Prisoners boost confidence with needlework class

Hard men serving time in Limerick prison are finding new confidence by taking up knitting and sewing lessons.

Needlework of a totally different type associated with prisons is also creating more contentment among the inmates, according to prison staff.

Their handiwork is set to go on display at the Knitting & Stitching Show at the RDS in Dublin next month.

The show attracts up to 25,000 people and is the premier crafting, knitting, crochet, and quilting exhibition in this country.

Paula Rafferty has been teaching crafts in Limerick Prison for the past 15 years and said up to 20 quilts made by prisoners will go on display at the RDS.

“Most of the work done by the prisoners is for family and friends,” said Ms Rafferty. “I help the guys to make ‘Hello Kitty’ cushions for their daughters, and a wide range of gifts and birthday presents for their wives and partners.

“The lads love it and find it very therapeutic and it has also been found very acceptable in the prison, by all the prisoners.

“They find doing this kind of work relaxes them and they really enter into the skill and challenges of making the items.”

One teenage prisoner, said Ms Rafferty, had never made anything with his hands in his life: “He was always told he was useless. He made a cushion with a bit of help and it took three hours. The confidence that it gave him was unreal. He was really thrilled and gave him a totally new feeling of self-esteem and that he could do things, beyond his wildest dreams.”

She said that a growing number of prisoners are now engaging in crafts. “They find the craft room an oasis of calm and love it,” said Ms Rafferty. “Some of the exhibits going to the Dublin show are group pieces and seven were made by a prisoner on his own.

“Lots of the prisoners are very gifted with their hands, but failed to engage with the traditional educational system in prison.

&“Most of the work the men do is not exhibited. It is for family or friends. Many of these men make pieces for a child’s birthday or a partner’s anniversary.

“We also make pieces for Crumlin for their heart children and some of the men take Fetac exams.”