The Big Rainbow Knit: Revisiting Craftivist Practices through Place-Based Making

Abstract

The Big Rainbow Knit is a project informed and influenced by craftivist practices and culminated in the yarn bombing of Huddersfield train station by local, national and international communities of knitters in June 2021. As a landmark project within the WOVEN in Kirklees bi-annual festival, it became an important force for social cohesion in a Covid-19 context. This article introduces The Big Rainbow Knit as a specific case study within the wider context of Kirklees Council’s approach to place-based making. 1 As a textile festival WOVEN in Kirklees is made with, by and for local communities. We firstly address place-based making approaches in the contexts of craftivism and community practice with the aim of secondly, considering how The Big Rainbow Knit is a manifestation of co-creative participation in the spirit of social cohesion. Thirdly, we consider how the concept of the “glocal” is a means through which to reflect on the links between online and offline platforms. We argue that the hybrid between near and far in a “glocal” milieu allows for a range of voices (active knitters, audiences as recipients of yarn bombing activities and community group engagements with The Big Rainbow Knit) to become more visible as key agents in a place-based process. Collectively, these voices, gathered through a range of feedback mechanisms, have helped to change perceptions and attitudes toward knitting in a local authority context and to offer new insights into the ways in which the making-agency of knit can acquire value through place-based cultural development. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Textile: The Journal of Cloth & Culture is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)