One of the clubs that’s been added to West High’s repertoire this year is the crochet club. It all started when Amelia Douglas ’24 discovered that Spanish teacher Megan Boehme shared her love for crochet.
Boehme had previously run a similar club at her previous school in Muscatine but wasn’t able to run it alone. When Douglas discovered this, they decided to start a crochet club at West together.
“[Boehme] explained how she used to have a club back at Muscatine, but she solely ran it and she got exhausted, and then it just never continued. So I was like, ‘Why don’t we run a club and I could help you run it?’”
Similar to knitting, crocheting uses yarn to create handicrafts such as hats, clothing, or home decor. But these two have their differences. Knitting involves the use of long needles to create more “V”-shaped stitches moving a set of stitches from needle to needle. Crocheting, on the other hand, uses crochet hooks of various sizes to link the yarn together while only working with one live stitch at a time.
Crocheting comes with many benefits, such as mental health improvements, lower blood pressure, better cognitive health and a sense of accomplishment. The repetitive stitching can be a relaxing activity after a stressful day or a calm start to your morning.
Every Tuesday the club gets out some yarn, scissors and crochet hooks and gets to work. Douglas begins by explaining the basic stitches to anyone who is new to the craft. Afterward, an instructional YouTube video might play for anyone who wants to follow along. Those who watch get to learn something new while Douglas elaborates along the way.
Everyone who is interested is encouraged to come learn, no matter their skill level. The club is inclusive to all and is working to battle stereotypes.
There’s this big stereotype that crocheting is very feminine and not masculine at all. And in reality, crocheting is for anybody and I’m trying to break the stereotype that crocheting is just for women-identifying people.
— Amelia Douglas '24
While the club is still getting its bearings, the focus is on more simple projects like granny squares. Later in the year they’ll start working on more complex pieces. Douglas also hopes that they will eventually be able to work on bigger projects, including clothing drives and opportunities for members to display their art.
For updates follow the club on Instagram at westhighcrochetclub.
