Imagine your grandmother presenting  you with a knitted facehugger, dwarven helm or a life-sized boyfriend pillow for your birthday instead of a scratchy wool scarf. The world of knits goes far beyond beginner’s patterns for sweaters and caps, occasionally encompassing entire rooms or covering military tanks. This collection of weird knitted and crocheted things might even inspire you to break out a pair of needles yourself.

Facehugger Mask

Well, isn’t that cute. It’s a cozy little alien face hugger, just like you always wanted.

Brutal Knitting by Tracy Widdess

‘Brutal Knitting’ is a fitting name for this ongoing project by artist Tracy Widdess, which stretches the craft far beyond its humble origins of warmth and practicality. Her highly unusual knit works include some of the most bizarre hats you’ve ever seen, and a replica of the Lament Configuration puzzle box from Hellraiser.

The World’s Cutest Penguin Sweaters

Australia’s oldest man, 109-year-old Alfred Date, put his 80 years of knitting experience to work to create the world’s cutest sweaters for a bunch of oil-covered penguins after a spill on the Australian Phillip Island. The sweaters keep the penguins from ingesting toxins and prevent water from getting trapped under their oily feathers, which can cause them to freeze.

Gimli’s Dwarven Helm

“The helm I based directly on the helm that Gimli wears in the Lord of the Rings movies, the beard was my own design with massive creative input from my brother,” says DeviantArt member SadDaysCrochet of this creation.

My Knitted Boyfriend

If it’s a little lonely in your bed, but you don’t have the patience that a real flesh-and-blood boyfriend requires, there’s a solution. ‘My Knitted Boyfriend’ can be worn like a terrifying bodysuit by a real person, or stuffed to create a life-sized man-shaped pillow.

Surreal Knitted Room by Olek

The fiber artist known as ‘Olek,’ who’s responsible for yarn bombing practically every surface you can think of, knitted an entire gallery space for a piece called ‘Keith Meets Arch of Hysteria,’ a tribute to artists Keith Haring, Annie Leibovitz and Louise Bourgeois.

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Knit Wit 17 Fantastically Weird Fiber Art Creations

Has there ever been a cozier-looking bus cruising around the streets of London than this neon yarn-bombed double decker dubbed the No. 7up? The beverage brand commissioned Austin-based artist and ‘urban knitter’ Magda Sayeg to essentially knit a gigantic sweater for one of London’s iconic public buses, a classic red Routemaster, in a variety of eye-popping patterns.

Sayeg lugged 20 suitcases of yarn to London for the project, part of 7up’s ‘Feels Good to be You’ campaign aiming to refresh the brand as ‘naturally unique and individual.’ The artist is known for covering all sorts of urban surfaces in soft knits, from public benches and fountains to an entire town square in Santiago, Chile.

The practice of ‘yarn bombing’ is sort of like graffiti, enlivening objects all around a city with unexpected artistic details. Typically, sections of each piece are pre-made and then quickly knitted together around the object. It’s not unusual to see entire cars and buses covered in colorful yarn creations, but a double-decker seems to take the art of yarn bombing to new heights.

“Knitting and crocheting doesn’t have to be functional, it can be subversive, renegade – even illegal in certain cases. It’s bad ass!” Sayeg told Design Milk. “And it makes me proud, as a woman, to be part of something that is so powerful. Taking this craft that is female dominated onto the streets graffiti style, which is male dominated, is what is appealing (or not) about yarn bombing. As long as it evokes some emotion, I believe it is good.”

For any knitter who has ever looked at an ugly sweater and thought wistfully of all of the projects they could complete with that wasted yarn, the Un-Knitting Machine is a gift from the crafting gods. It was developed by Kingston University design student Imogen Hedges and is meant to salvage miles and miles of perfectly usable yarn.

According to the designer, her inspiration for the project was twofold. As a child, her grandmother knitted sweaters for her; when she had outgrown them, her mother simply threw them away because she didn’t believe anyone would want a secondhand hand-made sweater. More recently, Imogen discovered that many charity shops spend hours and hours unraveling old sweaters to reclaim the yarn. With this revelation, the designer conceived of a machine to make the process of recycling yarn far simpler.

