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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
James McNeill

Merseyside village to be transformed by yarn 'bomber' this weekend

This weekend one village in Merseyside will become the yarn bombing centre of the world.

On Saturday, June 10, visitors to Formby will find the village transformed with more than 150 colourful knitted and crocheted items decorating everything from bollards to post boxes.

This explosion of creativity has been created for International Yarn Bombing Day by a small team of volunteers from Imagine Formby, a-led Community Interest Company (CIC) set up revitalise Formby.

The village will also be decorated with snowmen and penguins outside Iceland, 20 bollards leading to Waitrose topped with woollen versions of goods on sale, from toothpaste to tea bags, and 11 knitted ladies taking part in a yoga class outside Formby Pool’s studio.

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Imagine Formby Co-ordinator Leanne Jones explained: “This is the second year we’ve brought International Yarn Bombing Day to Formby. Our intention is to have some fun, to brighten up Formby Village, and help remind people what a fantastic place it is to come and enjoy. Last year we had three or four volunteers who knitted and crocheted about 40 items.

Knitted cup of coffee outside the Bakehouse Cafe in Formby (Imagine Formby)

"That was spectacular enough and caught people’s imaginations. This year we’ll have around 150 items made by a core group of six or seven of us who meet every month, with our efforts topped up with donations from other volunteers."

Yarn bombing is the practice of adding knitted works of art to public places. The aim of this practice was to try and take knitting from something that was viewed as merely for creating clothes and hats to something that could add meaning and colour to urban locations. International Yarn Bombing Day was first celebrated in 2011.

Yarn bombing in Formby village (Imagine Formby)

Leanne Jones said: "We’ll be up at dawn on Saturday to make sure that the Village is fully decorated by the time the shops and cafes are open. We can’t wait and hope people will come and visit and enjoy what we have spent the last year creating while seeing what Formby has to offer.”

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