It’s knitting gone wild!

If you’re part of the knitting community, chances are you’ve heard of yarn bombing—otherwise known as “graffiti knitting” or “yarnstorming”. This is when handmade items made from yarn are used to create street art. It’s a lot like spray paint graffiti, except it can be removed more easily and it’s not usually left to claim territory. Normally it’s left to simply jazz up the scenery a bit. It’s sort of an artistic joke, a visual amusement. Every yarn bomber has their own reasons for leaving the graffiti.

Yarn bombing began around May 2004, and since then, hundreds of cities with eager knitters have taken up the trend. There are even entire organizations who work to keep public spaces covered, such as Streetcolor and Yarn Bombing Los Angeles. It even got its own national holiday: June 11th.

While some may find yarn bombing to be annoying (especially after a rainfall), for the most part, people love it and it’s good for a smile—and a great photo op.

If you’re interested in joining a yarn bombing group, check out Dial a Yarn Bomb Group. If you’d rather just sit back and enjoy the photos, here are some of my favorites from around the web.