Inside: Read all about Ellie d’Eustachio’s creative journey as a textile street artist. Her projects transform NYC’s streets with vibrant yarn art.
Ellie d’Eustachio is a Brooklyn-based textile street artist. Her solo and community yarn bombs have been published in the AP and Gothamist and are seen by thousands on scaffolding across NYC. She has been commissioned to produce large-scale installations for live events at Lincoln Center and in Prospect Park, and her art has been on exhibit both here and abroad.
Many of her projects are driven by working collaboratively with others and creating meaningful, emotional visuals accessible to children.
This interview was originally published in the Summer 2025 issue of Crochet Foundry Digital Magazine.
Hello Ellie, welcome to the Crochet Foundry Community! It was so great to meet you at VKL, and we’re excited to learn and share more about you with our community.
How and when did you discover yarn crafts?
I learned to knit when I was 5. I’m unclear exactly what happened, but my understanding is that it was very important for someone in my family to continue the tradition of knitting, my great grandmother never permanently emigrated to the United States, she returned to England, and she was a passionate and skilled knitter of baby sweaters. This was pre-zoom so she couldn’t teach me, so my mother (who does not knit) learned to knit enough to teach me. It really clicked for me and has become a lifelong passion.
Tell us about the journey that brought you to being a fiber street artist / craftivist.
Up until 2019 I mainly was designing knitwear and knitting clothing and kids toys. At that point I had been inspired many times by London Kaye’s work. I loved the playfulness of it and how site-specific pieces play with their city surroundings, but it’s not really possible to knit shapes like that and I’m terrible at crochet. But in 2019 I was commuting home late nights and there was one deserted house that really freaked me out whenever I walked by, so on a whim I knit a huge, smiling lion with flowers in its mane and I sewed it to the house’s fence. So, every night when I walked home, I had protection. My street art really took off from there, I began experimenting with short rows and increases to achieve more and more curvy shapes. The pandemic in 2020 left me without a day job so I leapt into creating messages people could find on walks and it became a real lifeline for me and connected me with so many new people.
What or who inspires you to create?
I am deeply inspired by children’s picture books. I also spent years as a nanny and love the creativity of children. I think there’s such freedom in imagination and I want adults to have a chance to access that freedom, play, and imagination when they stop to see my work.
You’ve expressed that community is important to you, and we feel the same here at Crochet Foundry. How can people join your community, and what do you do as a community?
I truly believe in starting small. Community is a vital and also huge feeling thing, especially if you don’t currently think you’re part of a community where you live. I try to say “hi” to anyone that I see regularly in my daily life. It’s helped me meet neighbors and feel connected. I think we move in and out of each other’s lives in a pretty regular pattern and if we start thinking of the people we pass on the street as our friends then we start feeling more connected in general. We should care about the people around us, and caring will lead to more in depth community, someone will invite you to something or you’ll find a need you can meet. So start small.
How has your art evolved over the years and how have current events effected that change?
My college degree is in theatre and I think over the past decade my experiences with theatre have affected my textile art. I believe with all my soul that everyone deserves access to art. Art has a healing and community building effect on everyone. Art makes me feel connected. In New York City theatre tickets are so expensive, much of my work in theatre involved bringing affordable and free performances to communities I love. Since 2020 I’ve watched my street art do the same and I’ve really learned that many forms of art help us. We use our imaginations to escape and also to create a better world here with what we have.
Political events have definitely shaped my art. I think fiber arts are particularly political because there are so many gender norms tied to them and they are also pretty harmless. Knit things keep us warm and cozy, right?
So it’s been a powerful way for me to share commentary on our political system in an art form that is accessible and relatable to many.
Do you have a favorite kind of yarn to work with, are certain fibers better than others for outdoor creations?
I’m a very mixed bag. My all-time favorite yarn is the wool from Catskill Merino. It feels glorious to knit with and wears beautifully, plus it’s local to me and I love supporting the people who make my community better. But for street art I use almost entirely acrylic yarn. It’s affordable, wears well, and is easy to put up and take down. Using acrylic also makes this an affordable art form for everyone.
You are very busy right now; can you tell us what you’ve created recently and what’s coming up?
It’s been a wild time for me. In February I left my day job and have committed full time to bringing art and learning to the community. I’ve launched a series of kids’ art classes in Flatbush, Brooklyn. I knit a political cartoon quarterly for a local newspaper of mine, The Parkslope Reader. I’m also incredibly excited to re-launch a piece of knit art for a theatre production. I knitted a backdrop for “Quince”, a show about a queer Quincenera back in 2020. This summer, One Whale’s Tale (the writers and producers), will remount the show at the Domino Park in Brooklyn, NY and I’ll get to have my art back up and part of theatre.
What advice do you have for aspiring yarn artists?
Do what feels true to you. In my early 20’s I was told to tone it down a lot. That my ideas were too weird or too childish. It turns out being fully, 100% Ellie has led to the most success for me. The right people will find you when you are being exactly who you are.
Also take some chances. Street art gets destroyed, taken, and messed up. You can’t take that personally. It’s a fleeting moment of art and people will experience it and then it will be gone and I love that. Embrace the temporary nature.
Where can our readers find you and your creations, on and off-line?
All over the scaffolds of Brooklyn, at the Domino Park in Brooklyn in June. I’ll also have art up at the Brooklyn Made stores in Brooklyn this summer. Aside from that my website www.elliedeustachio.com has news and updates, plus a newsletter I put a lot of love into. And I share a lot on Instagram @MadeByEllieBklyn
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