To people of a certain age who can recall knitting patterns illustrated with chaps in chunky cable knits and etiolated ladies in bobbly twinsets, Sirdar is a familiar brand. The Wakefield-based patterns and yarns business is undergoing a revival, thanks to a new appetite for thrifty hobbies among cash-strapped Britons.

Ian Stead, finance director, says sales are currently running 4 per cent over budget and 6 per cent above last year, despite the lousy trading conditions threatening to unravel many other consumer businesses. It is a turnround on the last quarter-century, when hand knitting became associated as firmly with the old as dentures and Zimmer frames. Sirdar’s 118 staff now have their hands full sending out more than 30,000 knitting patterns a month.