THE witty phenomenon known as “yarn bombing” is a relative newcomer to the street art scene, gathering participants and audiences all over the world, as well as right here in the beautiful Rose City.

The practice is thought to have started in the United States in the last decade, with knitters finding a creative way to use left-over yarn and unfinished projects.

Yarn bombing a handful of trees seven years ago was the catalyst for the art and music festival that transforms our town in the last two weeks of July every year, namely Jumpers and Jazz.

Started in 2004 and inspired by the art community’s desire to reclaim and personalise the cold winter streets with textile art, the quirky “tree jumper” project captured the imagination of the community and the event has now grown into a 10-day festival that attracts outside visitors in their droves.

Lovely traditional textile crafts such as crochet, felting, doll making and weaving have prospered as a result of being applied in a popular contemporary context.

In addition, new work by artists such as Svea Bjornsson, from Federal in New South Wales and Mary Elizabeth Barron, from Ormeau, have showcased the creative potential of recycled materials.

“Cup of Tea, Milk and Chocolate” by Svea Bjornsson was the delightful winner of the Textile Art Tree Jumper Section in 2010.

Made from hand and machine stitched teabags, milk cartons and chocolate wrappers, this tree jumper captivated visitors.

The Festival is a “must-do” for any textile lover and the street art exhibition is guaranteed to inspire and enchant, with participating artists once again stepping up to a new level of creativity this year, to a tuneful backdrop of a rich program of jazz music in our local venues.