'Yarn bombing' street art set to be best baa none (From The Westmorland Gazette)

'Yarn bombing' street art set to be best baa none

5:10pm Wednesday 18th April 2012 in Cumbria news

KENDAL town centre will be ‘Yarn Bombed’ in October, when woollen decorations will adorn lamp-posts and benches in Kirkland.

Yarn bombing is a type of street art which uses knitting and crotchet to create colourful public displays.

The event is to promote the global Campaign for Wool across the area.

Jo Collier, of Williams Wools, in Kendal, came up with the idea after discovering the art form in a book. Her colleague Adrianne Williams said: “It should be a fantastic community event, as well as promoting a great cause.

“We need to get more people involved, and hopefully we can get Kirkland covered in decorations that could lead all the way up to The Brewery Arts Centre.

“Twenty people are already participating, including a woman from Canada who has got involved using the online knitting community, Ravelry.”

The event will be promoted on Facebook, Twitter and Ravelry.

The Campaign for Wool was founded by the Prince of Wales in 2008 to protect the real wool industry from the growing pressures of cheap synthetic materials.

Last year Williams Wools knitted a special blanket for the Campaign for Wool week, which they raffled in aid of the Rare Breed Survival Trust.

To get involved, call Jo, or Adrianne, on 01539 724300.