Ladies Fancywork Society dresses Denver, Meow Wolf in art

By Jay McKinney

Crocheting is no longer just a pastime for grandmothers: It has been embraced in the art world.
Yarn bombing is an oxymoron of sorts, in which street artists weave soft and fuzzy yarn into creative patterns that are placed in public view as a modern genre of non-destructive graffiti.

After first being popularized by a Houston street artist in 2005, yarn bombing became a national trend. In Denver, the Ladies Fancywork Society (LFS) has run with the idea, installing art — legally and illegally — at different locations including the Colorado Convention Center, a boutique hotel and the Meow Wolf art exhibition. 

Convergence Station

The LFS is among more than 100 local artists represented at Denver’s Convergence Station. The colorful Meow Wolf building near Colfax Avenue and Interstate 25 can’t be missed. Visit meowwolf.com or call 720-792-1200 for tickets and details.

Artists Lauren Seip, Tymla Welch, Jesse Dawson and Jessica Eaton make up LFS, which stitches together a creative vision and a fun-loving work approach. Together, their enthusiasm is contagious as they finish each other’s sentences like sisters who share the same brain. 

The four friends met through work and school, and recognized their mutual love for crocheting. Little did they know, as they were honing their craft together as friends, that they were laying the foundation for a successful and unexpected art career.  

“We kind of started crocheting together,” Seip says. “I feel like we’re all kind of producers in a way and none of us are really good at sitting still and sitting on our hands, and there comes a point where you don’t need another hat.” 

The LFS was born when they decided to turn their casual hobby into artwork for objects around the city. The group’s whimsical name incorporates the formality of ladies and the whimsy of fancywork, an outdated word for ornamental needlework, crochet and knitting. 

The Ladies Fancywork Society ladies immersed in their Meow Wolf installation

“We just wanted a name that was kind of silly and kind of the opposite of a lot of the ways we act and present ourselves and our art, which is not ladylike and a little garish and loud and clashing,” Welch says. 

With such a lengthy name, they frequently just go by the initials LFS. 

“When we started 14 years ago, we obviously had no idea we’d still be doing this, and on this scale,” Welch says. “It was just something silly we did together as friends, and it still is, but now with a little more official documentation.” 

After starting with smaller tags on light posts and benches, LFS drew attention when they dressed the dancers outside the Denver Center for the Performing Arts in leg warmers. The project was larger than anything the group had done, and they were eager to create even larger pieces.  

In a notable rogue project, LFS fastened a giant ball and chain to the big blue bear statue peering into the Colorado Convention Center. They wrapped an 8-foot beach ball in strips of crochet and secretly installed the piece overnight. 

The accessory was quickly removed, but the project made local headlines and boosted the LFS reputation. 

LFS soon secured more legal and commissioned projects. While the members of LFS had no intention of turning their hobby of crocheting into a paying art career, they are all pleasantly satisfied with the string of events (ok, pun intended) that has ensued. 

Now operating out of a studio instead of each other’s basements, their massive art pieces require much more preparation than they used to. Every project is site-specific and involves hours of logistical brainstorming about the structure, materials and measurements. 

“It kind of starts with the place, and then we sketch out what we envision for that place and then start thinking about how we can make its bones structurally, and then go from there,” Seip says. In the past several years, LFS has featured small, imaginative creatures that are placed on rooftops, fences and other locations throughout the city. 

Seip and Welch joke that it can be hard to reach some of the installation spots. “Good thing there’s four of us because we do the buddy system sometimes. We sit on shoulders and stand on each other’s knees, or hold each other’s feet while you lean over the edge of a roof,” Welch says. 

While the outdoor installations pose challenges and eventually deteriorate in the elements, LFS has also been commissioned for some indoor projects including an installation at Convergence Station, Meow Wolf’s location in Denver. LFS is one of more than 100 Colorado artists with work featured in Convergence Station. 

Their artwork features a creature named Midge the Swamp Mom-ster and her baby bloops, which hail from the yarniverse and are hanging from the ceiling of their swamp cave. 

The multi-sensory installation includes extra-terrestrial noises that were also created by LFS. 

“When you go in that room, you’re actually hearing our weird little beeps and whispers and squishy sounds,” Seip says. “We’ve always wanted to add sound and lighting elements to our work but it’s kind of been out of our reach, so it was really great to be able to have someone else in charge and handle that.”  

Despite Midge the Swamp Mom-ster checking all the boxes of a typical LFS creature, it was one of their most extensive and challenging projects. The project took nearly two years as they ironed out details about the location, fire codes and other logistical hurdles. 

“We had to adhere to some stricter codes than we normally do because it is permanent, indoor and with such a high volume of people,” Welch says. 

For example, they used wool in order to comply with the fire code. After finally getting the green light to start creating, LFS went straight to work and completed Midge the Swamp Mom-ster in about six months. 

While the Meow Wolf installation adds to an already impressive portfolio, LFS continues to populate the Mile High City with more creatures from the yarniverse. The group also was commissioned to create art for the Acoma House, a boutique hotel near the Denver Art Museum with customized rooms designed by local artists. 

Jay McKinney is a Colorado native who recently graduated from Metro State University of Denver with a bachelor’s degree in communications. He loves spending time outdoors, playing golf and hiking.