How to Yarn Bomb (Spreading Love and Activism Through Non-Destructive Street Art)

This piece I call “Safety Net,” and it was inspired by the violent events that have been occurring in my hometown of Aurora, Colorado due to a lack of teen mental health resources since the beginning of the pandemic. In the span of 20 days starting on November 14th, 2021, 16 people were shot, all young men and teen boys. One of the shootings occurred in the parking lot of the high school I used to swim at for two years. I installed my art piece at a nearby community basketball park as a form of non-destructive street art, as it is removable and does not damage property. 

Supplies

• Giant crochet hook (16.0 mm Size Q +)
• Smaller crochet hook (4.25mm Size G - 6.0 mm Size J)
• Old yarn
• Colors, thicknesses, brands, and textures, you don't like
• Scraps from old projects
• Thumbtacks
• Zip ties
• Rope
• Scissors
• Tapestry needle
• Measuring tape

Step 1: Finding a Cause

Your piece can be inspired by anything. Many fiber artists create street art for no other reason than its aesthetic value and beauty. It just so happened that I had been wanting to yarn bomb for the longest time when these unfortunate and terrifying events occurred, and so I decided to combine my passion for crochet with something currently affecting my community. Use your yarn to spread love, happiness, or a message of change through activism -- yarn bombing has endless opportunities.

Step 2: Netting

First, you must decide on a size for your final piece. I used the netting as a background because it allowed for my art to be installed in one piece, and while creating the layout, I was able to pin pieces in temporary spots to check that the spacing looked nice and worked for me.

My net's dimensions: (6.5 ft x 10.5 ft)

The basic pattern for netting:

Foundation Row: Chain in multiples of 4 + 3 to the desired length:

Note: Remember chains and yarn stretch a good amount, so my piece was not nearly as large before I stretched it out on the fence.

Row A: Skip the first chain, and place a single crochet stitch in the second chain closest to the hook. (Chain 5 and skip 3 full chains on the foundation before single crocheting in the next stitch across) * Repeat until you reach the end of the long chain and turn.

Row B: *Chain 5 and single crochet in the next chain space* Repeat until you reach the end, working the final single crochet into the last single crochet and turn.

Row C: *Chain 5 and single crochet in the next chain space* Repeat until you reach the end, and turn.

(Continue Row C and work to your desired height.)

Once you have your finished net I recommend blocking the base. Because this piece was so large, I spread it across my fence using thumbtacks around the perimeter. Then I soaked the entire net in water and allowed it to dry overnight. You can do this using a hose or spray bottles. Additionally, throughout working on this project I let the net stay up on the fence, meaning time was also a huge factor in getting it to sit right and stretch correctly. This piece was installed outside anyway so the Colorado rain and snow weren't a problem.

Step 3: Appliqúes

Many of the pieces I sewed onto the net were simple appliqúes or coaster patterns I created or found free online. Unlike amigurumi or clothing design, with yarn bombing, you don't need to worry about having tight tension or solid stitches which was super helpful when doing such large freeform crochet.

To create my piece I used leftover size 4 worsted weight yarn which helped me to declutter and prevent unneeded purchases of much more expensive bulky yarn. In order to make the pieces so large, I used the continuous chain technique in which I created a long chain loop and crocheted it with all three strands of the worsted weight yarn at once as if it were a more bulky yarn. This was super helpful because I only needed one ball of yarn and when I reached the end of my giant chain I needed only to pull the working yarn back through and make an additional large chain to continue. Here is a visual representation of this chaining technique I found on Youtube.

Additionally, using a comically large hook was extremely helpful for me as I am used to crocheting tightly, since making loose stitches did not feel natural!

Step 4: Installation

It is a good idea to get permission from the owner of the property in which you plan on placing your piece. Although yarn bombing isn't destructive, it's considerate to ask before you place your art anywhere. This may also ensure that your hard work isn't removed shortly after you install it.

There are many places you can place your art:

• Brick wall
• Chain link fence
• Between trees
• Public benches
• Whatever works

Using zip ties or shorter pieces of yarn tied around the edges can help secure the piece easily from multiple points. Using a measuring tape while installing will make sure that your proportions are not messed up due to the stretchy nature of crochet even after wet blocking.

Good things to have with you while installing:

• heavy duty zip ties
• scissors
• strong rope
• extra yarn in the main colors
• tapestry needles to hide ends that may have moved
• large and small crochet hook for similar reasons

Once you have installed your piece, it is always a good idea to step back and admire your work. Take a picture to save the memory. It is unlikely the piece will stay in as good of quality as it is now, and you likely won't get it back!