“Yarn Bombing” reaches Molong

Yarn bombing (or yarnbombing) is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colourful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fibre rather than paint or chalk. It is also called yarn storming, guerrilla knitting, kniffiti, urban knitting, or graffiti knitting.

Yarn bombing is a great way to draw attention to something that otherwise goes unnoticed, like a tree, a statue, or random street post.

In Australia, the historical gold mining town of Walhalla has held a national campaign for people to donate knitted or crochet scarves to cover the engine of their popular tourist train. The response from people far and wide was remarkable plus the response from tourists who flocked to the quaint little tourist mountain town in Gippsland.

Across the world, yarnboming is making a difference to communities, large and small, who have been looking to brighten their own lives during the winter months – and attracting tourists at the same time.

It works!

The Molong Express saw the idea, and decided to put it out into the wider community to guage interest.
A small amount of interest came forward, “enough to make it happen in a small way” said Rozzi Smith of the Express (see Rozzi’s column P.6) – adding “from little things big things (can) grow.”

During a cold, windy, icy weekend – four volunteers set about ‘yarnbombing’ the first two Bank Street entrance trees. “Even on such dismal days, visitors and passers-by on the highway stopped to take a look and took photos of the two trees” said Rozzi. “They loved the colours, the local community initiative, and the courage it took for the volunteers to have a go! The handknitted pears were the ‘jewel in the crown’. ” P.6