Crochet Club hooks interest

By Teagan Rotella

During extremely stressful times for college students, such as midterms and finals, it is important to have a safe place to relax alone or with friends while doing something fun. For many students, Rider’s new crochet club has become that kind of space.

As someone who loved to crochet since she was 4 years old, Maggie Peña, a sophomore psychology major, was disheartened to learn during a tour of Rider that there was no crochet club on campus. Fortunately, the tour guide quickly informed Peña that she could create a crochet club if she decided to attend Rider. 

Peña’s high school had a crochet club, and she loved the welcoming environment and safe space that it gave her. With the help of a few friends, she decided to create one at Rider. The next step was sharing the idea with the Student Government Association. 

Despite initial feelings of self-doubt, Peña and her friends successfully pitched the idea and were immediately met with support.

“It seemed like they really wanted us to succeed, which was a good feeling,” Peña said. With that, the club quickly moved forward.

On Sept. 11, they held their first meeting and have since met weekly. Peña was surprised by how much freedom they had, such as deciding where they held their meetings on campus and creating a budget for supplies.

Since then, the club has continued to grow and meet throughout the semester. On March 5, the crochet club held one of its meetings at Sweigart Hall in Room 110, beginning at 5 p.m. 

At each meeting, the executive board arrives at 4:30 p.m. and sets up yarn and supplies on tables for members, according to Peña.

As members settle in, the executive board explains how the meetings work and reviews the club’s supply guidelines. Jenna Dambres, a junior accounting major, is the treasurer and supplies manager of Crochet Club. She starts the meetings by telling members they can use any of the supplies and reminds them that projects made with those materials cannot be taken home.

“We don’t let people take stuff home, because if they don’t come back, then we don’t get the materials back, which would dwindle our supply of materials,” Peña said.

Beyond managing supplies, Peña emphasized that the club’s main goal is creating a welcoming environment where students can learn while socializing.

At each meeting, the executive board provides instructions on how to make patterns for members who want to follow along. Most projects correspond to the month, such as ghosts in October, hearts in February and four-leaf clovers in March.

For many members, these themed projects are what makes the club enjoyable. One of those members is Kaci Franzen, a freshman musical theater major.

Franzen first found out about the Crochet Club at the Spring Involvement Fair, which featured clubs and organizations at Rider. 

After learning more about the club, Franzen wanted to join because it gave her the opportunity to continue doing something she’s loved since she was 10 years old.

“I just wanted to crochet and didn’t have the ability to get the materials on my own,” Franzen explained.

She also loved the calm atmosphere of the meetings, enhanced by the background music and community.

“You can just come and sit on your own and crochet or talk to people,” Franzen said. “It’s a really nice, relaxing period.” 

Cal Sutton is a news editor and the Vice President of Rider Crochet Club. He had no part in the writing or editing of this story.