All About Yarn Bombing with London Kaye | Podcast Episode #65

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What is yarn bombing?

Have you ever heard of the term yarn bombing before? If you haven’t, I have a feeling we’re going to open up a whole new world to you, my guest, and I. Yarn bombing is the act of wrapping an object in yarn to give it a new life or color. You’ll most often find yarn bombing in public places, where it can be admired. Now you may wonder, is yarn bombing illegal? Or is yarn bombing harmful? These questions and more are answered right here in this episode.

Special Guest

I’m joined by, London Kaye, a street artist based in Brooklyn who has been leaving a real mark in the industry. She has been featured in the New York Times and has worked with some of the biggest brands – Starbucks, Gap and Miller Lite to name a few and she has recently launched her yarn line and crochet hook! London is passionate about her craft and shares her successes, struggles, and advice. This is a good one guys!

Episode Transcript

Brittany:
Hi there, Brittany here, and welcome to another episode of the BHooked Podcast. Thank you so much for joining me today. I have another special guest lined up for you here. She’s going to share why yarn is so amazing to her through this relatively unique segment of the fiber arts world that maybe you haven’t heard of before, and that’s why I’m so excited today—because I have the opportunity to share maybe this brand new art form with you.

Before we get started today, I want to take a quick moment to thank Yarnspirations for sponsoring today’s show. Yarnspirations is the online destination for incredible inspiration and patterns. Today’s listeners can get 20% off your order of $40 or more at Yarnspirations.com using the coupon code BHOOKEDPOD. That’s B-H-O-O-K-E-D-P-O-D. That’s 20% off the brands you love like Patons, Bernat, Caren, and Lily Sugar and Cream. That coupon code, once again, is BHookedPod. And this is time sensitive, guys. If you want to make your order, please do so before the end of May 2018 to redeem that code.

I also want to let you know that the show notes can be found at BHookedCrochet.com/session065. London and I mention a couple of resources, some of which are her own personal resources. I know she’s really excited to share that with you. So if you want to have access to anything that we discuss here, you want to check out the show notes page, BHookedCrochet.com/session065. I also want to let you know that that page is dedicated to this episode specifically. So if you have any questions, comments, anything like that, you can do so right there in the comment section. I’m right here on the other side of the keyboard to continue the conversation with you.

Again, this is a—I don’t want to say a new form of crochet—but it really hasn’t been at least on my radar for all that long. And so this is a great way to start the conversation. If you have a question about yarn bombing, then that’s where you can go.

Well, I had the opportunity to meet my guest here today at an event in Arizona earlier this year, back in January. Her name is London Kay, and it seems like she was pretty much an overnight success and an instant yarn celebrity. But honestly, she has been working and hustling for so many years, and she’s here to share that story with you today—and also to introduce you to yarn bombing and really open your eyes to the way that yarn bombing can affect other people, not just you.

That was the real eye opener for me. I really didn’t see the value or understand the value in yarn bombing until I talked with her today. So here it is, my chat with London Kay from LondonKay.com. London, I am so excited to introduce you to the show. Welcome.

London: 4:01
Hi, I’m so happy to be here. I just have a feeling that this is going to be one of those conversations that knocks people’s socks off because, let’s be honest, you’re kind of living the life that so many of us dream. I mean, you have your own yarn line, you have your own hook line, you have the full support of a major yarn company. Can you tell me, how did you get to where you are today?

London: 4:01
I got to where I am, I guess, kind of unexpectedly. I, much like you, I love to crochet. Just being able to crochet is my favorite thing. And I was working after college at the Apple store and selling computers and iPhones. And I was like, all right. There’s more to my life than selling these incredible devices. So I started making lists, and crocheting was always at the top of my list of my favorite things to do.

And so one night, I met an artist. Her name’s Olek, who’s a crazy yarn artist. I sold her a computer. And I never thought about using yarn creatively before. And after meeting her, I ran home, and I wrapped a tree in a scarf I had made. And I just lit up—and that’s yarn bombing. I don’t know. Have you heard of yarn bombing?

Brittany: 4:56
I have heard of yarn bombing, but I would love for you to explain it for people who maybe haven’t heard of it yet.

London: 5:02
Yarn bombing is when you take a piece of knit or crochet and typically wrap it around something. So I took a scarf and I wrapped it around a tree outside of my house and you just leave it there for people to enjoy. And it adds this, you know, touch of nostalgia in a lot of times, like a concrete-looking city block. That touch of crochet or knit really, really warms people’s hearts.

