Craftivism is using your creativity to further a social justice cause. It started taking root in 2003 as a way to merge crafting with activist work and contribute very tangibly to a movement. Originally as simple as knitting hats for shelters or sewing blankets for humane societies, craftivism has evolved into something much more complex.

Since handicafts were historically feminine pursuits, they were often devalued and treated as leisure activities rather than creative skills. With industrialization and the rise of consumerism, hand made crafts were pushed aside in favour of store bought goods. Craftivism is an environmentalist and feminist reclamation of crafts and an assertion of their place within the activist realm.

One way that craftivists have been working to reclaim space is through urban knitting. Activists knit covers for unusual objects to reclaim space and brighten their neighbourhood. In Ottawa, a group of craftivists knit minature uteruses to deliver to MPs as a way to protest a motion to against safe legal abortion.

Of course there are many ways to be a craftivist. Some great suggestions can be found at the craftivist collective.