The Jafagirls(Nancy and Corrine aka Jafabrit) have been yarnbombing since 2007 with the first being the Knit Knot Tree on Xenia Avenue. When the knit knot tree covering was removed we recycled some of it and started the Dayton Street Project, covering many of the trees, poles and benches on that street. To date we have done at least 63 yarnbombs mostly in and around Yellow Springs, with a few in Ann Arbor MI, Hershey PA, South Bend IN, and one in Taiwan.
Disclaimer: Not one single tree, pole, or bench has been damaged in the process of craft or yarnbombing nor taxpayers money used to remove them.
Yarnbombing and Spray Paint 2009
At Oddee: 12 Amazing Pieces of Yarn Bombing
January 2012 Yarnbomb to match RAC spray graffiti Dayton Street
Yarnbombing from 2007 -2012
Click on Poster above to see all Yarnbombs
Snowflake Tree 2010
Knit Knot Tree 11 (Jafaworkz Collective)
Knit Knot Tree 1
Knit Knot Tree
Knit Graffiti Dayton Street Project
Knit Graffiti in Yellow Springs
Great Video by Susan Gartner
Reusing OLD Knit Graffiti
Storybox Project using recycled pieces from the Knit Knot Tree
Auction piece for the Tecumseh Land Trust with knitted peices off the knit knot tree, scrap felt and beads.
Breaking a Fallacy
“They should use yarn for more worthy causes like the homeless.”
Does this rule apply to all the materials an artist/crafter uses, or just yarn?
It’s a noble idea, it really is, BUT unfortunately an antiquated one that not only does a disservice but completely disregards the real needs, such as this shelter that has toilet paper at the top of their list. While it’s lovely to donate knitted items to specific organizations who want knitted items homeless shelters/homeless have much more pressing needs (safe place to sleep, to wash, money, sleeping bags, thermal blankets, diapers, food for example). Most online organizations have a piriority needs list. Here is a general list for Homeless Shelters which highlights the priority needs for donations . Professional Clothing and textiles are of particular importance. According to Charity guide“Collectively, Americans discard two quadrillion pounds (that’s a two with fifteen zeroes) of used clothing and textiles into the landfills each year.” The charity guide states they need professional clothes and shoes, wraps for burial, specialty clothing. Here is another list of how to support the homeless in your community (call your local shelter/org first and check out their priority list of needs).
Please don’t ASSume that knit graffiti artists haven’t already found a way to help the homeless in a way that serves THEIR needs best.
National Coalition for the Homeless : November 14-20 is National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week….Fun and Creative Ways to Support NCH
Worried Knitting Will Damage Tree? To date there is no evidence that any trees have been damaged due to yarnbombing, however there is evidence that burning oil to generate electricty damages some trees, along with fertilizers/pestisides and salty compounds used on sidewalks, roads and highways during the winter.
Perhaps the person who left this comment on youtube “That yarn will kill the tree use your head the bark needs sunlight and O2.” could spend a little time learning about the needs of different trees ahem! and tree bark health, such as this article about trees being exposed to sun and sunburn. “There are quite a few sunburned tree trunks in Oregon forests, even in landscaped yards.” Info about Tree Wrapping
Don’t they have anything better to do?
You mean like hit a ball with a stick for hours on end, or watch a car go round and round and round a track, watch tv all night, play video games, read magazines, or sit in a smoke filled casino for hours on end 
What happens when the knitting gets wet? It dries
What happens when the yarnbombing gets old? We take it down, wash and recycle what we can for other yarnbombs or other projects (such as the watering can for a charity auction or the traveling storybox).
Some yarnbombers take down old yarnbombs and make into blankets for dog shelters : How to Donate Blankets and Towels to Dog Shelters
What if feels like to be homeless: Unless you have gone through it it’s hard to know. The first priority is to have a safe place to sleep, a safe place to get washed, clean clothes (especially business type clothes for going to job interviews)/decent shoes, and food.