Brittany: 5:26
So was she the one who inspired you to do this or had you seen yarn bombing before? And you were like, I want to do this. This is cool.

London: 5:34
I had never seen yarn bombing before. She totally opened my eyes to just like instead of making hats and scarves, which I had always made. And I started out selling scarves when I was like in middle school and high school. And I bought my car when I was 16 from all the scarves I had sold. So crocheting, I loved to crochet even way back then. But I never thought about using it in an unconventional way.

And so after meeting her, I was at the Apple store. I hopped on a computer and Googled her name and kind of through her I discovered the world of yarn bombing.

Brittany: 6:10
What do you think was it about yarn bombing that drew you in?

London: 6:15
Well, that’s a great question. I love like random acts of kindness and I always loved street art. I went to NYU for college and living in New York and staying in New York after, you see such amazing things on the street. And I was always like captivated by just the art that would pop up and change over the course of the seasons.

So I guess being able to connect like, oh, wow, I could use yarn and do something like that was a really exciting aha moment for me.

Brittany: 6:48
Yeah, that’s really cool. It’s neat how you took something that you already enjoyed and you kind of made it your own with your craft. So you said you hadn’t seen yarn bombing before. Is this something that you see a lot in New York City? I’ve been there once and I only spent like a long weekend there and I did not see any yarn bombing, but I wonder how common it is there.

London: 7:12
Well, when I first saw it, it was like 2013. So it was about five years ago when I met Olek that night. And after meeting her, she was the only one really doing anything like that. She was famous for like crocheting bikes and putting them outside, and I’d seen that a couple times.

But I would say yarn bombing has been getting more and more popular. Now you will see it walking around—maybe you have to be looking for it—but I’ve definitely saturated New York City with yarn bombs. And when I say a lot, there’s maybe like three or four other people that do it out there as well. So you’re starting to see it.

Brittany: 7:53
Yeah, how long does a piece typically stay up? Do you kind of build that piece of art and admire it, take photos of it, and then take it back down? Or do you leave it up for a while?

London: 8:05
Well, when I started—like that first tree—I assumed I’d put it outside, the yarn’s going to get damaged, someone’s going to rip it, it won’t look pretty, and I’ll have to take it down. But the complete opposite happened.

The next day, it was still there. And I’d always had a website where I attempted to sell scarves and hats. So I put a little card on the yarn bomb. And within that first week, a grandmother reached out to me saying her and her granddaughter stop at the tree every day and talk about it and it makes their mornings. And I was like, oh my gosh, I’ve got to do more of this.

And it just stays up. But I would say an average piece will stay up about two weeks. But I never take it down. I tell myself whoever takes it loves it so much they can’t live without it—but who knows?

Brittany: 8:56
Yeah. So you said that was about five years or so. What was the next step? Were you just kind of consumed by the idea of yarn bombing, and you did it because it was something you were passionate about, or did you know that there was a potential direction that you were going? Basically, that would lead you to where you are today?

London: 9:16
I had no idea where it could take me. But I was very much about like, if this is what I love to do, I’m going to give myself a challenge. So every day for 30 days, I was going to put something outside and leave it there. And no one—for no one except, you know, the people passing on the street.

And I started my Instagram account. And every day for 30 days, I put something out. And the little things started happening. And I started having more fun with it. I was never properly like really taught to crochet, so everything is super simple and I just layered shapes on top of each other.

Instead of 30 days, I did it for 50 days. And at the end of that, I had gotten a designer reach out to me looking for crocheted accessories for a Fashion Week show. And I was like, oh, this is cool. But everything was very organic. I didn’t try to do anything for anyone.

Brittany: 10:16
How long do you think it took before you really started to be noticed and you knew that you were on to something?

London: 10:24
I guess like really maybe a year until I really started like, okay, I could make more money crocheting than working at the Apple store. And I kind of saw a future for it.

But really, because I love to crochet so much—and I can spend all day crocheting without a problem—that was really the reason that I was able to turn this into more than just something I was doing for fun before and after work.

Brittany: 10:53
Yeah, I love that you’re honest with that too, because a lot of times from the outside looking in, it looks like people are overnight successes. I mean, I’ll be honest, I hadn’t heard of you before and then like one day there you were, and you’re kind of like a yarn celebrity.

So I knew there had to have been a long process to get there and I think people need to hear that, because it’s just not realistic to think that you’re going to have an idea and everything is going to work out exactly as it should, and in no time you’re going to achieve your goals and be exactly where you want to be.

