FEATURE: CROCHET CLUBS
Why joining a crochet group is the best thing you could do all year
Sharing a passion with other like-minded people is an amazing way of bringing people together. Crochet and other crafting clubs create their own community, building a bond between the members who regularly meet, whether in person or through an online community, to stitch and socialise. We spoke to founders and members of different crochet clubs to find out exactly what they love about them and why they want everyone to get involved. This piece was written before the pandemic, so the clubs are not meeting in person, but are still providing support to each other.
WHY CROCHET CLUBS?
Becky Skuse is the founder of the Keynsham Crafters in Bristol. The team meet every other week for two hours. “We bring our own project or have a group activity,” explains Becky. With a love for all craft, Becky was inspired to start the club to share her passion with others. “I’d been thinking about setting up a craft club for a while. I ran the idea past friends who were enthusiastic, so I organised a place and time, and lots of people came!” The group help each other, teach new skills, and build unique bonds. “We make things together that are better than we could make alone. It’s really rewarding.”
Verity Budd joined the Keynsham Crafters after learning to crochet a few months ago, hoping to gain expertise from other crocheters and the motivation to keep up with her new hobby. “Committing to a regular crochet session is what I needed to stay focused,” she says.
Similarly, Janey Messina started the Oxford Drunken Knitwits in 2012 to meet people and make friends who had similar interests. “I advertised the first gathering and 11 people showed up, which indicated to me that I was definitely not the only one in Oxford who thought knitting in pubs would be fun,” says Janey. “Nearly eight years on, we still have 15-20 members showing up every week.” While the Knitwits are self-isolating, they’ve found a new way to keep the club alive, using Zoom. The members grab their hooks, cosy up on their sofas and dial into the group on their phones, tablets and computers where they chat and crochet – all from the comfort of their home! “We share the Zoom link each week on our website,” says Janey.
AM EETING PLACE
Crochet clubs are a gateway to meeting people with whom you have a shared passion – a foundation of relationships. “I love that we have a support group,” says Chrissie Asbridge, who runs the Village Crochet Club in Surrey. “We applaud a finished project, we help with understanding tricky techniques, we interpret patterns to make them easier to follow.” This support extends beyond crochet. “We find out the latest with each other’s personal lives, we are there if life is tricky for someone. We are a little creative haven away from ‘real life’,” she continues. “A few months ago I was looking around the table at my crochet-club friends and I was struck by our diversity. We are such a motley blend of women: different ages, different generations, different ethnicities, different occupations. Many of us never would have met had it not been for crochet, and our lives would be all the poorer for it! I am so lucky!”
Verity agrees, explaining it’s been more than
“I was definitely not the only one who thought knitting in pubs would be fun”
just a way for her to learn and improve her skills. “It’s been lovely to make new friends with similar interests, who keep you on track even when your crotchet is going a bit wonky!” she says.
DOING GOOD
As well as it being a great tool to socialise, the groups also use their union to help others. “Many of our members are volunteers at the local Oxfam shop. We regularly make items to help decorate the window and raise money to fight poverty and women’s inequality,” says Becky. But the thoughtful makes don’t stop at organised charities. “One of our recent projects was making a new baby gift for a friend of the group. She’d had a difficult pregnancy so we made a baby mobile, with lots of cute felt animals and motifs, to help decorate her new flat and show that we cared,” says Becky.
Following the Christmas holidays, after making lots of gifts for family and friends, Chrissie and her group spent the January meeting hooking for charity, making items such as blankets for the homeless. “I ask in advance if anyone has a cause close to their hearts, and if so, we make items for that cause. I print out patterns to share and I bring spare yarn and hooks for everyone,” explains Chrissie.
In 2016, the Drunken Knitwits crocheted around 2,000 flowers that they then wrapped around the fence of Oxford’s Radcliffe Camera in rainbow order. There were tags alongside the flowers that suggested people donate to Oxfordshire Mind if they enjoyed their display.
A WELL BEING ACTIVITY
It’s no secret that crafting is a great way to help with the daily struggles of mental health, but crafting in a group brings even more benefits – even if it’s done virtually. “I think crochet clubs combine two of the most important aspects of mental health – having a community and also having hobbies,” says Janey. “Crochet itself is very therapeutic and can distract me from anxious thoughts, and if I combine this with having a chat, after an evening of catching up with the Drunken Knitwits, I always feel happy, even if I was feeling down beforehand. I also like that crochet and knitting are automatic conversation starters, providing something for shyer members to focus on until they feel more comfortable participating in group chatter.”
Verity, who struggles to wind down and switch off from work, admits that being part of a crochet club has helped her to stay focused on a project and tune out of everyday worries.
“I have to concentrate so much I can’t think about anything else, which is perfect,” she says.
“We all know the positive effects of creativity on mental health, but I think a crochet club takes it to the next level – interacting with other like-minded souls is a balm to the anxious mind,” agrees Chrissie. “We all look forward to our catch up; we care about each other. It’s a space where people feel as excited as you do about a hand-dyed skein of yarn. You can whinge about silly daytime dilemmas and you’ll see nods of understanding. This is our tribe.”
VIRTUAL MEET UPS
In light of the recent pandemic, it’s more important than ever that the crafting community continues to come together in other ways to grow stronger – even while being physically apart. Being inventive and holding your crochet groups through Skype, Houseparty and similar apps is a brilliant way of sharing your new makes, having a catch-up and helping each other with new skills, all from the comfort of your home. You could even create a crochet Whatsapp group. Now is the time to support each other and find new ways of building craft communities.