Over 1.3 Million Yards of Fiber is Spun During Spinzilla!
- 1,373,175.06 yards of yarn spun
- 94,939.73 yards spun by winning team
- 24,500+ the minimum amount spun by every team
- 16,852 yards spun by an individual on a team
- 13,106 yards spun by winning rogue spinner (spinning unaffiliated)
- 6,000 dollars raised for the Needlearts Mentoring Program
- 2,200 dollars in prizes
- 611 Spinners
- 28 Teams
Zanesville, OH (December 10, 2013) – During a one-week period spinners across the United States and Canada spun 1,373,175.06 yards of yarn! The inaugural event called Spinzilla, is a community-wide challenge to see who can spin the most yarn in one week. Sponsored by The National NeedleArts Association’s (TNNA) Spinning & Weaving Group (SWG), this first-year event attracted more than 600 spinners.
Team Fancy Tiger Crafts spun nearly 95,000 yards (54 miles) of yarn to claim the top team spot, winning the coveted Spinzilla trophy, bragging rights for an entire year, and $25 gift certificates from small businesses that cater to the handspinner for their entire team. Terresa Lawson spun over 13,106 yards of yarn to win the Rogue spinning category for those spinning unaffiliated.
“Spinzilla was an amazing event, and we had so much fun rallying with our team. We made so many new spinning friends and forged many fibery friendships over the course of the week at our seven community spin nights,” said Amber Corcoran, Team Captain & Owner of Fancy Tiger Crafts.
Organizers sought to give spinners a big goal that would break down inhibitions about making yarn—the goal wasn’t to make perfect yarn it was to make a lot of yarn! “The thing about making a lot of yarn” said Rita Petteys of Yarn Hollow who chaired the event, “is the more yarn you spin, the better spinner you become.”
The event raised just under $6,000 for the Needle Arts Mentoring Program, a project of the Helping Hands Foundation, to fund the addition of a spinning component to their program. These funds were generated by a $10 entry fee by Teams sponsored in-person meet-ups and offered specials on Spinzilla-related merchandise. Key to Spinzilla’s success was its active use of social media, including Ravelry, Facebook, and Pinterest. Teams were encouraged to use all of their outreach channels including their own Ravelry groups, newsletter, blogs, and other social media outlets. A blog tour featuring well-respected spinners, offered spinners a deep dive into spinning know-how, and rounded out the event’s promotional efforts
Spinners make up just 3.4% of the overall needlearts enthusiast market, but spend over 30% more than knitters, the categories largest group of enthusiasts. A survey conducted at the close of Spinzilla, yielded positive results for SWG and TNNA: 97% of spinners said they would participate again, while 100% of Team Captain’s felt that Spinzilla met its goals of energizing and educating spinners, supporting a good cause, and raising awareness about spinning. Sixty-
five percent of the team sponsors said the event helped generate new business, 50% said it helped get new customers, and 100% said that they would participate. Organizers are already busy making plans for next year. Team registration opens May 5.
For more information on the Needlearts Mentoring Program go to www.NeedleartsMentoring.org. To learn more about Spinzilla, go to www.Spinzilla.org
Want to spin with Team SweetGeorgia next year?! Keep your eyes out for signups in Spring 2014!
