Inside: Learn about Sarah Divi’s innovative approach to fiber art, merging traditional crafts with modern design for vibrant installations.
Sarah Divi will transport you to an inviting land of fiber and joy with her immersive creations.
Sarah Divi creates hand-knit artwork that blends the comforting feel of a beloved sweater with the vibrant energy of graffiti. Her unique fiber artwork transforms entire spaces into captivating, immersive experiences, ranging from event spaces to chain-link fences to city blocks. Her work is not just to be viewed from a distance but to be experienced up close, inviting viewers to complete the artwork by stepping into it and becoming part of it.
Sarah discovered her passion for fiber art while knitting unraveled sweaters into an entirely walkable maze at SUNY Purchase’s School of Art+Design. From that moment on, she has turned innovative materials into site-specific installations using a combination of traditional crafts on a grand scale.
This interview was originally published in the Summer 2025 issue of Crochet Foundry Digital Magazine.
Hello Sarah, welcome to the Crochet Foundry Community! We’ve loved your photo op pieces at the last 2 VKLs. Now we want to share your fun fiber creations with the rest of our community.
Please tell us a bit about what you create, and what techniques (such as knit, macramé, sewing) you use.
Knitting is my go-to technique and my brain’s default language when thinking out shapes. I used to do more sewing, but now that I have kids, I’m pressed for time and workspace. Knitting travels better and takes up less space, at least at first. Once my projects surpass five or six feet, they stay beside the couch. I try to create things in pieces so I can knit at the playground, waiting in line at the post office, or hanging out at the library, like the wings for 2024 VKL made of over 60 individual feathers. However, my ideas don’t always align, like the eight-foot-wide UFO circle for 2025 VKL. After a few weeks of knitting, I looked silly trying to carry that project around, which grew to around 700 stitches by the time I cast off! Thankfully, the mohair panels for the tractor beam compressed nicely into a tote bag.
It’s taken me many years to admit this, but I’ve realized that crochet may be better for some shapes, for example, if I ever need to make an eight-foot wide circle again. I’m working on my crochet skills to incorporate more techniques as projects need them.
I create a lot of pom poms; it’s almost meditative for me to wrap yarn scraps until they transform into something new. While I usually use the new-fangled Clover pom makers, I often think of my grandmother, who taught me to make them with cardboard circles at her kitchen table. She gifted me with her repurposing skills and love of fiber arts.
You create installations and pieces both on your own, and also as commissions or collaborations, could you tell us a bit about the different approaches you take with each?
My work is always a collaboration on some level because there are always limitations and challenges, whether with a chain link fence, a festival art director, or even my car. I dream up the grandest possible project plan, then structure my work in tiers and focus on what is most important before moving on to the extra bits. When I’m designing community projects, I aim to make the task accessible to crafters of all levels and to embrace the diversity of the contributions.
I occasionally pitch ideas before I know the internal structure and support, leaving me to figure it out as I go, like when I said yes to making a walking, dancing parade puppet from recycled materials. I based the size of a tapestry installation on the size of my car because a nine-foot PVC pole was the longest I could fit from the windshield diagonally to the trunk.
Where do you get your inspiration for your pieces?
Between projects, I often explore new techniques and unlikely materials. I wander the aisles of hardware and dollar stores and collect unwanted clothing. I’ve knit with tulle, rope, bread dough, thread, and many t-shirts. Those in-between projects may turn up later in a project, but not in a foreseeable way.
I’ve been turning a bin of t-shirt scraps into pom poms lately. Why? Because they’re left over from previous projects, and I don’t want to throw them away. What will it turn into? Keep an eye out because I don’t know yet.
I try to be curious and open my eyes to the lines and movements around me. A few weeks ago, I went to the aquarium and came home with sketches, photos, and videos. Maybe those will become a new immersive installation.
What do you hope to achieve with your art?
With my street art, I hope to positively disrupt someone’s day with a joyful surprise. Perhaps they see a giant knitted popsicle on a fence or flowers knitted around a utility pole. I want to make them smile and prompt them to share that moment with others, spreading joy.
I enjoy creating interactive environments that engage people, encouraging them to look, touch, and experience a sense of wonder. I love crafting “souvenir” photo moments at events, particularly for fellow stitchers.
What is the hardest part of your artistic career?
TIME. There is never enough time. And space. I have a family and a job, so art usually gets figuratively crammed into odd hours and literally crammed into the corners of our apartment. My large work can only be spread out after bedtime; otherwise, it risks being claimed as the hottest new restaurant for stuffed animals.
I’m getting better at carving out time for myself and prioritizing what I’m creating. It’s easier when I have an external deadline, like a gallery show or festival. I’m realizing the importance of the in-between playful projects and recognizing they deserve time.
What advice do you have for aspiring yarn artists?
Do the thing! Just give it a try. You can conceptualize, draw, and plan endlessly, but you must pick up your yarn and try making it. And then try again, and probably four or five more times. If no one’s ever made it before, don’t put the expectation on yourself to get it perfect right away.
Where can our readers find you and all your amazing art and products on offline?
I’m bringing my knit maze to the Fuller Moon Arts Festival in Warwick, NY, on August 16. I’m excited to explore a new configuration of its knit walls and host a space for visitors to knit or crochet onto them.
For more upcoming events and behind-the-scenes pictures, follow me on Instagram and Facebook @sarahdiviart or my website www.sarahdivi.com
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