Katherine Rowe: Stats to Stitches

Katherine Rowe’s capstone project, Stats to Stitches, investigates and displays American social justice data using the unique creative medium of crochet. In a demonstration of what Rowe terms “craftivism”, Rowe has crocheted a series of pieces that examine various aspects of the American electoral process and highlight the reality of voter turnout, incarcerated voting rights, campaign finance, and the impacts of voter suppression.

This is the front of Rowe’s “Cost of Congress” vest, which displays the dramatic surge in the average amount spent by a winning congressional campaign from 1990 – 2022. She seeks to highlight the dramatic surge in money spent after the Citizens United v. FEC decision in 2010.



The back of Rowe’s “Cost of Congress Vest” highlights the paradox inherent within independent political spending – highlighting the ramifications of the Citizens United v. FEC decision in 2010.
Rowe’s “Incarcerated Voting Rights Tote Bag” seeks to demonstrate the varying levels of voting rights for the formerly incarcerated in the United States, with each colorful hexagon representing a state. Voting rights for the formerly incarcerated are represented as such:
Dark Green: Never loses voting rights
Light Green: Regains voting rights once out of prison
Light Pink: Regains voting rights after entire sentence (including parole and/or probation) is served
Dark Pink: Additional steps are required to regain voting rights once sentence is served
Rowe’s “Voter Turnout Blanket” displays turnout of the voting-eligible population in the United States, with each hexagon representing either a presidential or midterm election.