They are creating a large-scale installation of knit and crochet poppies to drape over the museum's or memorial's exterior. The Crochet Poppy Project is an excellent opportunity for the community to collaborate on an art installation for National Aboriginal Day or Remembrance Day. It is a symbol within Commonwealth countries that poppies are used to commemorate the military personnel who died in wars. They are not typically used in the United States, but some also use poppies for personal reasons.
In Canada, there are two days of recognition.
- November 8th - National Aboriginal Day
- November 11th - Remembrance Day - Canada
- November 11th - Veterans Day - USA
The poppies take about 7 minutes to make.
We have two patterns. The first is the newest pattern, with updated information about building an installation and a pattern to follow. The second pattern is the original pattern.
Megan McHugh, Nova Scotia, provided extra photography from our local exhibit. Group is the Annapolis Valley's Four Season Fibre Group Poppy Initiative 2023. Placed in the Kentville Museum, Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada.
In This Article
- Permission Required
- Applications for Poppy Donations
- Current 2025 Requests for Help
- 3 Ways to Submit Poppies
- Legion Branch 140 (2 Cenotaphs)
- Drop Locations
- Mail Locations
- Updated 2025 Crochet Poppy Pattern
- Yarn
- Abbreviations
- Crochet Diagram
- Poppy Tutorial
- Original 2018 Pattern
- Abbreviations
- Requests for Submissions 2025
- More Ideas
- Tutorial
Permission Required
Before starting this project, get permission from the Royal Canadian Legion in your region.
Requesting the use of the Poppy. The Legion has granted organizations, communities, and individuals permission to use the Poppy symbol for various initiatives focusing on remembrance. Anyone wishing to use the Poppy symbol can request authorization as outlined below. What is required to request use of the Poppy: Contact information for the individual or organization making the request A description of how and where the Poppy will be used or displayed (attach a draft design of image placement or size, if applicable) An explanation of why the Poppy usage is requested An indication of what period the Poppy will be used or displayed A disclosure, if intended for use on a product, of the selling cost of the item and a projection of the expected profit to be made If approved, 100% of the proceeds of sales must be given to the Legion Poppy Trust Fund.
You can find out more here or at your local legion branch. https://legion.ca/remembrance/the-poppy/the-poppy-trademark
Applications for Poppy Donations
This is a reusable installation. If you have received permission and want help donating poppies, we can post about your group.
We gladly accept applications if you would like your group's work in the call, asking for contributions to help fill the exhibit. This application will have you listed in this article for the 2025 collections to be displayed. To apply, leave a message on the blog below:
We will need to verify your request before we officially list it. Please leave the following information:
- Name of Contact Person
- Email of Contact Person
- Address and Name of Location Where Exhibit will Be Displayed
- A Mailing Address Where People Can Send Poppies
- Address of the Drop Off Location for Those Who May Be Local
- Colours with Value Yarn Needed. For example, Red Heart Super Saver Hot Red, Cherry Red and others you may have in mind.
- Timeframe of When All Poppies Need to be Submitted
- When the Display Will Be Set Up and For How Long
Current 2025 Requests for Help
Claire Laporte is spearheading an exhibit of poppies to be displayed at the 4,400-square-foot Cenotaph in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada. The cenotaph is at 3850 Lakeshore Blvd West, Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada.
A cenotaph is a monument to someone buried elsewhere, especially commemorating people who died in a war.
They are looking for different tinges of red to give the illusion of the display in motion. The display will be incorporated with the cenotaph on the side of the building.
3 Ways to Submit Poppies
Mail: Legion 101 Longbranch, 3850 Lakeshore Blvd West, Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada. M8W-1R3
Drop off at the legion at the same address as the mail.
Drop Off at Spin Me A Yarn Store at 2855 Lakeshore Blvd West, Etobicoke, Ontario.
Deadline for last submissions to be determined.
Legion Branch 140 (2 Cenotaphs)
The Royal Canadian Legion is doing two cenotaphs for 2025. One is located in Clinton, Ontario. The other town, Bayfield, doesn't have a legion, but this legion is stepping in to help out this town.
Both Cenotaphs are looking to make a blanket draping to adorn the Cenotaphs. Both cenotaphs are scheduled to be draped from the last Friday of October 2025 to November 18th.
Drop Locations
You can drop off poppies at the Clinton Town Hall, located at 23 Albert Street, or the Royal Canadian Legion in Clinton, Ontario. The Legion will be constructing both in Clinton.
Contact is Angela Smith. Email is cic@centralhuron.com
Mail Locations
If you want to mail in a donation for poppies, you can do so at:
Town of Clinton
23 Albert Street, Box 400,
Clinton, Ontario N0M-1L0
Canada
The last deliveries are to be made by September 1st, 2025.
Updated 2025 Crochet Poppy Pattern
A decent-sized memorial exhibit requires upwards of 1,000 to 2,500 poppies, depending on the mesh size and how much you want it to drape. See this free PDF for more information on how many you will need.
Yarn
Red Heart Super Saver, 198 g/7 oz, 333 meters/364 yards
- A - Black
- B - Cherry Red
Hook: 5 mm / H/8
Gauge: 14 sc and 15 rows = 4” [10 cm]
Size: 5” x 5” across petals
Abbreviations
- Beg = Begin(ning)
- Ch(s) = Chain(s)
- Dc = Double crochet
- Rep = Repeat
- Sc = Single crochet
- Sk = Skip
- St(s) = Stitch(es)
How Many Poppies Can Be Made with 1 ball of Red Heart Super Saver?
