The Catamount statue at the main entrance of Western Carolina University is now sporting a red and green holiday sweater trimmed with colored lights made by the WNC Fiber Folk Group.

The group is comprised of people who share an interest in fiber arts such as knitting and crocheting. Group members “yarn bombed” the mascot Dec. 8 and will remove the sweater Dec. 16.

Yarn bombing, a practice that began in the mid-2000s, is the practice of wrapping a structure in the public landscape in knitted or crocheted cloth.

“The sweater project not only was fun but also is part of a contemporary, worldwide artistic movement,” said Denise Drury, interim director of the WCU Fine Art Museum and Fiber Folk organizer. “As a university, this is where experimentation in the arts begins, and we need to foster that.”

Jessica Breen, a group member and an assistant in the WCU Biology Department, created the five-foot-long sweater in four days on an electric knitting loom. It was her first experience knitting a sweater.

For information about the WNC Fiber Folk Group or the WCU Fine Art Museum, call 828.227.2553 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..