The Mother of Yarn Bombing: Magda Sayeg

Magda Sayeg is a textile artist who is considered to be the 'mother of yarn bombing'. Her movement began very organically when she covered the door handle of her boutique with a knit changing it into something that was hand-made, colourful, warm and inviting. In 2005, she founded KnittaPlease - a yarn bombing collective.

Magda in Action |
Sourced from The Guardian

Magda transforms everyday items found in the urban streetscape by covering them with yarn that has been knit or crocheted personalizing a sterile or cold public space with something that is soft, warm and vibrant. She has tapped into something that has struck a chord and has become a world-wide phenomenon. Perhaps it has something to do with the beautification of urbanity; perhaps it is seeing something handmade and colourful in unexpected spaces or perhaps it is the idea of the warmth and tactile nature of yarn in this temporary artform against the cold, hard and permanency of concrete and steel.

“There is a transformation that occurs when I cover an inanimate object with soft hand-made material. This interaction changes the object without taking away its identity or paralyzing its original function. It is this unplanned arrangement of the material that makes these objects come to life, become sculptural and even redefine or reinterpret a space. The exploration of environmental change drives me: provoking the world to be a more challenging, uncon-ventional, and interesting place.”

Groovy Bus | Mexico City, Mexico

“The simple juxtaposition of this woven material placed within an urban environment has inspired a new generation of knitters who no longer view function as the sole purpose for knitting. This new approach to knitting questions the assumptions of a traditional craft while adding a previously unused material to the world of street art.”

Knitted Stairs | Sydney, Australia | Photo Magda Sayeg

Milan | Photo Magda Sayeg

Her work has evolved over to include art installations that will be covered under a future blog post.

Check out her TedTalk: How yarn bombing grew into a worldwide movement.

A Visual Art Movement: Yarn Bombing

In a series of monthly blog posts, I am going to explore the art of knitting and how its popularity is impacting our world of art.

The first visual art movement that I will explore is yarn bombing which is a three-dimensional street art that is described as the act of covering something unexpected in knitting. It is also known as guerilla art, or yarn storming (a less violent way of saying yarn bombing), urban knitting or kniffiti. 

Yarn bombing is considered the female version of the mostly male-dominated urban street graffiti. In its essence, yarn bombing is temporary and has a limited life span – it has intentional impermanence. There is typically a mixture of both knitting and crochet worked within the projects (crochet works up rather quickly).

David Demchuk (from Toronto) is quoted as saying: Yarn bombing confronts people with creativity that’s not heavily disciplined or aestheticized. It can look perfect and polished or hazardous and insane – that’s part of its charm. It breaks down a lot of barriers that people have about creativity. 

The start of yarn bombing has been attributed to a couple of origins – some articles point to the Netherlands in 2004 and some to knitters in Texas who wanted to use up their stash but many believe that Magda Sayeg is considered to be the founder of yarn bombing. Although there is no definitive start date or a clear indication of who began the movement – it is definitely a recent art form that has quickly spread worldwide. 

The ideas are numerous as to why this is done: Adding warmth and beauty to cold and sterile public spaces, making a peaceful political statement, showcasing creativity, provoking thought…etc. It can show up unexpectedly in the urban landscape on utilitarian objects such as lamp posts, benches, parking meters, poles or statues. 

As with urban street graffiti, many artists choose to remain anonymous. However, there are some well-known artists who are leading this movement that I'll dive into in my future blogs.

The following are a few examples of some amazing works of art.

Trees at the State Capitol in Austin, TX by Magda Sayeg/Knitta Please

Bridge of Cesenatico | Italy | Photo credit Sleppa

 Blanton Museum | UT campus | Dan Machold

Bicycle | The Netherlands| Photo credit Baykedevries