- Black = 2 grams / 0.07 oz per poppy = approx 99 poppies per ball
- Red = 6 grams / 0.21 per poppy = approx 33 poppies per ball
In a mesh that is 6 feet wide x 1 foot, there are approximately 34 poppies. The building shown has approximately 750 poppies on both netting drapes. The weight is about 6.8 kg or 15 lbs each.
Notes:
- All ends of the black and red have tail ends of 10” to fasten to the netting. Each poppy will have 4 long 10” tails to affix to netting.
- Ch 2 at the beginning of rounds don’t count as st.
Leaving 10” long tail before the slip knot. With A, ch 2.
1st rnd: 12 dc in 2nd ch from hook. Join with sl st to first dc. Break A leaving 10” long tail. 12 dc.
2nd rnd: With B, join with sl st to top of first dc. Ch 2. 2 dc in each dc around. Join with sl st to beg dc. 24 dc.
3rd rnd: Ch 2. 2 dc in each of the first 4 dc. *1 sc in next 2 dc, 2 dc in each of the next 4 dc. Rep from * around to the third last st. 1 sc in last 2 sts. Join with sl st to beg dc. 40 sts.
4th rnd: Ch 2. 1 dc in first 3 dc. 2 dc in next 2 dc. 1 dc in next 3 dc. *1 sc in next 2 sc. 1 dc in next 3 dc. 2 dc in next 2 dc. 1 dc in next 3 dc. Rep from * around until 3rd last st. 1 sc in last 2 sts. Sl st to the first dc. Fasten off. 48 sts.
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Crochet Diagram
Poppy Tutorial
Original 2018 Pattern
Using Cherry Red or bright red with black yarn. Leave the tails to be 10" long so they can tie them to the mesh netting. No tail ends to weave in. You're lucky. The crochet design is by Hania Wojtowicz.
Abbreviations
- Ch - chain(s)
- Dc - double crochet
- Sc - single crochet
- Sl st - slip stitch
- (12) - indicates number of stitches at end of round.
With 5 mm / H/8 crochet hook and 4-ply worsted weight yarn like Red Heart Super Saver, Bernat Super Value or Caron One Pound.
Pattern designed by Hania Wojtowicz.
Make a slip knot with a 10” tail and ch 2 in black.
Round 1: 12 dc in second ch from hook. Join with sl st to first dc. Fasten off and leave a 10” tail. (12)
Round 2: Using red yarn, join into the top of any of the black dc leaving a 10” tail. Ch 3 (counts as a dc). 1 dc into the same stitch. 2 dc into each of the remaining dc. Join with sl st to top of ch 3. (24)
Round 3: Ch 1. 2 dc into each of the next 4 dc, sc into next dc. *sc in next dc, 2 dc into each of the next 4 dc, sc in next dc*. Repeat from * to * 2 more times. Join with sl st into bottom of starting ch 1. (40)
Round 4: *2 dc into each of the next 8 dc, slip stitch between the 2 sc of the previous row*. Repeat from * to * three times. Fasten off and leave a 10” tail. (68)
The four tails will attach the poppies to the art installation, so do not cut them off or weave them into the poppies.
Requests for Submissions 2025
- We are starting to see initiatives online to gather poppies for making exhibits for the fall of this year, but no one has submitted a request to be listed here yet. Stay tuned.
More Ideas
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- Crochet Lattice Lace Stitch
- Crochet Garden Tote Bag
- Tunisian Brioche Cowl Pattern for Beginners
- Crochet Mock Cable Hat Pattern
Tutorial
Heather DeJong says
Hello
How can we get our Legion, branch in Seaforth on, added to your story about the poppy project
Mikey says
There is a number of information points we need that are shared in the article. You can enter those into our comments on this article to be considered.
Debbie says
Hi I thought you might be interested to see how we do it in Perth Western Australia. We have our main day of commemoration on Anzac Day 25th April. We make the poppies using a variety of patterns and then attach them to pointed sticks (BBQ skewers) that have been covered in green yarn, We then 'plant' them on the lawns in front of Government House. Recently we added shades of purple (for animals) and spelled out the word ANZAC.
Angela Smith says
Request for Poppies for our display. We are creating two poppy 'blankets'. One for our cenotaph in Clinton, Ontario, but another for the cenotaph in Bayfield, Ontario. Bayfield does not have a Legion to spearhead the project so I have offered to include them in ours. Together we will adorn both cenotaphs!
Angela Smith
cic@centralhuron.com
Legion Branch 140
Clinton, Ontario
Address and Name of Location Where Exhibit will Be Displayed-23 Albert Street Clinton
A Mailing Address Where People Can Send Poppies-23 Albert Street, Box 400, Clinton, Ontario N0M 1L0
Address of the Drop Off Location for Those Who May Be Local-Clinton Town Hall 23 Albert or to the Clinton Legion
Colours - we are accepting a variety of reds
Timeframe of When All Poppies Need to be Submitted-May 24, 2025
When the Display Will Be Set Up and For How Long- The last Friday in October until November 18th