Woollen knits are cropping up in the strangest places in Cape Town, with street poles being kept warm by snuggly wool covers.
|||Cape Town - Woollen knits are cropping up in the strangest places in Cape Town.
There are street poles in the city centre kept warm by snuggly wool covers and even statues have been brought to life by colourful leg warmers.
It’s a craze called yarn bombing, where people dress and cover objects in a knitted woollen outfit.
Yarn bomber Isabeau Peep is one of the Cape Town enthusiasts and has been anonymously knitting all winter.
She even knitted a pair of proudly South African woollen socks for the Jan van Riebeeck statue on Heerengracht.
On her blog, Isabeau details why she is a yarn bomber.
She says she loves the contrast between soft, bright knits and the coldness of the city.
“It’s a way of expressing your creativity in the public environment of the city,” she says.
It brightened up everyone’s day when the Bart Simpson heads on a statue in St George’s Mall were suddenly wearing beanies.
“My goal is to change how we see Cape Town as a living city,” she says.
“This city is mine, yours and ours. Go outside, enjoy it, touch it, use it - support your city by truly being in it and contributing a bit of your own personality to its colourful landscape.”
The knitting craze is not unique to SA and has seen colourful woollen outfits appear in public spaces across the USA and UK.
Isabaeu says in Cape Town it’s a special craft: “While doing yarn graffiti, I’ve always enjoyed how many people stop and ask about what I’m doing and why.
“I love the fact that the simple activity of wrapping a street pole with knitting gives people the excuse to chat to me.”
Daily Voice