The rather minimal machine utilizes an old bicycle frame to spin old yarn out of its previous incarnation and into a re-sellable, reusable heap of material. The user sits on a chair and pedals, spinning the bike wheel and causing the yarn to spool on the side of said wheel. As the yarn is pulled from the old project, it passes through the steam of a kettle which helps to straighten out the kinks and get it ready for a brand new life as something else entirely.

Lounging around in a rocking chair for an hour or two might make you feel lazy – but what if, as you were rocking, you were actually a low-tech, one-person hat knitting factory? Rocking-Knit by Damien Ludi and Colin Peillex modifies a rocking chair to offer “productive moments of relaxation.”

The rocking motion of the chair causes gears to turn, pulling yarn from a spool at the base up into the top area where it’s slowly knitted into a red beanie cap. Over time the knitted creation begins to drop down toward the user’s face.

ECAL Low-Tech Factory/Rocking-Knit from ECAL on Vimeo.

The machine is currently being shown in the Ruckstuhl Building as part of the University of Art and Design Lausanne (ECAL) Low-Tech Factory exhibition in Langenthal, Switzerland. The theme requires students to reinterpret the idea of the manufacturing process.

Other devices on display include ‘Oncle Sam’, a machine that processes grains of popcorn one at a time so you can enjoy the spectacle, and ‘Swing’, a punch that cuts designs into a tarp with the movement of the user.

Yarn bombing is graffiti that grandmothers approve of! They consist of quickly knitted additions to street objects and sculptures. Why? Because it’s fun! (Telephone Box via KnittheCity additional links and credits below).

(Images via whodunknit, marialyng, tumblr, streetartutopia, twilighttaggers)

Yarn bombers often have a political or social message they’d like to convey. More often than not, that message is simply “enjoy this,” as these urban knitters tend to be out for some fun.

(Images via rebelyarns, reginaurbanecology, apartmenttherapy, flickriver, tribal-times)

Trees get cold if they’re not given a sweater; at least, this must be how yarn bombers think, considering how much joy they get out of wrapping tree trunks in festive knitwear.

(Images via ajoureblog, cultureshockart, ajoureblog)

To knit something in a public space requires a lot of skill and speed. The result always brings a smile to people’s faces. It’s hard not to grin when a seat on the subway has been given a homey knitted treatment.

(Images via fiveluckyducks, baycitizen, threadologie, apartmenttherapy)

Yarn bombers like to show off their skills with careful and accurate lettering… so accurate, that one could ditch the original street sign without a problem.

(Images via streetartutopia, whodunnknit, rustbelt1, tangleknot, ymlp, followthedotxoxo)

Public statues are sitting ducks for legions of yarn bombers. They’ll come out in the off hours and swarm over public art to turn it into something even more interesting.

(Images via yarnbombing, zezaflor, shift, buttertoastboutique, streetartscene, www.knitthecity.com)

Functional street objects need a little love now and then. Careful knitting will plaster them with colorful creations and turn them into something a lot less cold and utilitarian.

(Images via unfinishedprojectparty, rebelyarns, jafagirls, yarnbombing, , soenyun, lakewood)

Street lights and telephone poles don’t have a chance. Some yarn bombers like to add a little flair to otherwise mundane objects. Any kind of standing structure is at risk.

(Images via flickriver, reducethepanic, recorked4u, thinng, maiyamayhem, poppygall)

Fences and rails require a different style of knitting, but that doesn’t deter the hardcore yarn bombers, who endeavor to spice up every aspect of their beloved city.

(Images via myknitche, minispace, buzzfeed, yarnbombing, telegraph, theknitterslifelist, globalgraphica)

Now these are eye-catching! Imagine a bus driver leaving their ride out for a few days and coming back to see it in dazzling color. Some of these rides can still be driven, though one hopes they’re able to stay out of the rain!

(Images via bilerico, passagesnorth, yarnbombing, scissorsandspice, nick0lson)

Most people have their bike stolen when they leave it on the street. The lucky ones just have it decorated.