London: 11:29
I completely agree. I think that all the time when I see people—it’s like, oh my gosh, they’re amazing, they just like one day woke up and that was it. It was like—oh gosh. For everyone, there’s challenge. Obviously, they have different obstacles, but I guess how I like to think is like, okay, I’m working really hard and maybe I feel like I can’t do it, but instead of giving up, I’m going to keep going.

And at each level that you kind of keep getting to, it’s like more people kind of drop out almost and don’t keep going or don’t believe. But I truly am all about positive thinking and setting goals and hopefully achieving them. And yeah, it takes a lot of work—but again, if you love what you do, then it’s okay to put in that work.

Brittany: 12:16
I’ve always heard that usually the point at which you’ve reached your wit’s end and you’re like, I can’t do this anymore—in so many cases, if that person did decide to just quit and never do what they were doing anymore, it was usually because they were just one or two steps away from their ultimate goal.

Was there a time in your journey where you felt like, man, this isn’t working out, maybe I shouldn’t be doing this, or maybe this is just going to be a hobby? Like, did you ever have any doubt?

London: 12:54
I mean, I still—you get in your head. But there are different points at each stage. Like one, I—again, don’t really know—I know how to crochet, obviously, I can’t say that, but I just make it up and do it.

So there was a commercial I was doing for Gap, and they needed a school bus crocheted. I had one week to do it. I’d never crocheted a school bus before. I didn’t know what went into that. But of course, I said yes, and then I figured I’d figure it out.

And I remember just like standing in my apartment, my sister was next to me, like having pretty much a breakdown because I thought I would ruin this commercial. And she asked me like, is this really what you want to do every time you get so stressed out? Like, are you sure you want to do this?

And it’s like, yes—I can do it. Let me just, you know, take some deep breaths and get through whatever emotions had to get through me. But it got done. I’m getting heated just thinking about it.

Brittany: 13:57
Right. Takes you back to that place. So was that, before, I’m curious just to see how your story completely developed.

London: 14:05
It sounds like— I jumped a little bit ahead.

Brittany: 14:07
Well, no, no. No, that’s fine. It inspires really my direction. So I thought, I guess, or well, I guess I didn’t realize what you had done before you started doing, before you started working with Lion Brand. So did you start doing like commercials and that sort first?

London: 14:28
Definitely, and that’s still a lot of what I do. I work for different brands or companies doing marketing and advertising campaigns fully made of crochet, which is like—again—never thought that was a job. But so what happened is, by putting my street art out in New York, to go back to like the 30-day challenge, I didn’t stop doing street art. Before work, after work, on my lunch breaks, I’m out in New York City hanging up street art and leaving it there with a tag.

And over time, I think one of my first commercial clients was Starbucks. They reached out to me through my website. They had a new store opening in Brooklyn and wanted crocheted art on the chain link fence in front of their construction site. I worked for Isaac Mizrahi. I did a commercial for delivery.com where I made crocheted bodysuits for all the people in the commercial—again, had no idea how to make anything like that, but you say yes and figure it out.

I’ve worked for Chex Mix, LG, Progressive Insurance, Miller Lite. I did a crocheted billboard in Times Square—50 feet by 25 feet, all crocheted. Yeah, only three weeks to get that made. So obviously, for a lot of these big projects, I have a wonderful team of crocheters that I can reach out to. I needed 55 five-foot-by-five-foot crocheted squares. So I can’t do all that myself. And that’s really like kind of the direction that I was going for, and still am going in a lot of ways.

Brittany: 16:06
I would never have guessed, like you said, that that is even a thing. I think it’s so cool that brands that aren’t in our industry are reaching out to you for these things. It’s a really great way to spread the message about crochet and what it brings to our lives. And that’s so cool that you had the chance to work with so many very well-known companies.

London: 16:29
Thank you. Yeah, it’s been honestly a dream. I love it.

Brittany: 16:33
So when did Lion Brand pick you up or when—how did that story unfold with having your own yarn line and hooks?

London: 16:42
I’ve been working with Lion Brand and I love—I mean, I love Lion Brand yarn. They have so many colors and textures and just like, it’s amazing. So I always loved Lion Brand and they’re based in New York and New Jersey.

So I’ve been working with them now for a while. I would say maybe for the last like three years or so—maybe even four years. It started out with just doing a Tea with Shira. We did a community yarn bomb together in Union Square one year. And then I did a booth for them at a craft show called CHA, which was really fun.

