A Pussyhat Project cofounder started their next phase of craftivism for refugee families
Now this is another movement we can get behind. The badass cofounder of the Pussyhat Project has started a brand new craftivism project of the resistance — knitting thousands of blankets for refugees.
Jayna Zweiman had so much success with the pink “pussyhats,” which became a symbol of the resistance during the Women’s March on Washington earlier this year, she’s taking on a new effort that will hopefully elicit the same type of response from people throughout the U.S.
Welcome Blanket is the new initiative, and it’s a similar (but also very different) take on what Donald Trump wants to do by building a U.S.-Mexico border wall.
Instead of building an actual wall, over the next three months, volunteers will knit blankets from 2,000 miles of yarn, the projected length of the border wall.
The blankets will be given to refugee families. And all the knitters are being asked to include a note that shares the immigration stories of their own families.
"What is supposed to be a length of exclusion will now be for inclusion," the Welcome Blanket Instagram page reads. "If you knit, crochet, sew or craft in some other awesome way, consider making a gift to welcome a new neighbor!"
The blankets will be displayed at the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago beginning July 2017, with an exhibition in September 2017. When the show is over, the blankets will be given to refugee resettlement organizations for distribution to immigrant families.
Visit the Welcome Blanket website for a blanket template, and for more information on how to get involved.
