What started out in 2005 as a way for a group of Houston-based knitters to improve the city’s aesthetic, has since turned into the most eccentric crew of graffiti knitters this side of the Rio Grande.
In its earlier years Knitta, Please! coated Houston’s nooks and crannies with vibrant, stitched works, covering door handles, stop signs, trees, fire hydrants and even the occasional car antennae – anything they could get their hands on.
For local knitter Purl Nekklas, the idea of improving Houston’s look one stitch at a time was what sparked her interest in the Knitta crew.
"We started off doing this in Houston because Houston’s ugly. It’s an ugly city. We wanted to make our neighborhood pretty. That’s how it started, and it makes total sense," Nekklas said. "This couldn’t start in some place like San Francisco or Paris where everything’s beautiful."
The six-member group – composed of P-Knitty, GrannySQ, The Knotorious N.I.T., PolyCotN, Purl Nekklas and the only male member, MascuKnitity – has now graduated to larger works. In the past two years, the local crew has spread its hand-stiched yarn graffiti to countless places spanning from Manhattan and Mount Everest to the Golden Gate Bridge and the Great Wall of China.
Knitting to treat the world with their own special touch never gets old for the graffiti Knittas.
"I do it all day. If I’m just watching TV I’ll either be knitting or crocheting," The Knotorious N.I.T., also known as Knitty Smalls, said.
MascuKnitity, a Knitta with knack for making the most unseemingly colors work, finds a more simple delight in his craft.
"I just have a joy of putting color together," MascuKnitity said.
In November, Knitta will take a week-long trip -sponsored by Craft, a yarn company – to unleash their decorative needlework across Paris.
Even though they remain one of Houston’s unheard of groups, the locals have been highlighted in various magazines and newspapers throughout the world.
"It’s funny because our international fame is much greater than our local fame," MascuKnitity said.
And Knitta has even gone so far as to encourage other knitters to start their own yarn graffiti crews.
"We’ve inspired many groups all over the country and all over the world; there are like five groups just in London that have been inspired by us," Nekklas said.
To purchase a Knitta t-shirt or for more information, go to www.knittaplease.com.