And I’ve been creating—I 3D print my own crochet hooks, and I’ve been doing that for a while now. They saw me at the show there with these 3D printed hooks and thought that was pretty cool. So I guess that put a light bulb in their head. And they decided, oh, maybe we should do something with the hooks. And then that turned into yarn. And that just launched this February in Joann craft stores.

And it’s like so crazy. I’m actually working on a project right now using my own yarn, which is pretty, pretty fun.

Brittany: 17:55
That’s like the ultimate goal, really. I mean, you said you’re a goal setter. Where do you go from here? Like, how do you trump that?

London: 18:02
I know! Well, having these crochet hooks are like so, so, so fun because I use a really big crochet hook because everything I make is pretty big. So I combined all the best features of the big crochet hooks out there because everything was very clunky and, you know, not great. It took me a long time to perfect it.

But I actually just got the patent approved like a few weeks ago—an official crochet hook patent. So I’m like so jazzed about the hook. I hope in the future I get to do more with developing my hook line because I think they’re so much fun. They’re in bright neon colors—lime green, shocking pink, and turquoise.

Brittany: 18:49
Yeah, and the yarn all looked really bright and fun too. And like you were saying, it’s a bigger weight yarn, so I imagine that helps with these gigantic projects that you’ve worked on.

London: 19:00
Oh, it definitely does. And the yarn’s super forgiving. It’s great for both indoor and outdoor yarn. So if you did want to yarn bomb a tree outside of your house or make something warm and cozy like a dream catcher or a chair cover for something indoors, it works for that too. So I couldn’t be happier with how that’s all gone.

Brittany: 19:21
Yeah, that’s so cool. I am just super envious. I mean, what a cool journey and a really cool and inspirational story.

I love the idea—and you know that I am very much focused on teaching and developing people’s skills—and I always jump at the opportunity to share something with people that I think you don’t have to have uber skills to do. You were saying that you were never formally like taught how to crochet, you did very simple things, and you used shapes and textures more so than advanced stitches. So I think this type of approach to creativity with yarn is great for beginners. Is that something that you would agree with?

London: 20:03
I completely agree. It’s great for beginners. It’s also great for people that maybe just want to kind of think outside the box a little bit with crocheting or knitting. If you’re used to doing more structured shapes and want to just, like, you know, make some flowers to hang in your garden, just as a fun little thing to switch it up.

But everything I do is all single crochet. So it really lets you kind of play with the shapes, add a little here, add a little there. And then when you hang things up outside—people aren’t looking. You know, I made a banana one time and I kept it under my bed because I was like, this giant banana doesn’t look like a banana because the yellows didn’t match. But then you hang it up on the fence and it’s like, oh my gosh! No one’s looking if your yellows don’t match in the banana.

They’re just looking at, oh my gosh, there’s a crazy banana on the side of the road right now made of yarn. This is so cool. So it’s playing with kind of the street and the element of surprise that also hopefully can help people not worry. Don’t worry if it’s perfect. It’s just something for fun and to make people smile.

Brittany: 21:14
Yeah. So it sounds like really somebody just needs to have a pretty good understanding of single crochet and maybe have some creativity. Do you have any advice for people of where that creativity could come from? Like, where do you draw inspiration from?

London: 21:30
I usually get inspiration from things going on in pop culture, current events, anything bright and colorful, images that I may see. I’ve always loved looking at pictures online—like Pinteresting. I’ve been doing that well before Pinterest existed. So just seeing any photo and then using that as a starting point.

But I think for someone’s first yarn bomb, there’s nothing better than a tree wrap or a pole wrap because it’s so simple. It’s just like a scarf straight up and down. And you kind of get to experience what yarn bombing is like. So you get to create it—and don’t spend too long—and then go outside and kind of sew it on or tie it on. So that’s kind of a bit of an adrenaline rush. And then the best part is standing back and watching people and seeing how they react to what you’ve just put up on the street. That would be the first yarn bomb I would suggest doing.

Brittany: 22:35
Well, that’s cool. So is there a particular approach that you take to it or is that kind of part of the creativity? Yeah. I think you could go in so many different directions. Like you could put—you can make squares and stitch them together and wrap them around the tree. You could—I don’t—I mean, I feel like there’s so many different directions you could go in.

London: 22:58
Definitely. Like even taking—’cause I make all sorts of little swatches of things that I never know what to do with them. So going through kind of that stockpile too of things you’ve made in the past and piecing those together and giving it new life is another fun kind of way to do it too.

When I teach yarn bombing, it’s just like all these different swatches and scraps of things that are already made, shapes that are already crocheted. And then you kind of collage them together and you pick and choose what you want to create a final picture.

