The 2023-2024 school year is in full swing, and a new club is starting. The crochet club focuses on teaching people how to crochet and knit while also having the chance to meet other students interested in learning how to crochet. The club was founded by two Arlington Tech juniors, Samantha Parker and Mika Smoyer. 

Crocheting and knitting are textile-making hobbies that use hooks for crocheting and needles for knitting to create clothes, patterns, and other accessories. The items made are incredible gifts for friends and family any time of the year. 

Samantha started crocheting during the pandemic when a family friend taught her the art of crocheting. She started finding patterns online and continued learning new stitches as she did more patterns. She wanted to start the crochet club after she joined the book club in freshman year and saw how fun running a club is. She asked Mika and they both decided to start the crochet club. 

The other founder, Mika, started to crochet around the end of 5th grade. She says her skills have improved over the past six years as she is now able to read patterns and do more complicated projects. She helped start the club because she thinks it’s nice to be around people who are interested in similar things so you can bounce ideas off each other, ask for project ideas, or ask for help. 

Originally, they were only expecting ten people to join, but 30 people ended up joining. Mika said that it was overwhelming at first, but awesome to see since it showed a lot of interest. The club is mostly focused on people doing individual projects, while also helping each other out when needed. The first project is making a granny bag to hold all their yarn, hooks, and projects throughout the year. Before the first project, everyone learns how to do the basic stitches. Later in the year, people will learn how to do more advanced stitching and how to read patterns. During the meetings, there will be a slideshow with videos and everything needed to make sure everyone understands what is happening so practice can be done at home if needed. 

One of the members is Bella, a junior at ACC. Before joining the club, she’d only crocheted for an hour with a beginner kit she got online. She joined the club as a way to learn more about crocheting so that she could finish the kit she had. Some of her friends also crochet, and seeing what they make is awesome, but it’s even better to understand it. This year, she looks forward to making things for herself, her family, and her friends, as well as being able to hang out with some of her friends in the club. 

For people interested in starting a club at ACC, Samantha, and Mika recommend having a sponsor who will be there for the entire process and can help with the organization and planning for the club. Also, having a rough plan that accounts for more people rather than less is good.  Being over-prepared is always better than being underprepared since it is easier to make something on a smaller scale when it is large, rather than trying to size something up after being underprepared.  

If you are interested in joining the crochet club, come to the meeting on November 14th in Mr. Darragh’s room or reach out to Samantha or Mika directly.