'Weapons of mass construction': the US 'craftivists' using yarn to fight back against Trump

[cbabe]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/26/knitting-craft-activists-against-trump

‘Weapons of mass construction’: the US ‘craftivists’ using yarn to fight back against Trump

Fiber artists across the US are using their craft to protest against everything from national guard deployments to rollbacks on abortion rights

Cecilia Nowell
Fri 26 Dec 2025 10.00 EST

In early October, Tracy Wright invited a group of other women in her social circle – all fellow knitters – to gather outside the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in their home town of Portland, Oregon. They were “armed with their weapons of mass construction”.

Donald Trump had just ordered national guard troops deployed to the city, which he called “war ravaged” in order to protect ICE facilities he said were “under siege” by anti-fascists “and other domestic terrorists”.

Wright wanted to show that life was continuing on as normal in Portland, and be a friendly face greeting any immigrants arriving at the ICE facility for appointments. But “I didn’t want to go by myself,” she said. “I wasn’t sure what to expect.” So, she and the other women – who would eventually nickname themselves “Knitters Against Fascism” – brought their knitting needles and lawn chairs, and returned week after week.

Word of the “knit-ins” quickly spread by word of mouth and social media: when a friend at her local knitters guild mentioned the protest, knitwear designer Michele Lee Bernstein decided to attend to show that Portland wasn’t “burning to the ground”.

“A group of knitters calmly knitting was a perfect visual to counter the lie,” she said. Knowing other crafters would be there “made it easy to participate”.

… more … lots of groups and fine money raising examples: pussy hats to frog hats …