Brittany: 23:27
Have you learned any tips of maybe the best way to attach these things? It sounds like you make the full piece and then maybe you either crochet it together or you sew it together on the object that you’re yarn bombing. Do you find that one technique works better than another?

London: 23:46
I always tie it up. I put little bits of string because one of the things that makes yarn bombing different from other forms of street art is that it’s not hurting the environment. So I love the ability to just tie it up.

Because if somebody really wants it, they’re going to take it. So no matter how much effort you put into sewing it onto the fence or—amount of, you know—as much as you want to stick it up there, someone’s going to be able to get it. So I like to keep it as simple as possible so it doesn’t leave a mark.

Brittany: 24:17
yeah has that happened before? Has somebody taken your art?

London: 24:21
Oh every day all the time um but you know it’s part of part of the fun um part of the job I guess but um it’s Amazing with social media and Instagram and capturing that good photograph and being able to share it where it does live on. It really is a nice way to show your art, even if it isn’t on the street for that long.

But I mean, I’ve had a piece in Soho right now for probably like four months and it’s just there. So it really goes back and forth with the amount of time it’ll stay up.

Brittany: 24:59
Wow, that’s cool. So in most situations when you put up a piece of art, is that something that was previously agreed upon between you and maybe the business that’s close to it? Or do you kind of just go rogue and do your own thing and put up art where you’re inspired?

London: 25:18
Now I try to get permission to. All the time. It’s just better.

Um, because, uh, yeah, if someone’s there, if it’s someone’s property, I always ask everyone’s fine with it. So that’s the way to go. That’s the way I will say to do it officially.

Um, but if you do like, I love using like construction fences or fences that aren’t necessarily anyone’s property, I would stay clear of like city property, um, because they have like a park cleanup crew. And there’s nothing worse than just someone’s job being to clean up a bench and then cutting your art down.

So I would steer clear of that. But construction fences are great. Trees and poles and pillars around cities are all good. Those usually stay up for a while.

And then, yeah, if you have a shop that has a fence attached to it, ask permission because then people will think it’s more of like a thing. It’s more legitimate and be a little scared. Oops, sorry. That was my crochet hook. People will be a little scared to take it if it’s on someone’s property.

Brittany: 26:28
Yeah, I appreciate your advice there because the underlying question for me is… am I even allowed to do this? Because I mean, most places you’re going to hang it up unless you’re doing it at your house. It’s going to be somebody else’s property. And I, of course, would want to avoid any kind of conflict.

London: 26:46
Exactly. And I always do it in the middle of the day. I’m not like wearing black sweatpants and a hoodie. Like I dress normal. I always have scissors with me.

So if anybody does stop me, I can always say like, I’m just putting it up to take a picture. I have scissors. I can cut I can cut it down right after or I can cut it down now if that makes you more comfortable.

Like that line will make you go– that’s fine. You have yarn. It’s not like we have anything dangerous.

Brittany: 27:17
Yeah, and because it’s not a permanent thing like spray paint or something like that, it’s going to be a lot more difficult to remove that if it’s even possible at all. And yarn, like you said, you can just cut it down.

London: 27:31
Right. So it’s part of the fun, but that’s why permission is always the best way to go. But don’t let anything stop you from getting out there.

Brittany: 27:43
Yeah, definitely. So I’m curious, you’ve done a lot of projects. Are you able to pinpoint a favorite or a couple of favorites that you can tell us about?

London: 27:53
Well, one of my favorites for sure is I worked with Red Valentino. which is Valentino’s like younger brand.

And I got an email through my website. It was signed house of Valentino. And I honestly thought it was a prank. Like there is no way Valentino is reaching out to me through my website and turns out it was them.

And I did. 14 window displays for them around the world. And I got to go to two store openings, one in Rome and one in London and live crochet for them. And they did a capsule collection where I had actual crocheted art on garments that they made.

And it was so amazing. I’m like obsessed with the fashion world and traveling and crocheting. So this just combines everything together and um would have to be one of my favorite commercial projects.

Um but then street art’s a whole other thing and I can explain my favorite street art project too if you’d like

Brittany: 29:25
oh yeah I would love to hear it

London: 29:27
um well okay so I did a dragon. It was on 14th Street between 5th and 6th Avenue in New York. And it was during Game of Thrones season. So the dragon was spitting fire for probably about 20 feet of fire down a fence.

