The Dirigible Balloon
Poetry for Children

Knitty Gritty Granny

Listen to Rhona reading her poem ...
Knitty Gritty Granny
goes to the drawer,
gets a bag of coloured wool
and tips it on the floor.

Knit two, purl two, keep the stitches neat.
Knit two, purl two, till the row’s complete.


“I’ll knit a scarf for you, dear
- you’ll love it, that I know -
to wrap around your neck, dear,
everywhere you go.”

Knitty Gritty Granny
casts on a row;
fingers flick and needles click,
the scarf begins to grow.

Knit two, purl two, keep the stitches neat.
Knit two, purl two, till the row’s complete.


Knitty Gritty Granny
casts off the final row.
The scarf tumbles to her lap,
ready now to show.

But when she holds the scarf up,
we both begin to laugh,
for Knitty Gritty Granny’s scarf
would fit a small giraffe!

Parts are rather narrow,
others are too wide.
There are humps and holes and hollows
and rows where strands collide.

Knit two, purl two, keep the stitches neat.
Knit two, purl two, till the row’s complete.


“Possibly I dropped a stitch,
maybe two. Or three.
I think I’ll give up knitting
and return to surgery.”

Knitty Gritty Granny puts
her needles all to bed
and sets out for the clinic to
stitch patients there instead.

Stitch two, snip two, keep the sutures neat.
Stitch two, snip two, till the row’s complete.

About the Writer


Rhona Stephens

Rhona grew up in Northern Ireland, went to university in Wales, moved to England for a while, then headed north of the border to live in Scotland. She loves words and music, living in the country and visiting the coast - especially the north coast of Ireland.