Lily Polgreen ’27 poses outside of Knitting Club meeting during Friday AFT.

What got you interested in knitting?

Polgreen: “One time at [my friend] Isun’s house, she was showing me how to knit. It was really interesting. She talked about the idea of creating a knitting club, and [I thought], ‘That’s a great idea.’ She told me all about how to make these dolls, and she showed [the club] how to do it. We just sat there knitting for three hours. I’m not the best at it, and I’m still learning, but it’s really relaxing.”

Why did you want to start this club?

Polgreen: “I wanted to start a place where we could meet new people and teach people about new skills. My main part in creating the club was [helping] with the club fair; I helped [Isun] make the sign up sheets and everything. [We made] all the posters and [our] Instagram [account], but our ultimate goal was just to help people learn a new skill and meet people who have similar interests, as well as just a social time of the week where you can learn a skill you can do for the rest of your life.”

What are your goals for the club in the future?

Polgreen: “Our goal is to have as many meetings as possible. We haven’t had some in a while, but we’re going to get back on it and have more meetings. [We also want to] try to make as many things as possible [and] help people to make what they want, [and] then maybe we’ll donate [them]. Our goal would be to make things for ourselves as well as things for [others].”

Are you looking forward to donating to any specific organizations or events in the future? 

Polgreen: “Not in the near future, but next year, we’ll have another Christmas donation. We’ll definitely start looking for things to go into this year once we start getting up and coming again. We haven’t really started after the new year, but we’re [in] the motions of having meetings every week, and then we’ll start looking for places to send donations to.”

What does a typical club meeting look like?

Polgreen: “First, we have snacks, [so] we’ll pass out the snacks.  Then, we’ll start watching a video on some knitting techniques, and then we’ll have free time where you can make whatever you’re thinking of. If you have a specific thing you want to learn how to make, we can play that video and help you one-on-one. But usually, we just have a basic video about a new stitch or a new pattern, and then we watch the video as many times as necessary because they’re not usually very long, and everyone will start free knitting [after].”

How do you see Knitting Club expanding in the future?

Polgreen: “We’ll do the club fair next year, and we’ll try and get as many members as possible. [However], we want Knitting Club to be more about knitting. Recently, in our last few meetings before winter break, we didn’t do a great job at letting people know about [the purpose of] our meetings. People were being loud and not focusing, but then there were people who were trying to knit, so we really want it to be a place where people can focus on their new skills. One of our goals is to switch up the environment a little bit before we start up again and help it stay quiet so that people can focus.”

Why should students join Knitting Club?

Polgreen: “Knitting Club is a place where you can [meet] really friendly people and start learning a new skill you will have forever. Everyone’s really nice, and we have snacks every once in a while — it’s just a place where everyone’s welcome. You don’t have to be a master knitter. I’m definitely not a master knitter, but I love it, and it’s really fun. It’s just a place where everyone can learn a new skill and make new friends. It’s just a social hour but with knitting.”