Wow. And… It was so awesome. And it stayed up for about two weeks or so. And when it came down, someone in the neighborhood came back with ribbons saying, who took my dragon? Where’s my dragon?

And it was just like the first time I saw how the art really can affect the community and how it makes just such a difference in people’s day-to-day life that it’ll always be one of my favorites. favorite pieces.

Brittany: 29:41
Yeah. And it’s so cool to, to even realize that, that that happens. I mean, you’re, you’re getting a lot out of what you’re doing because you’re passionate, but I mean, knowing that you are helping somebody else or just brightening their day with your work is like next level stuff. I, I think for people who may be on the fence about yarn bombing or at least giving it a try, like that should be the motivator right there.

London: 30:08
I completely agree. I just, it goes back to like the random acts of kindness and just making people’s day.

And it’s, it’s such a simple thing. But I feel like when people are drawn into the present, it’s like all of your troubles almost are forced to go away, because in the present moment, everything is okay. And I love that the crochet can be kind of a vehicle for that.

Brittany: 30:31
yeah and I heard somewhere and I wish I could pinpoint exactly where I heard this I think it was on another podcast but somebody was explaining that when they have a really busy mind or maybe they have some troubles that they’re going through they were explaining how staring at one thing like at an object for a few seconds was a great way to clear the mind and I imagine that maybe this is at play when people are looking at your art because they’re stopping, they’re seeing something that is like, whoa, why is there yarn like on this fence? So there’s a little bit of a shock factor there, but they’re probably drawn into the art and staring at it. And through that, it probably clears their

London: 31:16
mind, you know? I hope so. And I think, I mean, crocheting is a bit of a meditation as well. For clearing the mind and knitting. I mean, I just learned to knit a few months ago, so I can’t really call myself a knitter.

But crocheting definitely, I think, is a great form of meditation and a way to kind of like clear your thoughts and stay kind of more focused on one thing at a time.

Brittany: 31:43
Yeah, very true. I agree with that 100%. We’ve had a lot of good conversations about how crochet can be used as a meditative activity. And I mean, just the benefits that you get out of it are, you just can’t even pinpoint all of them. It’s different for everybody.

London: 32:01
Yeah, it really is. And I mean, I’m going to have to go back and listen to some of those conversations because I want to learn more about it.

Brittany: 32:10
There was a great one with Sandra and she has the Instagram page, Mobius girl. She, man, she blew me away with, with that talk. I know that one helped a lot of people. So yeah, you’ll have to check that out.

London: 32:24
Yeah, definitely.

Brittany: 32:28
So what about, what I want to do is really give people an action plan. If they want to start yarn bombing, like, can you break it down into steps? Like what’s the first thing that they should do?

London: 32:41
The first thing you should do if you’d like to yarn bomb is say you can do it.

Then the second thing I’d recommend doing is think about maybe a location or a spot in your neighborhood that you think could use a little bit of color or light, or I start with a location for inspiration.

And once you have your location, um, you can begin to create the piece you want for that spot. With yarn, it’s great because it’s like very stretchy. So you don’t really need to measure things. Eyeballing it is going to be good enough.

And yeah, so create a piece with the location in mind. And I think that will help. And don’t spend too long on it. I would spend like a week. It’s a weekend project because if it does go missing, you don’t want it to, feel like you spent the whole month working on it.

So take the weekend, make something and then go out and hang it up and take a picture and then maybe go and step back and watch it for an hour. That’s fun. Yeah. And watch people’s reactions.

I don’t get to do that too much because the location that you pick would have to be within like the sitting distance of a bar or someplace else where you can sit and enjoy.

Yeah. Yeah, that would be my kind of action plan. And don’t worry if it’s not perfect. That’s part of the fun.

Brittany: 34:14
Yeah. So do you do any like measuring or pre-planning? Like say there’s like a light post or something that you want to decorate. Do you take any measurements of that? Like maybe the circumference or anything? Or do you just kind of wing it?

London: 34:31
I mean, it’s obviously best if you can take a measurement. So if you’re walking by and have a ruler bracelet or like use your phone or whatever. But yeah, measurement will be good.

And usually I make the crochet about two or three inches smaller than the actual measurement because the yarn stretches. And then just go from there.

But when you hang it up, you can always kind of like fudge it if it’s not perfect.

Brittany: 34:59
Yeah.

London: 34:59
And then for like commercial projects where like dimensions usually have to be pretty specific or things are a little more specific, I usually will draw things out for the clients, like a couple different options for what I could crochet for them and then use that as a starting point for the conversation because you don’t want to crochet something and then have to re-crochet it.

