Last week I finished up a really fun project, a “yarn-bombed” bike! I was commissioned to do it for the front window of Fibrespace, a yarn shop in historic Old Town Alexandria, VA. Here’s a shot of my hard work before delivering it to the shop.

Although I had been working on it for weeks, I was so close to it that I didn’t really “see” it in it’s full glory until I wheeled it outside in it’s natural bicycle habitat. It looked like a birthday party!

I knit all of the pieces on my hand operated knitting machine then hand stitched each section to the bike.I had to take the brakes off and got rid of the cables to streamline things. The patterning was achieved by using a punchcard to select the proper needles to create the motifs. The fenders were the most challenging! I had to remove them to be able to hot glue the knit panels around the edges.

 

Of course I had to embellish the bike with pom-poms to complete the look! And tassels seems to be fitting for the handlebars, reminiscent of the streamers on my childhood bike in the 70’s.

 

Once we brought the bike to Fibrespace, I had more work to do! I also adorned the front steps with knitting and pompoms. Since this shot was taken the bike has been put in the front window on display. (I’ll update this post when I get a proper photo of it!)

When I took on this project I really had no idea what I was in for. I had done 2 other yarn art installations for Fibrespace, the King St. lampposts and the giant Christmas stocking (below). This bike was full of challenges but all in all it was really fun and I’m so happy with the result!

 

last winter!

last spring!

One of the most fun parts of doing this kind of work is interacting with the public on installation day. Imagine wheeling that colorful bike down the busy sidewalk or crossing the street carrying a 7 foot Christmas stocking! We saw many smiles and heard so many encouraging comments while stitching the knitting to the posts. Special thanks to my patient and helpful family and friends for putting up with my crazy projects!