I’ve been a longtime felter but I didn’t have the space to make the soapy mess required for the process after I moved to New York City in 2006. I experimented with needle felting and came upon crochet, which, to me, seemed like something you could make anything out of. I was further inspired when I watched Margaret Wertheim’s TED Talk and saw how crochet can be used to represent hyperbolic space and coral reefs.
I became very interested in oversized knit and crochet work by artists like Kwangho Lee, Claudy Jongstra, and Christien Meindertsma.
I started crocheting a lot, and was making many small domes when I realized that the same form could be made much larger into a crocheted yurt. Historically, Mongolian nomads made felt for their yurts via a labor intensive process that still required an internal structure at the end of the day.
My project is to take that design a step further and make a locally-sourced (local to New Hampshire), self-supporting crocheted yurt out of hand-felted cording approximately 1.5 – 2 inches thick. I’m fundraising for the materials currently so that I can purchase the 500 lbs of wool and all of the cleaning and processing necessary.
I hope that when this proof of concept is complete I’ll be able to experiment with the dome form by using different materials that could be used as reusable, transportable shelters. All ideas and questions are welcome!
Thanks so much for checking the yurt out!
Kate Pokorny
Look for a post on the Garden Club site on Sept. 20.
Thanks so much, Francine! That’s terrific!
That´s a cool project you got going! Guess you never have to worry about getting dry hands. Good luck!
Petter
So, how did you ever get the urge to start felting in the first place?
Hi Poverty Dieter!
I started felting in college in a textiles and surface design class. I’ve been hooked ever since! At the time I didn’t know how to weave and felting is sort of like a prelude to weaving.
Kate
Will post about your Crocheted Yurt Project on my blog! I have a lot of yarn, but unfortunately it’s acrylic which won’t felt! DOH!
Heard about this through your great uncle-in-law (???) Barry E.
Fiber on!!!
[...] are old friends of my parents friends. She is giving away mini Yurts to people who donate to her project. Have a great [...]
[...] too, but a full-size make up which will await itself and yield shelter. Her project’s called Yurt Alert, and you can get concerned at Kate’s website and await her by Kickstarter, where [...]
[...] too, but a full-size make up which will await itself and yield shelter. Her project’s called Yurt Alert, and you can get concerned at Kate’s website and await her by Kickstarter, where [...]
Your project is amazing!
It combines several of my favorite things: crochet, natural fibers, indigenous materials, and, of course, YURTS.
Wow!
[...] Yurt Alert: A felter decides to take on a large project with local materials, crocheting a yurt with hand [...]
I’ve got Icelandic sheep. Their wool felts really nicely, and I’m right here in NH. I can make you a really good deal! What a cool project.
[...] Ambitious Project: Artist Crochets a Yurt Posted by Published in Arts/Creativity/Design // I started crocheting at Thanksgiving and have learned that this is a terrific art form that you can use to make almost anything. However, it would not occur to me to crochet a yurt. It did, however, occur to artist Kate Pokorny who is planning to do exactly that and detailing the project on her blog, Yurt Alert. [...]
[...] the box was a gift pack from Yurt Alert. A while back I found a listing on the kickstarter web site for a Crochet Yurt Project. Kate [...]
I’ll be adding this to my list of book marks.