A drawing is a lot better place to start.

Brittany: 35:27
Yeah, cool. So what about yarn? I can see this as being like a good stash busting project. Is there a particular type of yarn that works better for this? It’s

London: 35:40
perfect for the stash busting project. And mixing and matching yarn together is always really fun. Like if you’re trying to create some texture, combining a thin yarn with a thicker yarn, and then using a big hook is a really good kind of technique.

So double stranding with a big 20 millimeter hook. The London K yarn, of course, is perfect because it comes in the smaller balls. It’s $1.99, super affordable. And it’s a very thick, thick yarn. So that works well too.

And yeah, kind of anything. It’s really a free for all.

Brittany: 36:16
That’s cool. Have you ever had any experience with like weathering or fading or anything like that with a particular fiber type? Like I imagine animal fibers might be a little bit harder to really work for this because maybe it does weather more so than an acrylic.

London: 36:37
Yeah, I usually use the acrylic yarn. It’s also less expensive.

Just when I was get have been going for this, I can’t spend $40 on a skein of yarn as much as I’d love to.

Um, so yeah, usually like the less expensive acrylic yarn is good within the first six months or so it does fade. And then after that initial fading, it’ll kind of stay as is.

Um, but the brighter, the better just because of the fading element. But, um, yeah, that would be my tip for yarn type.

Brittany: 37:09
Okay, cool. I’m kind of just running through some ideas in my head. If somebody hasn’t really seen a lot of different types of yarn bombing, can you maybe throw out a few? You talked about bombing a tree first because that’s super easy and you probably have one in your yard and you don’t have to worry about the permissions and all that stuff. But what are some other opportunities like benches? I…

London: 37:33
So… Trees and poles, fire hydrants, phone booths, anything that you can wrap would be one form of yarn bombing. So wrapping a bench, wrapping a tree. I love to use chain link as a canvas because it allows you to stretch and manipulate the yarn in a really nice way. And that’s kind of my personal favorite.

So you can create pictures or if you crocheted like a big rectangle and then wrote a word in it or wrote something out in the middle of that crochet or knit piece — that’s another way to go. And then I would say also another theme of yarn bombing would be… I don’t know, I guess that’s kind of it.

Brittany: 38:20
Yeah, it seems pretty simple and it seems like really you’re only limited by your own creativity. Definitely.

London: 38:28
I mean, I think of new ideas all the time. Is there anything that you’ve thought of in this conversation that you could maybe go home and yarn bomb?

Brittany: 38:36
Well, there, yeah, like so many things that I think it would be hard to pinpoint just one. I think I would probably be the person to start at my home. And the tree makes sense because like you said, that’s easy. It’s probably a quicker project.

And when you can do something and see the result quicker, I think you’re probably going to be more likely to continue with that thing. But I’m curious — do you think this is only for people who live in cities? Because I live in a rural area. It’s like so far from New York City. I wonder if it would be as enjoyed in this type of area versus a big city where you have a lot more foot traffic and that sort of thing.

London: 39:25
I think it almost could be enjoyed more in a smaller, more rural town because it’s more personal that way. And it’s really affecting the neighborhood and the community. And with word of mouth, it is able to travel more and makes more of an impact almost because it’s something new and exciting on the street — that’s different.

Whereas in New York, there’s so much all the time. It’s overly saturated almost. It could be a fun experiment to go the reverse.

Brittany: 39:58
Yeah, that’s a really good point. I never really even thought that it would probably have a bigger impact because it’s stuff like that you just don’t see around here.

London: 40:08
Yeah, another actually good way to kind of yarn bomb is to get the community involved or a school involved. It’s really fun. I’ve done some projects with kids where they’ve made pom poms before and tied them up at their school on the fence.

And some of the parents added some bigger crochet pieces to go along with it. So it really is a great activity also for everyone to get involved and create a project together.

Brittany: 40:34
Yeah. How would you start that conversation?

London: 40:37
I think always having an idea of a location or an event is a good place to start. So say there’s a yearly event on this day and you want to do something different that you haven’t done before, I think that would be a good place to start because it is so unique.

But yarn is something everybody kind of has that connection to — whether it be the blanket that’s been passed down from generation to generation. So usually people get on board with the yarn crafts pretty quickly.

Brittany: 41:09
Yeah, gosh, so much good stuff here. I know if somebody was on the fence about yarn bombing, they probably… And wow, there was a major pun there that I didn’t even…

London: 41:20
I know, it was so good.

