My nan no longer has her sewing machine, so sadly I can't do any experimental work with that (as this was stated in my action plan). However, she did have a a collection of Knitting needles that I could have as she has no more use for them (her 'fingers aren't as nimble as they use to be' as she kindly put it).
So this is a great excuse to read the 'Knitting for Dummies' book that I took out the library! Depending how this goes, maybe this will be the point where I develop the rest of my project from.