International Yarn Bombing Day Returns to Formby Village

This is the third year volunteers from Imagine Formby, a Community Interest Company (CIC) set up revitalise Formby, have marked International Yarn Bombing Day, with organisers promising that this year will be “bigger and better than ever”.

From a life-sized snorkelling figure – Dave the Diver – outside Formby Pool, to a full-sized rose-covered pergola, to a magical under-water scene featuring an octopus, angler fish and jelly fish, the emphasis this year will be on bigger, bolder set pieces.

There will even be a full-sized crocheted older woman, the embodiment of the poem “Warning”, about growing old disgracefully, which features the famous lines:

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.

Organiser Leanne Jones explains:

“This is the third year we’ve brought International Yarn Bombing Day to Formby. Our intention is to have some fun, to brighten up Formby Village and help remind people what a fantastic place it is to come and enjoy.

“We’re going from strength to strength every year and this year’s display will be bigger and better than ever. We’ve replaced 90% of the items from last year and, while we’ll still have around 150 items, we are concentrating on larger scale, higher impact set pieces.

“We’ve gone from a core group of four knitters in our first year to around 14 now, with another eight ladies producing items, and we’ve spent all year since last June planning for this day.

“We’ll be up at dawn on Saturday to make sure that the Village is fully decorated by the time the shops and cafes are open. We can’t wait and hope people will come and visit and enjoy what we have spent the last year creating, while seeing what Formby has to offer.”

In addition to enjoying the colourful decorations, visitors can stop by at A Modern Yarn, where the yarn bombers will be based from 8:30am to 4pm, when the items will be taken down. Visitors can meet the artists behind the yarn art and see their work up close.

There will also be handmade items for sale, with every penny going towards buying wool for next year’s creations. This is a wonderful opportunity to purchase unique, handcrafted items while supporting a great cause. A donations basket will also be available for anyone who wishes to contribute balls of wool.

Yarn bombing is the practice of adding knitted works of art to public places. For example, a yarn bomber may design some sort of colourful knitted pattern and wrap it around a bus stop. The aim of this practice was to try and take knitting from something that was viewed as merely for creating clothes and hats to something that could add meaning and colour to urban locations. International Yarn Bombing Day was first celebrated in 2011 and has been going strong ever since.