in Chernihiv.
This was reported by Suspilne.
30.54 m long and 20.20m wide, the flag had been knitted by nearly 350 women from all over Ukraine and abroad for the past four months.
It all started with the idea of the members of the Charivnytsia Dobra charitable foundation to knit plaids in yellow and blue colors for children from boarding schools and orphanages. Later, they decided to sew them all together into a flag.
“The idea of patriotic colors inspired me and we decided not just to make plaids, but to combine them. To unite all knitters in Ukraine, to try to do it, because everyone was depressed, in tears, in grief,” says Alyona Rozumienko, the founder of the “Charivnytsia Dobra” charity.
“Everybody started knitting – some a square, some a plaid – and they started sending them to us. All of Ukraine knitted stuff, except for Crimea, unfortunately. We also received plaids from Poland, Italy, France, Germany, and even Canada,” said Anna Rybalko, a member of the charitable foundation.
Knitted scraps for the flag were handed over even from the occupied territories.
“The girl, who passed through the volunteers the squares for the flag, had sewn them into a man’s T-shirt, then the T-shirt – into a pillowcase, so it was all packed there. She was very worried that if someone found the flag with the yellow and blue squares, the package would never make it. But we got them so these squares are here somewhere, so this girl is with us. Kherson region is with us,” says Olena Savycheva, a member of the charitable foundation.
According to Vitaly Zorin, an expert with the National Register of Records, there are many records of Ukraine dedicated to the national flag. But it was in Chernihiv that they were able to deliver another, knitted achievement.
“This achievement, first of all, is not about centimeters or meters. This achievement is, first of all, about perseverance, because we received this application from Alyona, the main organizer, back in the spring, almost at the height of hostilities in our regions. It’s not only wool’s warmth that blows from the flag, but also the warmth of all those hearts that have held knitting needles in their hands for months.”
Soon they want to weigh it and fix another Ukrainian record for the heaviest flag because it is believed to weigh over 200 kg.
After that, it will be divided into parts and a smaller flag will be made, which will be left in Chernihiv. Plaids will be made of the remaining fabric. Some of them will be given to children from different regions of Ukraine: families of IDPs and boarding schools. The organizers intend to sell the other part of the plaids and transfer the money to the Armed Forces.
