Christmas knitters are helping to boost a business in the district.

Little Sew ’n’ sews in High Street, Epping, is benefitting from the popularity of knitting in the run-up to Christmas.

The shop stocks thousands of knitting patterns and balls of wool as well as soft toys, sewing kits and ready knitted items.

The most popular patterns in the run-up to Christmas are those for festive jumpers, scarves and, this year, coats for dogs.

Shop manager Trevor Krueger said: “About 70 or 80 per cent of knitters do it to make something for someone else as a present.

“A lot of customers come in with someone who knits and pick out their wool and the pattern they want.”

In December the shop sees its income spike by about 30 per cent due to the demand for warm clothing and presents.

Mr Krueger added: “It’s good to see older knitters passing their skills on to the younger generation.

“It’s important for people to keep these things alive.

“We get a few schoolgirls in here and I tend to start them off on a shoulder bag made from old jeans.

“It’s fairly simple to make and the pockets are already in them.”

It’s not just women who knit and the shop sees a lot of men come in too.

Mr Krueger said: “One customer wanted to knit a scarf in the same colours of his rugby team.

“He’s pretty handy actually. He does a few jumper patterns as well.”

Little Sew ‘n’ Sews’ wool prices range from £1.99 to £8 for 10g dependent on the quality and mix.

Mr Krueger said: “It can be cheaper and quicker to make your own bespoke item rather than ordering online.

“A sweater might take three or four weeks to knit yourself but you can wait for up to six weeks for a company to do the same.”