Are You Excellent at Your Craft? Apply Your Obsession to Activism

Last Updated on January 17, 2025

Using our strengths and passions for our cause means we are automatically motivated and more likely to stay in activism over the long haul. When researching, I was enchanted by the creative ways in which people used their craft as activism.

Knitting and Crocheting Craft

In Betsy Greer’s books Craftivism: The Art of Craft and Activism and Knitting for Good: A Guide to Creating Personal, Social, and Political Change Stitch by Stitch, I found many examples of how crafters used their gifts for their cause.

My favorite examples from Greer’s book include the duo who knitted a Volkswagen bus. They wore it while they walked through the streets of Brazil to protest the lack of mass transit in the city. Also, the knitted mouse holding a sign saying, ‘Down with Fat Cats” at the Occupy protest in front of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

Greer wrote her books before the explosion of Pussy Hats or masks, but I’d like to think she had a part in these ideas.

Stitchwork Craft

I featured activist Activist Sarah Corbett in a previous post about the intersection of Crafting and Activism.

Corbett became famous for Shop-Dropping, a method of activism in which she creates opposition messages, puts them in a beautiful package, and stashes them in department store clothing for shoppers to discover. She targets stores carrying clothing from manufacturers that exploit garment workers.

Corbett also combined her love of stitchwork with her concerns about the exploitation of workers. In a campaign to urge a company to pay a living wage, she embroidered handmade handkerchiefs for each board member. The handkerchiefs, stitched with the words “Don’t blow it,” got her group in the door to pitch the living wage. Citing the unique campaign, the company yielded. Learn how to stitch your own “Don’t Blow It” hanky.

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Sarah is featured as an Amazing Activist

Browse more examples of artistic activism.