Dust off your knitting needles — it's time for the latest craftivism project of the resistance.
A new initiative called Welcome Blanket takes the length of President Donald Trump's proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall and Sister in law Who Let Me Use Her Holereimagines it as thousands of "welcome" blankets for refugees. The goal is to knit blankets from 2,000 miles of yarn — the projected length of the border wall — over the next three months.
SEE ALSO: This refugee aid app was a passion project. Now hundreds of nonprofits rely on it.With each blanket made, the knitter is encouraged to include a note sharing their family's immigration story and words of welcome for refugee families.
View this post on Instagram
The initiative was started by Jayna Zweiman, cofounder of Pussyhat Project — an effort to craft simple pink "pussyhats" that was a viral success in the lead-up to the Women's March on Washington earlier this year. The hats quickly became a symbol of the resistance for women.
"I want people coming to this country to feel valued because they are."
Now, Zweiman hopes to mimic that astounding success with Welcome Blanket.
"Pussyhat Project proved that being politically active can take many forms," Zweiman says. "Welcome Blanket shows how to create a useful object to give to someone in a way that is kind, engaging, and politically powerful."
She estimates each blanket will measure 40 inches by 40 inches (given the set red-and-white patterns for participants to use), and contain 1,200 yards of yarn each. That means participants will need to craft 3,200 blankets collectively to reach about 3.5 million yards of yarn used — or 2,000 miles.
The designer of the original pattern for the pussyhat, Kat Coyle, also designed the patterns for Welcome Blanket.
The project isn't just for seasoned knitters either. Zweiman and Coyle created a step-by-step photo and text tutorial for beginners to follow, teaching them how to create their blankets from start to finish.
View this post on Instagram
Starting in July, completed blankets and accompanying notes will be displayed on a rolling basis in the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago. Participants need to send their blankets to the museum by August 20, and Zweiman says the completed 2,000 miles of blankets will go on display by September 2017.
"It takes time and care to create something for someone else."
Once the show closes at the end of that month, the individual blankets will be distributed to refugee resettlement organizations to be used by refugee families in the U.S.
"As people debate methods and numbers concerning immigration, it's important to remember we are talking about people — people like ourselves, our neighbors, and our ancestors," Zweiman says. "I want people coming to this country to feel valued, because they are."
Zweiman not only hopes to show visible support for refugees through the initiative, but also to bring communities together in solidarity and resistance. Crafters, for example, can gather around the country at official knitting circles throughout the next three months.
"Craftivism is an opportunity to be politically active while being kind and generous," Zweiman says. "It takes time and care to create something for someone else. Whether someone knits on her own or in a group, the time devoted to making a blanket is an opportunity to think about, discuss, and learn about immigration."
Topics Activism Social Good Immigration
Beyond This Point You May Encounter Nude SunbathersThe Bookness of NotStarting Out in the EveningIt’s Never a Bad Time to Brush Up on Your DemonologyWhat an Abolitionist’s Letters Can Teach Us About Our Political MomentEight Views of Paradise Interrupted: Paintings by Jennifer Wen MaDaily Cartoon: 1976, The Hite ReportDaily Cartoon: 1880, BrailleWho But the Sun? For the Solstice, Baudelaire Salutes That Ball of GasInside the Issue: Behind “No Home Go Home / Go Home No Home”A New Museum Memorializes the Commercial World’s Biggest FailuresCan AI Write Pop Songs? On Music and Machine LanguageWill Progressive Rock Save Your Soul? (Hint: No)Who But the Sun? For the Solstice, Baudelaire Salutes That Ball of GasTales of the Unexpected: A Ghost StoryWhat Gershom Scholem’s Take on Jewish Mysticism Can Teach Us NowStaff Picks: David Grossman, Donald Barthelme, Derren Brown, and Morebest audiobook eva?: Lorin Stein Answers Your QuestionsHow to Read a Squiggle: Sterne, Hoffmann, BalzacWhen Video Games Were Playable Stories Instagram is down, and not in a nice way Milo Ventimiglia couldn't finish reading 'The Fountainhead,' either #MeToo has sparked a big shift in attitudes towards harassment, new research shows Facebook's former News Feed chief will take over Instagram Who got 10/10? Speechwriters rate the convention speeches so far. Doug the Pug delivers hugs and cheer to a children's hospital Perfect gifts for the inconsolable 'Parks and Rec' fans in your life Adobe focuses on a connected experience with the new Acrobat DC The ending of 'Hell Fest' is a clever, divisive nightmare 'Venom' review round Newfound object on the edge of the solar system could lead to Planet X Apple users claim iOS 12 is sending iMessages to the wrong contacts 10 reasons we believe Tim Kaine had never seen or heard of balloons before last night 'That's what I'm talking about:' Bill Clinton loved Barack Obama's speech Beyond Hillary: 10 powerful speeches by women at the Democratic Convention You should do your holiday shopping now. Yes, now. This otherwise lovely proposal may have also escalated a sibling rivalry Hillary Clinton's acceptance speech Apple's iOS 12.1 to bring new emoji, iPhone XS charging fix Hillary Clinton's reaction to the fireworks at the Democratic convention is everything
2.5237s , 8225.3359375 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Sister in law Who Let Me Use Her Hole】,Pursuit Information Network