Ahead of international yarn bombing day, a group has been gathering at South West TAFE’s Warrnambool campus making brightly coloured pom-poms and knitting and crocheting other pieces that will turn up somewhere around the city on June 13. 

A type of street art which has grown in popularity over the past decade, yarn bombing uses textile pieces rather than paint or chalk to bring colour to urban landscapes and smiles to people’s faces. 

TAFE art teacher Karen Richards said colleague Sue Ferrari had the idea to run workshops, aiming to bring people together and teach them the basics of textile arts, while helping to build the knitted arsenal.

“We’ve run two sessions and there will be a third on Saturday and if we need, there is room for a fourth session the weekend before the day,” she said. 

“Textile arts like knitting or crochet are usually something people do at home by themselves, so this is a way of getting people together for an afternoon to have a chat and a laugh. 

“There has been a good mix of ages from young kids to older people who have been knitting for years coming along. Some are picking up a new skill, which is great to see.” 

Ms Richards said the yarn for the workshops had been donated and TAFE allowed use of its building, meaning costs were minimised. 

The final free workshop will be held this Saturday between 1pm and 4pm at South West TAFE’S E Building.