By Mariah Bennett | Staff Writer
The Crochet Club plans to kick off meetings in the spring semester and will welcome both experienced crocheters and those new to the craft. Miranda Montroy — Houston senior and club president and founder — said the plan is to have weekly meetings as a member-focused organization.
Crochet is needlework consisting of the interlocking of looped stitches formed with a single thread and a hooked needle. Montroy said she has taught others to crochet for a few years.
Beginner-level crocheted items include hats or flowers. Overall, items can be based on patterns, many of which can be found for free online.
“The great thing about crochet is that you can do anything,” Montroy said. “You can combine stitches in a bunch of different ways to get a bunch of different effects.”
Montroy said she plans to provide members with supplies — including hooks and yarn — and has a structure to help newcomers learn the craft.
Montroy said she starts people off with basic skills like the chain stitch, single crochet and double crochet, then asks what they want to create and teaches from there. She said she will help them achieve their desired projects, noting that in the past, she has taught people to create flowers, sheep and even Pokemon items.
Montroy said the goal of the Crochet Club is to build a supportive community of those who are interested in crochet and to give them a fun, creative outlet.
“I really want it to be a place where people can come, have fun, learn a new skill — just have something that’s not schoolwork and not work,” Montroy said.
The club was chartered in the spring of 2020 and hosted a table at virtual Late Night. Montroy said she had been thinking of founding a crochet club at Baylor since her freshman year, as she had also founded a crochet club at her high school.
“I have a long history of going places and saying, ‘You know what this place needs? A crochet club!’” Montroy said.
Anupama Kannan — Fremont, Calif., senior and club vice president — said she has been crocheting for about two months. She said she plans to get to a place where she can mentor members next semester, describing the Crochet Club as a fun, cooperative space.
“Arts and crafts can mean a lot — or just going somewhere and everyone having a shared hobby,” Kannan said. “It’s a space allocated to teaching and learning new aspects of crocheting where you can collaborate.”
Montroy said in the future, she wants the club to be able to participate in charity, including donating crocheted octopi for premature babies in hospitals.
“The babies play with their tentacles as if it is their mother’s umbilical cord,” Octopus for a Preemie, a registered UK charity, said on its website.
Montroy said this is because a crocheted octopus gives a baby something to hold onto, preventing them from taking out their IV.
“I think it would be a nice thing if we could not just learn to crochet and benefit ourselves, but if we could also use those skills to benefit other organizations,” Montroy said.
