Fiber arts can offer versatility and expression to USC student designers through potential passion projects. They can bounce their ideas off one another and create a tight-knit community.
Crochet Club President and third-year computer science major Brendan Skrzyniarz said his most important and favorite project is one he's working on with his mother. His great-aunt started a crocheted bedspread, so he and his mother want to complete the project as a family heirloom.
"My great aunt unfortunately passed away before she could finish it, so we found the pattern and the same materials," Skzryniarz said. "We're both working on finishing that piece that's like a family heirloom, and it's been passed down two generations at this point."
Not Your Grandmother's Crochet Circle, otherwise known as the Crochet Club, welcomes all fiber artists, including those who crochet, knit or participate in any other type of fiber art.
Skrzyniarz said the club aims to create a safe and relatable space for all fiber artists coming together each week to socialize and get to know one another while working on their individual projects.
Despite many projects taking many hours of labor, Skrzyniarz said his enjoyment comes from the process of making the piece over time.
Third-year computer science major and Crochet Club President Brendan Skrzyniarz works on a “South Carolina” flag during a Crochet Club meeting at Russell House on Aug. 26, 2024. The club hopes to create a safe and relatable space for fiber artists to hone their craft.
His mother taught him how to crochet, but he also had some inspiration from various online influencers like Mrs. Moonheaven and AmazingishGrace
Second-year civil engineering student and Crochet Club member Jordan Henderson said the idea of the process and the designs she has seen from others on social media platforms inspired her to create her own designs.
"Whether that's on Pinterest, TikTok or Instagram or whatever," Henderson said. "Sometimes that's other people's crochet and knitwear, and sometimes it's just clothes and designs and patterns that I see that I incorporate into a different yarn medium."
Henderson, like Skrzyniarz, said the labor of crocheting and knitting takes a very long time. One of her projects, a Taylor Swift recreation outfit from the 2021 Grammys, took her two months to complete and many hours each day.
Henderson said she finds her enjoyment in crocheting and knitting through the ability to be creative and versatile.
"There's so much that you can do with it outside of just the traditional ways," Henderson said. "I've seen so many people do things that I would have never thought of, and I just think that's a really cool thing about this kind of art."
First year exercise science student and Crochet Club member Abbie Maier said there were many different styles and pieces from crocheting. She was influenced by social media influencers and a local vendor in her hometown who sold crocheted shirts, scarves and more.
She began making her own designs in the eighth grade , but took a break due to the amount of time it took to complete a project, as it took her years to make one of her blankets.
Maier said the biggest lesson she learned from the crocheting process is to be persistent and patient.
"You can't just let something stop you and just completely give up, you need to keep going," Maier said.
Skrzyniarz said he feels a personal connection to crocheting due to the familial tradition, looking to teach others in the process and growing the fiber arts community across campus.
"I feel like it's my role to carry on the tradition, and it's really special to me that I get to be the one to carry it on," Skrzyniarz said. "I was taught this skill by somebody else, so it's only fair and right of me to give to others to spread along."