Fairies DO exist!

The town of Barnoldswick is enchanting, not only because of its northern charm but because it’s home to the Barlick Yarn Fairies. Like many of us, their magical adventure started at the beginning of lockdown when they were looking for a new hobby. 

“Neither of us had crocheted before, but we were learning from tutorials and things.” They began by creating crochet octopuses for premature babies. Since then, locals have started to spot pop-ups of beautiful crochet and knitted displays on the post boxes and as decoration throughout town.

The fairies have created displays of George the Dragon, aptly named to celebrate St George’s Day, hearts for Valentine’s Day, and Easter arrangements. One of their first projects was creating red, white, and blue flowers to celebrate VE day. The official celebrations were cancelled due to the pandemic, so they placed crocheted flowers around the town.

People were encouraged to find one and take it home and to keep them as a commemoration of the celebrations. So far, one of their favourite pieces has been their bollard toppers placed outside Rolls Royce, with pieces dedicated to the merchant navy, the royal navy, the army, and the navy.

It may surprise you that these incredible displays are the combined work of only two fairies! Both have full-time jobs and spend their evenings knee-deep in yarn to produce these intricate pieces of art for only two reasons: “a little bit of excitement and to put a smile on people’s faces.”

They have never done any of this to be recognised or thanked for their work. “We’re usually doing it in darkness… it’s nice that you can drive by, and you can see people looking at them, and people will say, ‘Oh, wow, look at this,’ and you see people taking photos, and we wander by and smile and think, ‘That’s why we do it.'” So, watch out because you never know who you’ll be standing next to!

“Watch out because you never know who you’ll be standing next to!”

One of the most rewarding consequences of their ‘hobby’ has been seeing the local community’s response, with members of the local area even chipping in and lending a hand with some of their larger projects.

The pieces certainly do not go to waste. After the town appreciates them, the fairies collect the materials and sew them together to make blankets. They are then donated to different charities so that the good intentions of their work continue to be enjoyed by people who need it most. But it’s not just the people of Barnoldswick who are showing their appreciation for the hard work of the fairies; thanks to social media, their work has been spotted by people worldwide! “You’ve got people in America saying, ‘I wish we had post box toppers like that!'”

“You’ve got people in America saying, ‘I wish we had post box toppers like that!’”

Their work has inspired others to learn and create; one made its way to the yellow post boxes in Lanzarote. It has even made national TV with some post box toppers appearing on the One Show. “It’s been bigger than we could ever have imagined.” They laugh, knowing they have “been famous by not being famous.”

This is truly a story of community and the joy that small art pieces can bring. You only have to read the comments on the Facebook pages to see how genuinely touched and meaningful these displays are to many people. Their colourful toppers bring a smile to the faces of anyone who sees them, and people who can’t get out to see them in person can look at all the pictures others have posted online.

The work of the Barlick Yarn fairies is just proof that you are never too old to embrace the joy of a fantasy world; their hard work and imaginative creations have turned the post-boxes of Barnoldswick into scenes from a real-life fairy tale.

Look at the Barlick Yarn Fairies Facebook page to keep up to date with what the fairies have been up to and what is coming next!

NorthernLife July/Aug 23