Wool Days Thy: Yarn, landscape and local spirit in Thy

By Signe Hansen | Photos: Wool Days Thy

Set between the Limfjord and the North Sea, Wool Days Thy has quickly established itself as a festival where knitting is only part of the story. Under the direction of Lotte Littau Kjærgaard, the event brings together craft, landscape and local engagement, turning the small town of Hurup Thy into a meeting place for knitters from Denmark and abroad.

In Hurup Thy, yarn has a habit of escaping the exhibition stands. It turns up in shop windows, in art installations along the road, and in conversations between visitors who have come for a weekend of yarn, sea air and community feeling. “My ambition is clear,” says Lotte Littau Kjærgaard. “I want to create Denmark’s most scenic knitting festival – of such high quality that enthusiasts from Denmark and abroad return, year after year.”

To do so, Kjærgaard combines craft with community and stunning nature, while the set-up is professional enough to attract serious exhibitors, skilled teachers and returning guests from both Denmark and abroad. That balance – local in spirit, ambitious in scale – is what gives the festival its character and has enabled it to move from its original location on Fanø to Thy, without losing its audience.

Wool Days Thy: Yarn, landscape and local spirit in Thy

From business success to knitting adventure

The story behind Wool Days Thy thoroughly proves that the world of knitting has no lack of female ambition and drive. In 2000, Kjærgaard co-founded Creativ Company in Holstebro with Peter Nørgaard, building it into one of Europe’s leading creative products businesses. In 2016, she and her business partner sold half their shares, and in 2021, she stepped away from day-to-day operations. By then, the company had grown to around 300 employees – and Kjærgaard was ready for something new.

That new chapter arrived when Fanø Strikkefestival held its final edition in 2023. Having just relocated to Thy with her husband, Kjærgaard promptly contacted the organisers, secured the right to continue the concept, and introduced the first Wool Days Thy in 2024. The response was immediate. Nearly 6,000 visitors came over three days in the first year, exhibitors signed on from the start, and the festival quickly established itself as a visible new cultural event in the area. “The support has been overwhelming,” she says. “From the municipality to local businesses, associations and residents – people have really backed it.”

Wool Days Thy: Yarn, landscape and local spirit in Thy

A community venture

The local backing is visible from the moment visitors arrive. Rather than keeping the festival tucked away in a single venue, Wool Days Thy stretches across Hurup Thy. Hurup Hallerne serves as the main hub for exhibitors, stage events, food and gathering spaces, while workshops and communal dining continue elsewhere in town. Between them runs Garnruten, the decorated route that leads guests from the festival grounds into the centre, past shops, green spaces and knitted installations.

“It’s important to us that Wool Days Thy doesn’t become a closed party down at the festival site,” Kjærgaard says. “We want people to come into town as well.” That is why the streets are dressed for the occasion, and why more than 150 volunteers help shape the experience. They guide visitors, help with logistics and contribute to the sense that this is not simply a festival placed in Hurup Thy, but one woven into the town itself.

Wool Days Thy: Yarn, landscape and local spirit in Thy

The setting strengthens that feeling. Thy is open, wind-cut and slightly severe in the best possible way, with sea, fjord and national park all close enough to influence both mood and programme. Alongside professional exhibitors from Denmark and abroad, the festival offers a packed stage programme with talks, sofa knitting sessions, music, treasure hunt and yarn bingo, while the side programme includes around 30 high-quality workshops led by Danish and international teachers.

For instance, one workshop takes place in Lodbjerg Church, where participants work with knitting inspired by the church interior and the surrounding nature of National Park Thy. Another, held at the historic Lodbjerg Lighthouse, begins with foraging for plant materials before exploring their use in natural yarn dyeing. A third workshop, created with SMK Thy and Naturlandsbyen, includes a tour of the museum’s Living Landscapes collection before participants develop knitting inspired by the colours, shapes and patterns of the art.

Wool Days Thy: Yarn, landscape and local spirit in Thy

Knitting with a wider purpose

That wider sense of purpose also runs through the festival’s charitable project. in 2024, knitters made comfort shawls for SIND. This year, the focus shifts to Mødrehjælpen, with visitors invited to knit small hats that will be displayed during the festival before being passed on through local branches.

The idea is practical, generous and entirely in keeping with the spirit of the event. “It’s important to me to create something that allows more people to help other people through their knitting,” says Kjærgaard. “We have this large platform of engaged knitters, so why not use it to do something good for others as well?”

In that sense, the project says something essential about Wool Days Thy. It is a festival built on the belief that handwork matters – as culture, as community and as a way of partaking in the world.

Wool Days Thy: Yarn, landscape and local spirit in Thy