What is Active Threads?Active threads is an informal creative group set up by Mandi Knight of Northfleet Big Local and supported by the partnership. The group is about creating pathways to friendships, opportunities to learn new skills, get creative and bring colour and fun to our town.Northfleet Big Local is in an area just south of London, near Dartford by the river Thames. It is an area known for it’s Cement Manufacturing and is slap bang in the middle of the development of a new Ebbsfleet Garden City with up to 30k new homes. Finding a way to preserve our rich varied history and identity was proving difficult without becoming aggressive or negative.“I have an interest in the Craftivist Movement, the gentle art of activism and decided to use this method to raise our profile and grow positivity within our town.” Mandi Knight Creative director Northfleet North Big Local. “Do keep your message positive and hopeful. Its easy to get angry when you feel passionately about an issue, but positivity is much more inspiring.” Sarah Corbett Craftivist.

Inspired by this we created squares of knitting /crochet with simple words on them and placed them randomly around the area, creating a splash of colour and a message of positivity. It was decided that we needed to do a collabrative piece where anyone could share how they see and feel about where they live in a joyous way.Active Collage was born …it’s a fairly large but beautiful piece of work but bursting with pride and love for the town, but quietly fighting the fight.Ebbsfleet Garden City invited us to a celebration to deliver a workshop and lets just say we celebrated the new but hilighted our plight in a very subtle way .I hope you find the session a useful tool on your journey forward…lets all celebrate our achivements with a burst of positivity !

Further reading: A Little Book of Craftivism. Sarah Corbett

How to be a Craftivist: The Art of Gentle Protest. Sarah Corbett

Craftivism: The Art of Craft and Activism. Betsy Greer.

Active Collage: Our Session Equipment and Instructions:

Equipment: A large pvc banner ( we use previously used ones) Old magazines , pictures of your area , achivements , logos .

Scissors (we tend to tear the images out ) PVA glue Pots and brushes for the Glue The idea is to cover the whole banner in images and words that are

positive or reflect how you feel about where you live …its that simple.

We find mixing the glue with a drop of water makes it easier to use . It can get a bit messy so have a bowl of water on hand to rinse the

glue off of your hands . Remember there is no rush and there is no right way of doing it ! Just go with the flow and enjoy .

Active Squares Knitted or Crochet squares .Cotton tape and a sharpie Scraps of fabric Aida Tapesty fabric Needles Tapestry metal or plasticAssorted Threads and wool .Write or stitch words on to the tape or the Aida place on a scrap of fabric cut slightly larger and tack or sew on to the square . These can be secured on to trees lamposts fences around the area.