A Good Yarn - Rolling Through The Streets Of Bradford

A Good Yarn at the start

 

On Saturday 26 July 2025, I went to see A Good Yarn rolling through the streets of Bradford.  A Good Yarn was conceived by artist, Luke Jerram.  The yarn was created in May & June from donated fabric (mostly bedding) by Blooming Buds theatre company working with the people of Bradford BD10...

A Good Yarn - Detail

School children, scouts, elderly folk, community groups and more (2,500 people) plaited the fabric together to create 1000 metres of yarn. Then, together with the help of Raven Staging, it was wound onto a hollow core to form a ball of yarn.  The yarn is held in place by wire and the ball has what appears to be a knitting needle piercing it. And then it was ready to roll. A Good Yarn had already rolled through BD10 on 12 July 2025.

Accompanied by the BD1 Brass Band

The roll through Bradford city centre was accompanied by the BD1 Brass Band who were tremendous.

Nuii Ice Creams

And Nuii were giving away ice creams in the city centre which was just an added bonus.

A Good Yarn En Route

It takes quite a bit of manoeuvring...

It's not every day you get married and find a 3 metre ball of yarn outside your wedding venue but that's what happened to this couple...

A Good Yarn & A Good Wedding Outside City Hall

It was a great occasion.  There were plenty of folk from Blooming Buds, Raven Staging and event volunteers making sure the roll went smoothly.  Everyone was very friendly and happy to share information about the event.  It was a great success!  (And I wouldn't mind trying some extreme knitting with that yarn. I feel sure it would knit well on my extreme needles!)

A Good Yarn is currently at Bradford Industrial Museum (closed Mondays) until 26 November 2025 where you can see it, free of charge.  While there, you can also hear a new soundscape stitched together by the Broken Orchestra that features stories and memories from many of the people and community groups who made the ball.

Bradford is the 2025 UK City of Culture and there are lots of things going on.  Check it out here. There's bound to be something you fancy and I'm sure you'll get a warm welcome.