'Yarn Bombing' a new kind of grafitti

Vancouver locals release inspirational book on crocheted grafitti. Enter to win your own copy!

Yarn bombing is a type of street art (graffiti) that uses knit or crocheted pieces instead of tagging with a spray can. And after reading the book Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti, I realized that I had actually "yarn bombed" before I even knew that the term existed.

When Got Craft? started back in May 2007, I decided to make as many knit cozies as I could to go all over the city with tags marketing our event. I knew about Knitta and their work across the US. I actually contacted them before I installed the Got Craft? pieces to make sure that I wasn’t violating anything.

Unfortunately, when my pieces took to the streets, they were taken down faster than we could put them up. All of our hard work didn’t go unnoticed though. One day, surfing the Internet, we found a picture of one of our creations on the blog magpie & cake and it made all that knitting worth it!

Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti by Vancouver locals Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain (Arsenal Pulp Press, $19.95) is divided into four general parts:

Patterns – A how-to featuring more than a dozen tutorials suitable for all levels of knitters and crocheters, including my favourite projects: the tree sweater (pg 167) and crocheted scallop tags (pg 184).

Interviews with guerilla yarn bombers – I had the opportunity to meet Magda, founder of Knitta, at the Austin, Texas, premiere of Handmade Nation last September, so I was glad to see her featured with a Q&A.

How-to – Everything you need to know to yarn bomb, from where to begin to what to do if you get caught. Mandy and Leanne have all of your bases covered!

Installations from around the world – It is truly amazing what some people can do! The 200-foot knitted pink hare stuffed with straw!? (Pictured right) Wow!

I have to admit that I’m not a very strong knitter or crocheter, but you don’t have to be. Newbies may not understand all of the technical terms, but with plenty of beautiful images and stories, Yarn Bombing is an inspirational book for crafters of all levels and those looking for a creative outlet.

A big thank you to Mandy and Leanne for creating an A+ book and for the opportunity to review it. You can catch up on all the latest news on the Yarn Bombing blog.

   

Button Button

Housing over a million buttons, Vancouver's Button Button has been the place for all things button for the past 14 years

Next on our Crafty Shop Stop series on where to buy crafty things around Vancouver is Button Button, a place to find all types of buttons including metal, horn, porcelain and shell. We asked button expert and owner Colleen Miller the same three questions we always ask!

DIY Vancouver: Describe your shop.

Colleen Miller: Button Button is a small downtown shop packed with buttons from all corners of the world. The buttons range from cheap to pricey, conservative to crazy, tiny to huge, vintage and new.

What can we find in your shop?

Just buttons.

What are your three favourite handmade items in your shop?

This changes every week, but today I am loving the new large buttons made from (and smelling of!) cinnamon. A local guy (Chris Montgomery) makes itsy tiny buttons out of slices of tiny little twigs that are absolutely amazing. I always love the recycled glass made in East Africa from Nivea Crème jars and Guinness beer bottles. They are so charming in their lack of order—even the holes are not always in the middle!

I also have a box of vintage homemade buttons that went badly awry. This is my “Please don’t try this at home” collection. 

   

DIY: Draft-stopper snake

Save money, save energy and keep your home draft-free with this easy-to-make draft-stopper snake

Stop drafts from entering your home through the bottoms of doors or windows with this easy-to-make, attractive yet functional draft-stopper snake. It’s also good for keeping out smells, for insulating sounds or for blocking out light. Also, since the snake is so heavy it can double as a doorstop.

Follow the first steps (1–7) to make the body of the snake (see: Basic draft stopper snake). The last optional steps (8–12) are to make a removable and washable cover.

Materials

Basic draft-stopper snake

The draft-stopper snake is basically a long, thin pillow with some weight to it. Before you start sewing, be sure to pre-wash all your fabric.

Step 1: Prepare your fabric. Pre-wash and iron, then fold lengthwise down the middle, inside out (with the right sides together).

Step 2: Pin the two layers together about 5 cm from the edge (opposite side of the fold). Iron flat.

Step 3: With your sewing machine, sew along the long edge and one of the ends with a 2 cm seam allowance. Reinforce your corners and ends by going back and forth a few stitches.

Step 4: Turn the fabric right side out. A chopstick or the end of a pen can be a great aid to push the corners completely out.

Step 5: Fill almost all the way with sand, pebbles or beans, leaving about 12 cm from the top.

Step 6: Fold the top edge down on the inside to hide the fabric’s raw edge.

Step 7: Pin edges together.

Step 8: With your sewing machine, sew your snake shut over the fold.

Optional washable cover

The washable cover is basically a fitted sack for the draft-stopper snake. It has three components: The main coloured fabric for the cover, the accent band that goes around it and a ribbon for closure.

Step 8: To make the accent band for the cover, first fold the raw edges 2 cm back and iron flat. This only needs to be done to the two long edges.

Step 9: Pin the accent fabric down along the centre of the fabric that will be used for the cover. With your sewing machine, sew down onto the fabric (right sides up).

Step 10: Fold down one of the short edges of the cover fabric. Sew 1.5 cm down from the fold to make the channel for the ribbon.

Step 11: Repeat steps 1–4 of the basic draft-stopper snake instructions. Make sure that the channel for the ribbon stays open when the long edge is sewn together. 

Step 12: Use a safety pin to thread the ribbon through the channel.

Step 13: Stuff the draft-stopper snake inside of the cover. Tie the ribbon tightly and you’re done! 

   

Project Wishflag: Kid-friendly community art

Kids make wishflags to celebrate the richness of Vancouver communities

Wishflags are one part DIY, one part kid-friendly fun, and one part community building. Based on Tibetan prayer flags, wishflags have been used in all kinds of community building experiences, including the Obama presidential campaign. The idea is that by expressing our wishes and hopes in a creative and public form, they will be sent out into the world and hopefully come true.

In Vancouver, Natasha Wheatley, the coordinator of the project has teamed up with Future Craft Collective and 4 Cats Art Studios to provide a tutorial for you at home and workshops around the city.

At each workshop Project Wishflag provides fabric and paints for everyone to express their wishes for our city. All across Vancouver, families have been making wishflags to celebrate the diversity, inspiration and thoughtfulness that make up our communities.

Wishflags on display at Sunset Community Centre

Saturday, February 20, 2010, come see the hanging of the flags that have been made so far and take a few minutes to make one yourself. The wishflags will remain at Sunset Community Centre for the remainder of the Olympics and then they will travel around the city throughout 2010.