YARNBOMBS away!

Crochet designer Eleonora Tully of Coastal Crochet journeyed to Italy for the Yarn Bombing Festival - and brought the magic back for Simply Crochet readers!

- Eleonora Tully

What happens when a dedicated group of crochet lovers come together, decide to breathe new life into the city streets and have a passion for bringing the art of modern crochet to the public? The Yarn Bombing Festival, held this year in Milan, Italy!

I'm designer Eleonora Tully (also known as Coastal Crochet), and I travelled from my home on the south coast of England to visit the festival, see my own crochet piece on display and share all the amazing artwork and experiences the scene had to offer...

MAGIC IN MILAN

This colourful event is held each year in Italy, bringing the streets to life with yarn art, mostly crocheted. I was absolutely thrilled to travel to visit this festival - I was not only excited to contribute a piece of crochet art to be displayed, which I had done in previous years, but also to behold the incredible event with my own eyes for the first time. Seeing a collection of yarny pieces displayed like an art exhibition in the streets is so special!

Yarnbombing is a form of street art that uses crochet and/or knitting to create outdoor works of art. The very first Yarn Bombing Festival was held in the beautiful town of Trivento, perched on a hill in southern Italy, in 2019. Organised by Daniela Pavone, Lucia Santorelli and Giulia Del Castello, it's a non-profit event with over 130 crochet artists from all over the world contributing pieces for the festival.

"At first, locals [in Trivento] were intrigued and unsure of the outcome," Daniela told me. "Now they are all in love with this event that brings prestige and people to their neighbourhood. We've transformed the traditional art of crochet into street art"