Freeform crochet and knitting is a seemingly random combination of
crochet,
knitting and in some cases other
fibre arts to make a piece that is not constrained by patterns, colours,
stitches or other limitations.
The roots of this art are thought to be in
Irish crochet
Irish lace has always been an important part of the Irish needlework tradition. Both needlepoint and bobbin laces were made in Ireland before the middle of the eighteenth century, but never, apparently, on a commercial scale. It was promoted by Ir ...
, whose own identity came to the fore in the 1960s and 1970s. The late 20th and early 21st centuries have seen a revival and progression of this form of textile expression. Well known freeformers include Penny O'Neill, James Walters, Sylvia Cosh, Jenny Dowde, Jan Messent, Margaret Hubert, Myra Wood, Hannah Martin, and Prudence Mapstone.
One feature of this freeform art is that group pieces can be made by people of varying expertise and experience. Leftover and scrap yarn can be made into ''scrumbles'' that can later be joined together. The name 'scrumbles' was coined by James Walter and Sylvia Cosh during the 1990s and has remained the term since. However Jenny Dowde in her books ''Freeform Knitting & Crochet'', ''Freeformations'' and ''Surface Work''
has coined her own terminology for the "scrumbling" as "fragments"; while Prudence Mapstone calls what are known to others as "scrumbles" "patches".
Yarn bombing
Yarn bombing (or yarnbombing) is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colourful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fibre rather than paint or chalk. It is also called wool bombing, yarn storming, guerrilla knitting, kniffiti, urb ...
is the related display of knitted pieces as non-permanent graffiti.
References
External links
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{{crochet
Crochet
Knitting