Giant Mandela blanket portrait on display in South Africa Carolyn Steyn, founder of 67 Blankets, came up with the initiative to make the largest portrait blanket of Nelson Mandela to celebrate 100 years since his birth. She called on her friends for help and developed a Facebook group called "67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day". In just days, hundreds of people from around the world had pledged to knit a blanket for Nelson Mandela Day, including inmates at Zonderwater correctional services, who did the majority of the knitting.