The Big Rainbow Knit SURPASSING EXPECTATIONS

15,000 brightly coloured knitted and crocheted squares were made by crafters all over the world to adorn Huddersfield’s train station during theWOVEN festival

WOVEN in Kirklees is a biennial celebration of the innovation in textiles across the borough in West Yorkshire, connecting a strong heritage with today’s developments and technology. The event features a programme of demonstrations, talks, exhibitions, family activities, trails, performances, workshops, panel discussions and open studios. The organisers of WOVEN had big plans for 2021 – a rainbow yarn bombing of Huddersfield train station. The project began in the first lockdown of 2020, when a Facebook group named ‘The Big Rainbow Knitters’ was set up to recruit volunteers to make multi-coloured squares for the installation. The initial target was 5,000 squares which was smashed within the first few months, with contributions coming in from Germany, Finland, Italy, New Zealand and Australia as well as throughout the UK. The online community that sprang up around this project was a lifeline to many throughout the subsequent lockdowns, giving them something to focus on and look forward to.

Over 1,000 volunteers helped to make this incredible yarn bomb

The installation covered six grand pillars of the station as well as other markers in the square