Brittany: 41:22
Totally wasn’t even planned. Yeah. If they’re on the fence, they’re just going to cross over to the other side because… You’ve inspired us. You’ve given us a plan of action that we can take to open up this whole new world. And that’s really cool.

But I do, I really find your story inspirational and how you started and where you’re going today. I love that you’re always thinking about the future and ways that you can improve and set goals for yourself. If you could pinpoint just one reason why you think that you’ve been successful, what would that be?

London: 42:01
I think it really is because I will stay up all night crocheting if I have to. And it’s just about doing the work. And I’ve done so much work that never gets even seen. But in my mind, I thought, you know, this is so important. I have to finish it. I have to do it.

All of those little things of just getting the work done have gotten me where I am. And I’m not going to stop.

Brittany: 42:36
Yeah. See, I appreciate that so much because everybody can take that advice. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, whether you’re an Etsy seller or you’re a blogger, or if you’re just doing something as a hobby — maybe you’re not even in this yarn industry.

I think that advice, if people only hear one thing, I want them to hear that. Because that really is how you get to where you want to go. That’s how you achieve your goals.

And thank you so much. I want to give people a chance to connect with you too. So where is a good place for them to go to maybe learn more about your journey, to see some of your amazing work?

Because it’s times like this that I wish we had a video podcast, because we could physically show people how amazing this is. So where can they find your work and learn more about you?

London: 43:31
You can — best place by far is Instagram. And my Instagram handle is @madebylondon. So start there.

But I also have a website: londonkaye.com, spelled K-A-Y-E. And of course, you can get the yarn on Amazon, Michaels, Joann’s — all online, or in Joann’s stores and AC Moore stores. So that is kind of how you can connect with me.

And yeah, thank you so, so much. I hope you all take a look. You got to see a crocheted mermaid on a fence.

Brittany: 44:09
So yes, you do. Yes, I definitely encourage people to check out your — basically like your portfolio — on your Instagram profile. So I’ll have all of that information on the show notes page so people can just visit that.

They can check out the website. They can see where they can order your yarn and your hooks. And of course, they can see some of your beautiful work.

So London, again, thank you so much. This has been such a pleasure for me and an eye-opener for me, because yarn bombing isn’t something that I’ve done before, but I think it’s something I really need to do.

London: 44:44
Oh thank you. Thank you. I’ve had such a joy talking to you this morning.

Brittany: 44:49
Did you hear that, guys? Get the work done. That is the secret to London’s success. Honestly, that’s the secret to my success too.

Set a goal for yourself so you know exactly where you want to get to — and then just get the work done. Do whatever it takes to get the work done. And if you have the passion, if you have the motivation, it’s just going to happen naturally.

If you don’t have the passion or the motivation, maybe you’re just on the wrong path at that time and you need to reassess where you want to go. So thank you, London, so much for bringing that to our attention, for being open and honest about why you think you’re successful.

Gives me a great opportunity to also share that secret of my success too. It really boils down to just buckling down and getting the work done.

Thank you so much for listening to today’s show. I had an absolute blast talking with London, sharing this unique form of crochet with you — yarn bombing.

I hope you’re inspired to give it a try, even if you think that maybe you won’t continue to do it. I imagine it would be a really fun weekend project, maybe something you can get your friends or your family members involved in. You can teach them how to crochet, and then you’ll have something beautiful to look at for weeks to come.

This podcast, as you know, was sponsored by Yarnspirations, which is your online destination for incredible inspiration and free patterns. There are tons of free patterns available on their website, a lot of which have video tutorials from hosts like myself and Mikey from The Crochet Crowd.

They’re really easy to follow. You definitely want to check it out if you haven’t done so already.

And I also want to remind you that because you’re listening to today’s show, you can get a coupon code to redeem when you spend $40 or more on their website. This coupon code is time sensitive, so if you’re listening to this episode as it airs or within May of 2018, then if you type in the coupon code BHOOKEDPOD — that’s B-H-O-O-K-E-D-P-O-D — at checkout when you spend $40 or more, you can save 20% off of that order.

So you want to make sure you take advantage of that offer while it’s still available, as a little token of my appreciation and Yarnspirations’ appreciation for you listening to today’s show.

That’ll wrap it up for this week, guys. Thank you so much for joining me today. It’s been so much fun talking about yarn appreciation and bringing different people into your lives that can share why yarn is so great to them.

We’re going to wrap it up next week with one more episode where we talk all about yarn appreciation. I hope you will join me then. Same time, same place. I’ll see you then, guys. Bye-bye.