A couple of weeks ago, the Clarion noticed an unusual addition to one of the bike racks here on campus. Someone had stealthily adorned one end of the rack with brightly-colored knitting, creating a sort of bike-rack cozy.
A member of the Clarion staff commutes to school by bike and locks up at several different locations. This is when the colorful new addition was noticed on the bike rack at the Southeast corner of the quad, near the bell tower.
On one hand, the artwork’s bright colors may add a bit of character to an otherwise sterile, urban landscape. On the other hand, the soft yarn covering can protect the bicycle’s paint-job, serving a more utilitarian purpose.
According to Wikipedia, the phenomenon is known by several names, including “guerrilla knitting”, “graffiti knitting”, “yarnstorming” and “yarnbombing.”
Wikipedia states that yarnbombing originated in Texas in 2005 and quickly spread across the globe. The site also mentioned a group who calls themselves the Jafagirls, who are from Yellow Springs and gained international attention in 2008 with their ‘Knit Knot Tree.’
Copy Editor Jason Sedy’s personal encounter with “Knitting Ninjas”:
My personal experience has revealed that the individuals who engage in acts of guerrilla knitting sometimes refer to themselves as “knitting ninjas,” and may even carry out their clandestine knitting missions after hours, under cover of darkness.
I visited California a few years ago and encountered a similar work at the Barnes and Noble bookstore. There, a serpentine bike rack had been almost completely covered with many different colors of yarn, and the perpetrators even left their calling card. The light blue card was affixed to the knitting creation with a small green ribbon. It featured the likeness of a tiny ninja, who was wielding a bit of yarn and a pair of knitting needles. The card read: “Merced Midnight Knitters,” and urged readers to visit them on Facebook.
The Clarion would like to invite our local knitting ninjas to an interview for an upcoming story. We are willing to keep your identity anonymous. If you are interested in discussing your guerilla experience, please contact any of the Clarion staff at clarion@sinclair.edu.