Yarn bombing, yarnbombing, yarn storming, guerrilla knitting, kniffiti,
urban knitting or graffiti knitting is a type of graffiti or street art that
employs colourful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fibre rather than
paint or chalk. Method and motivation
While yarn installations – called yarn bombs or yarnstorms – may last for
years, they are considered non-permanent, and, unlike other forms
of graffiti, can be easily removed if necessary. Nonetheless, the practice is
still technically illegal in some jurisdictions, though it is not often
prosecuted vigorously. 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. It has since developed with
groups graffiti knitting and crocheting worldwide, each with their own agendas
and public graffiti knitting projects being run.
History The practice is believed to have
originated in the U.S. with Texas knitters trying to find a creative way
to use their leftover and unfinished knitting projects, but it has since
spread worldwide. 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.
Houston artist Bill Davenport was creating and exhibiting crochet-covered
objects in Houston in the 1990s, and the Houston Press stated that "Bill
Davenport could be called the grand old man of Houston crocheted sculpture."
Artist Shanon Schollian was knitting stump cozies in 2002 for clear cuts in
Oregon. The Knit Knot Tree by the Jafagirls in Yellow Springs, Ohio gained
international attention in 2008. The movement moved on from simple
'cozies' with the innovation of the 'stitched story'. The concept has been
attributed to Lauren O'Farrell, from London, UK, who founded the city's first
graffiti knitting collective Knit the City. The 'stitched story concept' uses
handmade amigurumi creatures, characters and items to tell a narrative or show a
theme. This was first recorded with the Knit the City collective's "Web of Woe"
installation in August 2009. The Knit the City collective were also
the first to use O'Farrell's term 'yarnstorming' to describe their
graffiti knitting, as an alternative to the more popular term 'yarnbombing'.
Yarn bombing's popularity has spread throughout the world. In Oklahoma City
the Collected Thread store yarn bombed the Plaza District of the city on 9
September 2011 to celebrate their three-year anniversary as a functioning
shop. and in Australia a group called the Twilight Taggers refer to themselves
as 'fibre artists'. Joann Matvichuk of Lethbridge, Alberta founded
International Yarnbombing Day, which was first observed on 11 June 2011.
Literature In September 2009 Yarn Bombing: The Art
of Crochet and Knit Graffiti by Leanne Prain and Mandy Moore was published by
Arsenal Pulp Press in Canada and the US. In Europe Knit the City: Maschenhaft
Seltsames by Deadly Knitshade was published in February 2011 by Hoffmann
und Campe in Germany. It was originally written in English, and was published by
Summersdale in the UK in September 2011 as Knit the City: A Whodunnknit Set in
London. Yarn Bombing Los Angeles released a
self-published catalog of an exhibit held at 18th Street Arts Complex, Santa
Monica, CA in June 2011 titled Yarn Bombing 18th Street by Arzu Arda Kosar.
In popular culture In November 2014 the TV show 2 Broke
Girls featured yarn bombing in their show, season 4 episode 4.
Yarn Bombing Yarn bombing
See also Fiber art
Knit the City Knitta
References Further reading
Lewis, Perri, Guide to Night: Mark Thomas joins the guerrilla knitters. The
Guardian, 1 November 2009. Press Association US town baffled by
Midnight Knitter. Irish Independent, 11 March 2010.
"Knitting but not as we know it", BBC News, Saturday 13 June 2009
Costa, Maddy, The graffiti knitting epidemic. The Guardian, 11 October 2010.
'Grandma Graffiti': German Knitting Guerillas Go Global, May 2011
Knit Knot Tree Do Trees Get Cold-offbeat knitting USA Today AP 11 March 2008
foxtoledo.com n-Bombing-phenomenon-exploding-in-Toledo
Milly, Jena. "Yarn Bombing isn't Knit and Run Anymore". Huffington Post.
Retrieved 27 February 2012. Streetspun Yarnbombing Warm and Fuzzy -
Yarn bombers leave colorful mark on city ToledoBlade Online 22 APR, 2012
Urban Knitting Un ponte di lana Romagna.com 10 March 2014
External links es:Mustang Jane: article on Spanish
Wikipedia about a yarn bomber