Just wanted to say that we LOVE all your stuff around town. It’s made YS a better place.
thanks Billy
It seems to me that there’s a darker fallacy beneath that complaint, one that says the homeless are something less than human and would only need things that contribute to their basic animal survival. Clearly they can’t appreciate art or humor or beauty. There’s no way that those “people” could enjoy knit graffiti too!
thankyou Matt, that’s an important point.
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I thank these ladies for their thoughfulness and beauty they bring to our community. The idea that somehow they are not doing enough for homeless people is way off base and what they do and what the homeless need are apples and oranges. Many groups knit for homeless, the church I attend (Christ Episcopal Church in Xenia) has a group of women,and a few men, who knit for people in hospice,newborns, and really anyone in need of prayers support and love. Our group is called the Knit-Wits and if anyone is in need please do not hesitate to contact our church secretatry and make a request. We all do what we can,well maybe not ALL of us, but still we do what we can. I thank these lovely talented women for their thoughtfullness. THANK YOU!
Jennie than you for your lovely comments and sharing how you and your group use your knitting/crochet for various causes.
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Nice site love the work! Great to see answers to questions I know you must get all the time. At least you recycle the yarn over again….love the answers to dont you have anything better to do and what happens when it gets wet. So your comment on another blog and thought what a interesting name let me check them out.
Thanks for dropping by
Glad you liked the answers, as well as the work. We try recycle as much as we can, not just with old discarded skeins of yarn, and knitting but our use of crushed can’s bottlecaps, etc.
I feel like doing this in my town, here in the south of France… haven’t seen it happening yet (this is a University city, and a knitting/crocheting kind of place… so…)
thanks for visiting. Hope you have fun trying it
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Just desire to say your article is as amazing. The clearness to your put up is just nice and i can suppose you’re a professional in this subject. Well with your permission allow me to snatch your RSS feed to keep updated with impending post. Thanks a million and please carry on the gratifying work.
Those of us who live in Yellow Springs LOVE the yarn bombing as it has truly beautified our village. It brings a smile to all who see it, the wonderfully bright colors, the surprising details….It is this beautification that makes it special. It could NEVER be a waste of materials or time since so many appreciate it so.
thank you Yvonne.
Disclaimer: Not one single tree, pole, or bench has been damaged in the process of craft or yarnbombing.
I do really appreciate your effort to create art in communities, and I think yarn-bombed trees look neat, but I’m curious as to how you can be sure that yarn-bombing hasn’t caused any damage? How long does the yarn typically stay on the tree, and do you check every individual tree regularly for any signs of damage, rot, infection, infestation, etc. during and after yarn bombing? In some cases, the symptoms may not be obvious or take months to years to set in. Covering a tree with yarn can create or exacerbate moist conditions in which many fungal and bacterial diseases thrive. Disease isn’t the only concern; I recently read an entry at the blog Garden which pointed out that some insect pests that drive in dark, moist conditions might take shelter in trees that have been yarn-bombed.
I don’t want to be a killjoy but I see more and more stories and pictures of yarn-bombing cropping up, and I know the artists behind them have good intentions, but there is a potential for harm to the trees in the act.
I am more than happy to answer your questions Sarah. We have been doing it for 5 to 6 years in the same village we live and we check on it whenever we are about town (almost daily). Some of the yarnbombing stays up for a year or we cut down if we think it should come down for any reason. While I don’t disagree with some of the concerns, (we did consult with tree professionals and there is a tree committee in town that would let us know if there were any concerns) it has not proven to be an issue, and to date I have never heard of yarnbombing “actually causing” any damage. Lots of “MIGHT” but no evidence to date. The only things that seem to be hurting trees so far are urban pollutants, trucks/cars bashing into them, kids climbing them, owners cutting them down, ice storms, road salt (that scientists says kills our trees), weed killers, etc. All the trees/posts we have yarnbombed years ago are fine, as are the poles and benches. We LOVE our trees in Yellow Springs.
I would also like to add for any other readers, that if you are really concerned about OUR trees in Yellow Springs, Ohio and feel you know something that our local experts don’t, please do get in touch with them. I am sure we will hear from them if need be.
thanks
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