Craft has always been suited to activism. A handmade object connotes freedom, community, and caring, which makes it a fitting perch for a message or slogan. In the current heated political climate, though, craft with an activist bent has surged.

“I’ve definitely seen an uptick in the number of craftivism projects happening around the world,” says Betsy Greer, author of Craftivism: The Art of Craft and Activism and proprietor of craftivism.com. “People are realizing more and more that handmade things have power. That they can open up difficult conversations.”

Craftivism's current boom is exemplified by the success of the Pussyhat Project, which provided attendees of the Women’s March on Washington with pink knitted hats. Any image you see of the march includes a sea of the now-iconic hats, which the project’s site says “help activists be better heard.”

Whether directly inspired by the Pussyhat Project or simply attuned to the atmosphere of craftivist possibility, numerous other projects have gained notice. The Democratic Cup, a “slow activism project” led by ceramists Ayumi Horie (an American Craft Council trustee) and Nick Moen, actually predates the Pussyhat Project; it produces handmade mugs intended to “encourage people to become active and engaged citizens in our democracy.” The mugs, designed by a slew of artists, feature images ranging from icons like Sojourner Truth and Ruth Bader Ginsburg to a bird resembling the one that famously landed on Bernie Sanders’s podium during a 2016 campaign speech.

Bristol Ivy’s “Peace de Resistance Mittens” are in a similar vein. Ivy sells a knitting pattern for her mittens on the website Ravelry – adorned on one side with a raised fist and on the other with the phrase “Resistance Is Not Futile” – with proceeds going to charities including Black Lives Matter, Days for Girls, and the Environmental Defense Fund. Interested buyers can also donate to a charity of their choosing and get the pattern free from Ivy after providing proof.

The internet is a natural habitat for craftivism, but brick-and-mortar shops are getting in on the act as well. In the early months of 2017, Gather Here, a craft shop and studio in Cambridge, Massachusetts, dedicated its front display to a crowdsourced collection of stitched and sewed signs with the phrase “you belong here.” The installation has since moved to the Cambridge Community Center, and it will then travel elsewhere, spreading a message of inclusivity. Gather Here also recently launched "We Care Wednesday," with a percentage of Wednesday sales donated to various nonprofit organizations.

If political anxiety seems like an increasingly unavoidable presence in our lives, then the activist work being produced by craft artists is a welcome antidote. Greer predicts that the trend will continue.

“In march photos, people were able to literally see how craft can be used as a tool for conversation and solidarity,” she says. “Seeing people get inspired by what their hands can make creates an energy that others want to tap into.”