Knitting needles help revive French city

Knitting needles will be clicking furiously this weekend as four students gather friends – and anyone who wants to join in – to knit ‘clothes’ to dress trees in the centre of Caen, Normandy.

They are joining in the ‘yarn bombing’ phenomenon that has seen some town centres redressed in squares of brightly coloured wool and this weekend and next will give a new look to Caen’s Place Letellier.

The region already gives knitting pride of place with the Tricots Saint-James workshop in Saint-James, Manche, honoured with the living heritage business label “Entreprises du patrimoine vivant”, and another yarn bombing project being set up in Le Havre.

This weekend’s Caen knit-a-thon is the idea of political science students Margot, Mathilde, Cécile and Agathe, who want to bring the town’s people together in a fun project – and take part in Normandy’s contemporary architecture month.

Margot Schmitt had the idea last year when doing a work experience ‘stage’ in Paris, where they were using street knitting as a way to revive an HLM housing scheme.

Thinking it would work just as well in Caen, she and her friends started the association Héros du Quotidien with the aim of knitting enough to cover the trees, benches and other street architecture in Place Letellier in Quatrans with wool designs.

So, each Tuesday evening they met with others for group knitting evenings in a café in the square and have received donations of wool from many different sources.

Working with Territoires pionniers / Maison de l’architecture in Caen, they will meet at 22 Place Letellier this Sunday at 14.00, aiming to knit enough to cover two trees and then again next weekend, March 19, to do more. They aim to continue until the whole square is covered.

Get more information from contact@territoirespionniers.fr if you want to get involved.

In Le Havre, the mairie is looking at a yarn bombing project to mark the city’s 500th anniversary. It is working with the association Citémômes, who last year recreated a Monet painting in Rouen using 10,000 5cm by 5cm knitted squares.

Meanwhile, in Reims, in Marne, an exhibition of knitted Hollywood figures is on display until next weekend at the Médiathèque Jean Falala.

It is a reminder of the Wool War One knitted army that knitwork artist Délit Maille and friends created to mark the World War One centenary in Roubaix.

The exhibition later went on to be shown at the Grand Palais in Paris.