The Dapper Toad: Yarnbomb Squid Tree!

9.11.2013

Lorna and I just finished installing our biggest creation yet: a giant squid yarnbomb complete with trapped crochet fish! I'm gonna let the pictures do most of the talking but here are some quick facts about it:

Amount of yarn used: 4 miles

Knitting time: 20 hours (using Bond Ultimate Sweater Machine)

Installation time: 14 hours x 2 people

Temperature during installation: 91°F

We learned a lot during this project. Here are some general tips to get you started on a yarnbomb adventure of your own! Take detailed measurements. In your preliminary research of your target location (lol) write down everything that you think could possibly matter. It's better to have too much information than too little. Make a swatch and count the number of stitches and rows while it's stretched around the object. We made a swatch large enough to wrap around the trunk of the tree and counted how many stitches are rows covered a 10 inch by 10 inch area. We then used this to calculate how big each panel needed to be. Do as much work at home as possible. It's a lot more comfortable sitting on the couch sewing panels together than it is standing precariously on the top rung of a ladder with your arms stretched straight above you. Talk to people about it! I love seeing people's reactions as we install our yarnbombs. Lately, we've been getting a lot of "so YOU'RE the ones doing this!" and "I've been noticing all the yarn stuff around lately". It's amazing to be able to converse with people as we're sewing feet on mailboxes and bicyclists on bike-shaped bike racks.

For more details, visit Lorna's post at Knits For Life! And here's the goldfish pattern on Ravelry.

AnonymousOctober 8, 2013 at 1:45 PM

I'm wondering that, too, if it will have any ill effects on the tree, and how the yarn will fair through rain, snow, etc. Oh well, thinking ahead can go eff itself, I guess.

JillOctober 9, 2013 at 9:16 AM

The City arborist was so happy about this yarnbomb as it actually helps this Magnolia tree. The week before we installed the squid, the tree had been over-pruned which exposed too much of the tree to the sun, so the yarn acts like a sort of sunblock. As for weather, rain doesn't hurt it and it doesn't snow here.