Yarn bombing

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Knit Knot Tree by the Jafagirls

Yarn bombing, yarnbombing, yarnstorming, guerrilla knitting, urban knitting or graffiti knitting is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colorful displays of knitted or crocheted cloth rather than paint or chalk.

[edit] Method and motivation

While yarn installations – called yarn bombs or yarnstorms – may last for years, they are considered non-permanent, and, unlike graffiti, can be easily removed if necessary. Nonetheless, the practice is still technically illegal, though it is not often prosecuted vigorously.^[1]

While other forms of graffiti may be expressive, decorative, territorial, socio-political commentary, advertising or vandalism, yarn bombing was initially almost exclusively about reclaiming and personalizing sterile or cold public places.^[2] It has since developed with groups graffiti knitting worldwide each with their own agendas.

[edit] History

Examples have been recorded as early as May 2004 in Den Helder, Netherlands. In the U.S., in 2005 Texas knitters used their leftover and unfinished knitting projects, but it has since spread worldwide.^[1]^[3]^[2] The start of this movement has been attributed to Magda Sayeg, 37, from Houston, who says she first got the idea in 2005 when she covered the door handle of her boutique with a custom made cozy.^[4]

The movement has been said to be "changing the face of craft" as stitchers are more and more frequently being viewed as fibre artists rather than amateurs or vandals.^[1]^[5]

Joann Matvichuk of Lethbridge, Alberta invented International Yarnbombing Day, which was first observed on June 11, 2011.^[6]

[edit] Gallery

Yarn bombing, Ilmala, Helsinki, Finland
Tree Cozy on Elizabeth Street, New York City
Knit the City's Phonebox Cosy, London, UK
Knitted graffiti on utility poles in front of Western Bridge Art Gallery, Seattle, Washington
Knitted graffiti in Riga, Latvia
Tree in Od, Sweden