NDSU students are working to start an inclusive club for an activity traditionally for old women

Students are working toward getting the Grandma Needle Crafting Club be an official North Dakota State student organization. The club is for students that are interested in the hobby and would like to find like-minded people or for those that want to learn how to craft.

The club started around September 2018 through an incoming freshmen page on Facebook. The page was going to be discontinued, so Kat Anderson, junior, created her own so those who were disappointed could continue communicating with others who were graduating in the 2020.

In the new page, Hailey Poliszuk, junior, posted about starting a needle-crafting club and for those interested to message her. Through this post, she gained 30 interested people and so the club began.

Anderson and Kaylie Carver, junior, volunteered to be a part of the executive team of the organization. “I’ve always wanted a group of people to sit and crochet with, and it’s helpful to talk through patterns with,” Carver said.

“I was really only expecting three or four people,” Poliszuk explained. In total, around 30 people have reached out, but due to conflicting schedules, around nine to 10 active members show up to each meeting.

Many beginners joined the club to learn how to needle craft. They sit with people who have done crafting for a long time and learn from their tips and tricks. They also teach different stitches because there are many different types. A lot of the members also have extra supplies, so if people want to learn, but do not have the right utensils, they can. Beginners who started coming early on already have projects they are working on through the knowledge they have gained by attending the meetings.

“It is traditionally a women’s activity,” Carver said, but they said they wanted to steer away from this stereotype. They are an inclusive club and try to make it known that everyone is welcome. Because it is a side hobby for most, the organization has a wide variety of majors and genders.

Both Poliszuk and Carver learned to crochet from their grandmothers, while Anderson learned to knit from her mother.

“It seems like nobody does (knitting) anymore, but you never really know,” Anderson said. So, why get into a hobby that seems to have gone out of fashion?

“It’s cathartic. You sit there and you just do it, and you don’t have to pay attention to it sometimes,” Carver explained. “It’s super satisfying to see the finished product too.” When knitting, crocheting, etc., they are able to work on homework, watch TV, read or do something else and relax all at once. They are able to do all this while also working on a project they will be able to wear or gift once it is done.

In the future, they hope to become active by doing service projects, but because they are still in the early stages of the club, they have not been able to do so yet. They are currently waiting on an advisor to become an official NDSU student organization, but in the meantime, they are continuing their work through unofficial means. They look forward to being official so they can participate in the student involvement expos next year.

They have meetings 6 p.m. every other Friday. The meetings themselves are not awkward; you sit and learn or work on your projects while talking with others. With this hobby you can make a shirt, baby afghan, a sweater for your dog or practically anything you can think of once you get good enough at it.

For more information visit myndsu.com.