Subversive Stitching
I’ve been waiting for a good reason to offer a roundup of subversive craft work, and this recent bit by Just Seeds collective members is the best I could ask for. We’ve also seen the Grannies Knit for Peace, but today we’re focusing on the Knitta crew, and microRevolt.
Knitta didn’t set out to be activists, but the 11 folks that make up their crew do stage urban interventions that make the world a bit friendlier. Founded by Magda Sayeg in October 2005, the group has grown and gained cred as their woolen graffiti appears in new places. It would be great to see explicitly activist knitters take to the streets the same ways that they have.
microRevolt might just be the folks to do it. Their projects investigate the dawn of sweatshops in early industrial capitalism to inform the current crisis of global expansion and the feminization of labor. They are the folks that brought you knitPro.
knitPro is a web application that translates digital images into knit, crochet, needlepoint and cross-stitch patterns. Just upload jpeg, gif or png images of whatever you wish — portraits, landscapes, logos… and it will generate the image pattern on a grid sizable for any fiber project. Subvert the corporate logo that nauseates you most with their logoknits - knitted garments bearing the logos of the worst sweatshop labor offenders.
Finally, there’s the awesomely Australian Radical Cross Stitch blog that is home to seriously subversive stitching. And the home of the Melbourne Craft Cartel Market and Podcast.
Know anybody else that’s stitching their way to revolution? Let us know.
yay thanks for the link. People interested in finding more radical stitchers should check out our links list. There’s some goodies in there. Anyone else out there should get in touch with us too. We’re always looking for new friends.
xox