Knitting Us Together

Members of Knitwestern build community while honing their knitting skills and giving back to local organizations. Open to students and community members alike, the knitting and crocheting club operates on the premise that anyone can learn to knit.  

“I can’t remember the last time there was a meeting with no new people joining us,” Knitwestern president and rising junior Abbie Farley says. At weekly meetings in Locy Hall, members work on two knitting techniques — how to cast on and cast off — and two types of stitches, knit and purl.  

The idea for the club began in 2018 when longtime knitter Sarah Eisenman ’22 met with a small group of friends to knit together in the basement of Norris University Center. The new group was, in part, a revival of CompassionKnit, a faculty and staff knitting club that had disbanded a few years prior. 

Community service is at the core of Knitwestern’s mission. The club donates finished pieces — hats, gloves, scarves and headbands — to local and student organizations including Students Organizing for Labor Rights (SOLR), Inspiration Corporation and Howard Brown Health’s Broadway Youth Center.  

“These organizations are reflective of the people around us,” says Farley. “SOLR is present in our everyday lives, as they support many Northwestern [service workers].” Inspiration Corporation and Broadway Youth Center help people experiencing houselessness or housing instability, including LGBTQ+ youth. “We wanted to be able to have a tangible impact not just within Northwestern but in the larger community,” she says.  

Each knitting and crocheting project takes hours and hours to complete, Farley says, but the payoff is worth it. “Our projects are made with a lot of care, from picking the materials and pattern, to the time that it takes to put every stitch together. They’re something that brings comfort and warmth, and that's what we want to spread.”