What is yarn bombing?
Definition by Oxford languages: “The action or activity of covering objects or structures in public places with decorative knitted or crotcheted material, as a form of street art.” That says it all!
An essential aspect of yarn bombing is ensuring you don’t destroy anything. All the works are attached in ways that no trees or other nature gets harmed.
Videos of past yarn bombs
- 56 riverside trees yarnbombed in Turku, Finland. May 2017
- Riverside Knit ‘n’n Tag yarnbomb in Turku. May 2019
- 40 riverside trees yarnbombed in Turku. Theme: Together. May 2021
- A short video (50 seconds) of the 2021 yarnbomb
- A short video (36 seconds) in Naantali, Finland. Theme: Socks (refers to the history of the town) July 2022
Anything can be yarn bombed – trees, bridges, vehicles, railings, statues, fences and parts of buildings. The most beautiful project I have had a small part in recently is in France, flowers on a stone wall of a castle. See image here! Even an entire house was yarn bombed pink in Kerava, Finland some years ago. See image here!
Groups often take part in yarn bombing because it requires quite a lot of work. I have mostly worked on my own. For that reason I have asked to get smaller trees!
There are no rules in yarn bombing. Make anything knitted or crocheted or use what you already have. Crochet or sew them together so that the entire work will fit where it is going. Over the years, I have often reused parts of previous yarn bombs. I have also sent them on to projects in other areas. The one furthest away was in Australia!
July -22 Yarn bomb
Here is a video showing a few seconds of all the 12 yarn bombed trees we had in Naantali, Finland, for two weeks in July 2022. The theme was socks, taken whatever way you wanted. Naantali was where sock knitting was introduced to Finland in the 15th century by nuns. A couple of centuries later, sock knitting for export was the primary income for the town for a while.
Very different groups were taking part, from a children’s art club to ladies from a Women’s Institute, then me on my own and also a yarn store.
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