Juniors Amber Zhang and Victoria Adobamen founded the crochet club this fall with the help of building sub Kathryn Falkenberg, who advises the club.

Club members made 27 hats this winter and donated them in early March to Frontline Services, an agency serving the homeless. 

Zhang, who serves as president of the club, explained the motivation behind the project.

“The weather in Cleveland was historically bad this year, and I’m sure there are a lot of people who need warm clothes,” Zhang said. “As a crochet club, people got to learn a new skill while helping people in need.” 

Boasting 30 members and snacks, the club meets in the library resource classroom every other Wednesday after school.

Junior Vivian Buzzard, a club member and crocheting enthusiast, explains her art.

“Crocheting is like knitting but with one needle,” Buzzard said. 

Zhang explained the many different types of crocheting.

“There are a whole host of techniques,” she said. “There’s regular crocheting, and then there’s amigurumi (Japanese crocheted animals), granny squares, tapestry making, Tunisian crochet and more.”

Zhang further explained the skills that the club’s members use and practice.

“For each of these techniques, you need to know some basic stitches such as chaining, slip stitching, single crochet, half double crochet, double crochet, magic circle and more,” she said. “You also need to know other skills like reading patterns, sewing and embroidery.”

Buzzard said that a fair portion of club meetings revolve around training new members.

“We are teaching people the different styles and techniques of crocheting,” Buzzard said. “I love crocheting because I get to make gifts for other people. I have always struggled with teaching people how to crochet, so this club is helping me help other people learn.”

Zhang said the club has already moved on to some advanced techniques.

“We already learned the basics, including chaining, single crochet and double crochet, so now all we have to do is learn the more complex stuff.” Zhang said. “Once you know the basics, you can follow more complex patterns and tutorials to make anything you want.”

The club is open to all sorts of fiber artists.

“We accept knitters too,” Zhang said.

Zhang described why she and Adobamen formed the club.

“We’re able to make things that are so utilitarian,” she said. “There’s a lot of potential for doing philanthropic projects.” 

“Another main reason is because I think there’s a lot of interest among high schoolers in learning how to crochet, but not a lot of means or motivation to learn it by themselves,” she added.

Zhang also emphasized the health benefits of crocheting.

“I heard that crafts (specifically those that involve coordination between both hands, such as crocheting) are beneficial to your long-term cognitive health, and that multiple studies [have] shown that knitting/crocheting reduce the risk of dementia,” Zhang said. “So in a sense I’m introducing people to something that will help them stay healthy long [after] they graduate from high school.”

For more information about the club, interested students can follow @bhs.crochets on Instagram.