Knitters Against Fascism began meeting outside an ICE facility in Portland to offer a calm, welcoming presence after National Guard troops were deployed. Their actions are part of a broader "craftivism" movement — coined in 2003 — where makers use knitting, embroidery and sewing to build community, raise funds and signal political identity. Activists like Shannon Downey and Michele Lee Bernstein have transformed private making into public organizing, while groups and brands have raised substantial donations for social causes. Experts say craft creates durable social bonds that help sustain movements through difficult moments.
Weapons of Mass Construction: How US 'Craftivists' Use Yarn To Resist and Build Community
For centuries, US fiber artists have worked toward political goals through their crafts.Illustration: Jessica Whittingham/The Guardian
In early October, a group of knitters in Portland, Oregon, began gathering outside the local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. Calling themselves Knitters Against Fascism, they arrived with yarn, needles and lawn chairs — joking that they were "armed with their weapons of mass construction" — to offer a calm, welcoming presence after then-President Donald Trump ordered National Guard troops to the city and described it as "war ravaged."
Small Acts, Visible Resistance
Organizer Tracy Wright said the meetups were meant to show that life in Portland was continuing and to greet immigrants arriving for appointments. Designer Michele Lee Bernstein turned one of those visits into a pattern: inspired by the inflatable "Portland Frog" costume protesters used at the site, she released a frog-hat pattern that a church group used to raise $550 for a local food bank. Bernstein sold another hat for $100 and donated the proceeds to the North-east Emergency Food Program at a time when demand for food aid was rising after cuts to SNAP benefits.
"Even if we’re not all down at ICE, we’re working together to do something good," Bernstein said.
Craftivism's Longer Thread
Wright and Bernstein are part of a long tradition of politically engaged fiber arts. Writer Betsy Greer coined the term "craftivism" in 2003 to describe activism through making, but knitters, crocheters, embroiderers and other makers have long used craft to protest environmental damage, racial injustice, economic inequality and fast fashion. Historic precedents include the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, who embroidered white handkerchiefs to demand answers for disappeared children during Argentina’s military dictatorship, and the AIDS Memorial Quilt, a collaborative memorial that humanized lives lost to AIDS.
Making Community, Building Movements
Political scientist Hahrie Han of Johns Hopkins University, a 2025 MacArthur Fellow, notes that movements survive hard moments because they develop social-relational commitments as much as issue-driven motivations. "People keep showing up because they don't want to let their friends down," she says — a dynamic craft circles readily produce.
Artist-activist Shannon Downey discovered craft's organizing power after a bullet entered her bedroom during a nearby shooting. She embroidered a gun to reflect on the object; followers asked for the pattern, and eventually about 2,000 people mailed her embroidered guns. A fundraiser for Project Fire — a Chicago nonprofit that works with young victims and perpetrators of gun violence — raised $5,000 from those pieces, and Downey went on to run workshops that quickly turn strangers into collaborators.
"I just started to see this as, like, the greatest community organizing tool that could exist," Downey said.
From Identity Signal To Sustained Action
Some craft projects function as identity signals: the pink "pussyhat" knitted by many at the start of Trump's presidency is one widely recognized example. For others, craft is a gateway — the first public act of political expression that leads to further involvement, fundraising or campaign-style organizing. Downey's book, Let's Move the Needle: An Activism Handbook for Artists, Crafters, Creatives and Makers, encourages readers to ask, "What's the next brave thing I can do?" — whether that's joining a craft circle, selling work to raise funds, or planning targeted action.
Organized Craft For Social Causes
Not all craft communities are explicitly political, yet many have clear social aims. The Loose End Project connects volunteers with families who need unfinished garments completed. Knit the Rainbow makes warm clothing for LGBTQ+ youth in New York foster care and shelters. The Liberty Crochet Project organised a collaborative mural protesting the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. In August, the Danish yarn brand Knitting for Olive raised $828,868 in a single weekend for UNICEF's work in Gaza — an example of how commercial makers can mobilize their audience to give quickly and visibly.
Joy, Resistance, and Sustainability
For many fiber artists, making is inherently political. Creating during turbulent times can be an act of resistance, and producing one's own garments can be a rebuke to fast fashion. Yet craftivism also "centers joy": while anger and grief often catalyze action, building communities around shared creative pleasure helps sustain long-term engagement without burning people out.
Whether sitting in lawn chairs outside an ICE facility or stitching in a workshop, craftivists turn small, tactile acts into visible solidarity, fundraising and community — demonstrating how creativity and care can be tools for political expression and movement-building.
