Chilean ‘yarn bombers’ plot large-scale knitting attack

A far cry from the marble sculptures displayed in the nearby museum, the trend that began in Texas in 2005 has seen a growing number of open spaces transformed with woolly creations reminiscent of giant tea cozies.

Knitting: Not just for grannies anymore

The interventions may be little more than a whimsical fad to some, but to Claudy Tapia Retamal, who founded the yarn-bombing collective Lanapuerto (wool door) in Coquimbo, a coastal town in northern Chile, it’s a social project with far-reaching goals.

Tapia Retamal, who earns a living as a fashion designer, says she’s trying to debunk outdated assumptions while drawing people into playing a more active role in their community.

“When I founded the group, the goal was to smash stereotypes,” she says. “Knitting is no longer just for grannies. It’s for women, men and children.

In an environment where machine-made goods dominate and social interaction has become increasingly digitized, Chile’s yarn-bombers offer a refreshing take on an ancient craft that harks back to a time when communities were, truly, closely knit.

As de Santiago says: “Sometimes just a little bit of change can bring about another change, and then another, until you have a chain of changes, and, when you think of it like that, it’s a revolution.”

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