Zoo gardeners at Paignton are a bunch of knits

Gardeners at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park have been caricatured in wool by a colleague. The knitted figures have been made by cleaner Sue Ball. Each one is about 10 inches tall and stuffed with kapok. So far she has completed five members of the Zoo’s gardens team. The characters are closely observed, with Paignton Zoo uniforms and badges. They also show individuals with familiar items or the tools of their trade. Bill Corner is depicted with a chainsaw and Martin Holt with cream cakes. Mike Phillips is seen checking his hair in a mirror and is dressed in shorts, which he wears all year round, regardless of the temperature. The most complicated figure is John Baxter’s, which is pushing the cleaning machine, complete with vacuum hose and sweeping brush, that he uses to sweep up litter around the 80 acre site.

Sue, from Paignton, has been knitting for 30 years but has previously only made jumpers and scarves for her children when they were small. “This is the first time I’ve made figures. I saw a pattern for a knitted Father Christmas and I thought it looked like one of my colleagues and so I was inspired!”

She started making the characters last year: “It was just something to do!” She spends about an hour and a half each evening on her hobby – one figure takes about a week. She uses 3 millimetre needles and standard double knitting wool. “It’s really quite easy. It’s a simple pattern that I’ve adapted.”