This club is ‘hooked’ on crocheting

ALYSSA CRUZ ASST. CULTURE EDITOR

Crocheting and crochet products have been all the rage recently. Whether that is homemade tote bags, bucket hats or blankets, the craft has grown in popularity.

According to Forbes, the rise in interest in more traditionally domestic activities such as knitting and crocheting can be credited to the pandemic and the copious amount of free time everyone seemed to have on their hands. Many turned to crochet to keep those bored hands busy.

Ohio University students are not immune to the craze, with many engaging in the activity as well. Since January, students have finally had an opportunity to hone those skills in an organization with Crochet for a Cause.

Founded by club president Allison Winland, a freshman studying history, the club meets weekly to decompress and work on their recent crochet projects. Although members are not required to donate their creations to charities, the option is there for those interested.

Most recently, the club donated a variety of items, including hats, scarves, and socks, to the Athens County Reentry Program, an initiative dedicated to aiding citizens returning from the prison system. The program provides support and guidance for the formerly incarcerated population of Athens.

Winland said her motivations for creating the club lay in her want to help the community as well as to meet people with similar interests.

"I just wanted to do something to give back to the community, and also I just picked this hobby up and I wanted to meet other people that wanted to do it," she said.

Aside from philanthropy, the club is also a place for providing social interactions and creating friendships. Their most recent meeting on Wednesday was a bonding event where members sat around chatting, cro- cheting and watching "The Hunger Games."

"It's been really great," Winland said. "I have met a lot of really great people. It's a lot of fun just watching movies and talking about everything."

Leila Abukamail, a freshman who is currently undecided in her major, said she joined the club because she was crocheting all the time anyway, so it has been fun doing one of her favorite hobbies in a social setting.

"It's fun to just chill and not think about anything else and just crochet," she said.

Kaycee Cook, a freshman studying sociology-criminology, was in a different boat than Abukamail and Winland, given that she had no experience with the craft prior to attending club meetings. Attracted by the nature of the club and how it was advertised that no experience was needed, Cook came to a meeting.

Cook said she has been pleased with the nature of the new hobby, especially the repetition and sereneness it produces.

"It's actually really fun – you can just sit and get lost in it," she said.

Riley Rupert, a freshman studying entrepreneurship, is the social media manager for the club. She said she has received numerous direct messages to their Instagram account from people wanting to join but expressing their concern about their lack of skills or their inability to make the meetings. Rupert said the club hopes to meet more regularly once their membership grows.

"I'm just hoping we can reach more people that way as well because I know a lot of people don't know about it, but also they just really can't make it," she said.

Crochet for a Cause meets weekly on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. at various locations. All interested parties can learn more from the club's Instagram.

@ALYSSADANCCRUZ AC974320@OHIO.EDU