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Home » Arts

Guerilla Knitting – Get Your Needles Out!

Submitted by on March 18, 2010 – 12:42 pm 10 Comments

There are many crafty types out there who will happily sit at home/ in a café/ in the Doctor’s waiting room with their needles and yarns at the ready; creating delightful, often functional and highly colourful pieces like tea cosies, socks and cross-stitch tigers for the bedroom wall. But there are some who are into more subversive creations, using the same foundations but creating something entirely new.

Enter Guerilla Knitting – also known as Yarnbombing or Yarnstorming. This street art or graffiti is the practice of turning normal, humdrum boring parts of the landscape and cityscape into something more colourful and more beautiful, using the crafts of knitting or crocheting. These woolly warriors are taking all the traditional stereotypes surrounding woolcraft, turning them on their heads and bringing a younger, fresher perspective and motive to the art; much like the emerging popularity of the Stitch and Bitch clubs that have been popping up worldwide over the last few years. How wonderful to be walking your normal route to work and instead of the usual chain fence, you pass by a stretch of wire-strung hearts, singing out their cheer and colour to the urban world. Or you pull into a parking space and go to pay only to discover a brightly covered parking meter. Surely the joy would spread like butter throughout any town or city! I am all for making the world a more interesting and enjoyable place, visually as much as anything.

I am not sure where I first saw or heard of this, but since I have it has been growing hugely, even way down here in New Zealand. Web research will bring up many sites, blogs and photos that you can trawl through for hours, marvelling at the skill and insane creativity that these people are sharing with the world. Here are a few I have discovered just now. Check them out, take a squiz at the photos, follow the links and favourites:

Knit The City: http://ow.ly/gPoo
Yarnbombing: http://yarnbombing.com/
Outdoor Knit: http://outdoorknit.blogspot.com/
Glittyknittyknitty: http://www.glittyknittykitty.co.uk/
Art Yarn: http://artyarn.blogspot.com/
Knitta Please: http://knittaporfavor.wordpress.com/
Knitted Landscape: http://www.knittedlandscape.com/
Purl Interrupted: http://purlinterrupted.co.uk/

If this sparks your interest and you are a skilled craftster, perhaps check out your own town to see if there are some others who could join you on a knitting crusade. Beautify your town, challenge stereotypes, and get creative!

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10 Comments »

  • Charlotte says:

    Thanks to Jen – who left a comment on another article, check out these free Phoenix Foundation downloads. I listened to them whilst reading this great article by the lovely Golden Bay based Hannah, a highly recommended experience :-) http://thephoenixfoundation.tumblr.com/

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  • Knitsch says:

    yay! Thanks for spreading the word – Knit the City and Knitta Please are totally our heroes 😀

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  • rod campbell says:

    Hi Han, did you see the winning designers outfits, I think in Dunedin, last night? Same theme!

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  • Thanks for the mentions. :)

    Vive la knitting revolution!

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  • Hannah says:

    Thanks for the comments folks! And no Dad, I didn’t see that, how funny!

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  • I just started “bombing” my village! Fun! And adds a bit of sorely needed color! Hoping to get permission now to do an actual building…

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  • Becky says:

    Please check out the Railway Reserve Victory, Nelson, for the first instalment in our ‘guerilla knitting’ against the proposed highway!! The gentlest form of protest!

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  • Charlotte says:

    Hey Becky, is there a weblink for this? Charlotte

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  • Becky says:

    Hi Charlotte, not at present, we are working up to it! But there is a couple of photos posted on the Facebook page Victory Urban Village is the Bomb!

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  • Hannah says:

    Oh how cool to hear that people are ALREADY doing this in our region :) Smiley warm fuzzies and knitty hearts!

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