A lesson on a historic movement in the 18th century “accidentally” led to the creation of Chargers Who Crochet, a new after-school club at Stagg High School in Palos Hills that has almost 100 members.

“We were teaching our unit on the Industrial Revolution, and we wanted to show how long it took to make handmade objects. We decided we would demonstrate in class something on hand making,” said club co-sponsor Kate Schwartz.

“Students were riveted. They were asking questions and wanted to learn more about it. It took us by surprise how much they were interested in this,” she added. “We wondered if it was something the broader school community would be interested in learning about.”

Since its first meeting in November, the club has been a success.

“We had more than 50 people at the first meeting,” Schwartz shared. “In the beginning, when people were trying to figure out clubs and stuff, we were standing room only. We currently have 97 in our Google classroom. So it’s definitely fun.”

Co-sponsor Jaime Bradshaw, who co-teaches history with Schwartz, said fellow teachers and students have taken notice of the organization, especially when students work on crochet projects around campus.

“Staff members were asking, ‘Do you have this student in your club?’ because during downtime they’re actually crocheting in class,” Bradshaw said. “There were a couple of teachers with a couple of different students, so it seems like they are bringing it into the classroom. They’re doing something if they have time other than being on their phone.”

From the start, Chargers Who Crochet has received support, including from Mary Pat Carr, the assistant principal who is in charge of clubs at Stagg, who “was able to find some money in the budget to give every student an opportunity to get a hook and some yarn,” Schwartz said.

The club also has done service learning projects each semester. The first was for Knit-a-Square, an organization that sews together donated squares into blankets that are given to vulnerable and orphaned children in South Africa.

“It was the perfect beginning project,” Bradshaw said. “Students crocheted an 8-by-8 square of any color, any stitch, any design, so students were able, as a beginner, to create a project pretty quickly. We had 35 completed squares. That was enough for the organization to create as its own blanket.”

This semester, the club focused on donating crocheted bird nests and animal shelter blankets “as a way for students to learn a new skill — the magic circle,” Bradshaw said.

She finds it exciting when students who did not know how to crochet start to bring in finished products.

“We have a student who is working on making a few Harry Potter characters. She’s made her own hat, her own bags. She just comes to meetings excited. ‘I’ve made this week!’”

Bradshaw has been crocheting for almost seven years. “I learned how to crochet to be able to make newborn hats for local hospitals,” she said. “I still have a bag of my first hats. …. Looking back, I’m glad that these stayed with me.”

Schwartz taught herself to crochet more recently.

“Like many people in 2020, I was at home a lot. I’d always wanted to knit or crochet and I felt like I had some time so, I essentially taught myself through YouTube videos, which is how our students are learning — through TikTok or YouTube or the internet,” she said.

“My sister-in-law was going to have a baby and I wasn’t going to be able to meet the baby for some time. I wanted to convey to her how excited I was, so I made a baby blanket for my niece. It was a disaster. It wasn’t great. But it was given with the intention … that it was a hug from me.

“It was also a way to get me off my phone and stop the endless scrolling. It was kind of a mental health boon for me.”

That speaks to the hobby’s reputation as being good for mental health.

“One of the things that crocheting does is it’s really grounding or centering because your brain is able to focus. It’s the same action over and over and over again, so by focusing on those repetitions, it really allows the brain to kind of relax,” Bradshaw explained. “When you’re on your phone or watching something, you have a lot of stimuli, but when you’re crocheting, the repetitiveness allows the brain to relax and focus. It’s a really good opportunity to find a place to reflect.”

Schwartz loves the “collaborative nature” of the club. “There’s no element of competition or placing. It’s a positive and supportive environment,” she said.

“Students who are a little more skilled are absolutely willing to help students who are just starting out. I think we can predict that beginners who started this year will be more experienced next year and return the favor.”

The co-sponsors keep the club casual, without committees or elected officers others may have, and they let the students lead themselves.

“It’s a very equal opportunity club,” Schwartz said.

“One of the things that we have found that has been so rewarding is by taking a step back that students have made friends, started discussion patterns, sharing ideas, complementing each others’ work,” Bradshaw added. “By keeping it a little more informal, we invited the students to create a hangout place to be able to work but also kind of catch up with friends they may not be able to see because we have students from all four grades in crochet club.”

Junior Catherine Purk joined because she had always wanted to learn how to crochet.

“My sister took a photo of the slide (during announcements) and showed it to me. I watched a YouTube video,” she said. “‘I’ve made seven bucket hats because I like to wear them out.”

She’s made some creatures for her cousins because “hats take a lot of yarn,” as well as six and a half hours to create.

Purk enjoys being in the club. “I like that we can crochet together and work on our own project but also see what other people are doing and get inspiration from that,” she said.

Freshman Kayla Buss joined to help her family. “I thought making things would help increase my wardrobe,” she said, adding that she “thought that the concept of making your own things was cool.” She’s working on a mesh beach bag that will allow sand to fall out.

“The people that this club attracts are super cool … It’s a reminder that there are good people here,” she said.

Sophomore Kara Chandler said she would see a girl in her Latin class crocheting and was intrigued. She wants to make hats and bags and is working on a cover for her headphones. She gets ideas from Pinterest.

“I was crocheting in study hall,” Chandler said with a smile. “You get to meet new people, talk freely, just crochet. It’s fun.”

Freshman Abbey Cherep is one of the students who already knew how to crochet, having done it for about five years, and said she enjoys the club.

“I like how I get to interact with other crocheters. It’s not a common thing to say ‘I crochet,’ and other people do that, so sharing projects and ideas is nice.”

Her mom, who taught her how to crochet, is glad it’s become more popular, Cherep said.

Schwartz agrees that hand work is becoming more prevalent.

“Fiber arts are having a moment. Crochet is very trendy,” she said, adding that Bradshaw is “very skilled at amigurumi,” the Japanese craft of crocheting small stuffed toys.

“Creating dolls and figures is very popular with young people. It’s not just blankets and shawls anymore. People are making something new,” Schwarz said. “It feels like there is some innovation.”

The club’s reach may grow if plans to have a booth at the school’s annual fall craft show pan out.

“We have several students who have expressed an interest in selling their products at the Stagg craft fair in November, so some students are looking forward to that,” Schwartz said. “They are looking at what they should make, how do they price it, so adding a layer of entrepreneurship.”

Melinda Moore is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.