A newly created student organization is bringing a unique perspective to campus, founded upon the joy of arts and crafts, utterly unrelated to academics.

That is where the Threads Club comes in. ShockerSync describes it as “an organization dedicated to teaching fiber arts like knitting and crochet.” Upon closer look, the club has an undercurrent of values like patience, connection, and community that make the club uniquely inclusive. 

Paige Harrington, executive president and founder of Threads Club, is a political science major who also loves to knit. Although knitting and law are two seemingly disparate concepts, the word “advocacy” is the thread that connects these two ideas. 

When starting the club, Harrington decided to apply her academic experience in law to her fiber hobby by forming a community on campus that can use their fiber skills as a way to give back. 

“I’ve always been someone that has wanted to advocate for others,” Harrington said. “(Threads Club) aligns a lot with Wichita State’s values with being able to get people hands-on applied experience with the community and help them give back to the community in whatever shape or form that is.”

Although Threads Club works to create finished products ready for donation, Harrington said her other priority is simply to provide a relaxing environment free of formality. 

“You don’t have to necessarily want to knit or want to crochet to be in the Threads Club,” Harrington said. “If you ever need to destress or tell us about your life, we’re just people with yarn and hooks that are ready to listen.”

Harrington said the club is “kind of like therapy.”

“Knitting and crochet has, at least for me, always been a sort of escape, and being able to do that, alongside my school schedule, has helped a lot.” 

 In college, the pressure to strive for success can feel perpetually overwhelming. Grace Peterson, executive treasurer of the club, shared the importance of slowing down to enjoy one’s hobbies in a culture that puts success and productivity first. 

“In a time where life is so fast-paced, and so much of daily life is digitized … it’s important to slow down sometimes,” Peterson said. “It relaxes my brain so that when I need to go back to doing homework, my brain is refreshed and ready to go back to work.” 

As a plus, members shared that the reward for attaining a final product is highly satisfying. 

“It definitely is rewarding, both in the journey and in the final product,” Peterson said. “It’s relaxing and enjoyable to make, and there is a sense of satisfaction and self-sufficiency … because I can have my own sweater, I can make my own blankets.”

On a warm Friday night, Harrington showcased Fiber Night for the second time, where she arranged for the club to knit headbands together for donations to the Wichita Family Crisis Center.

The turnout was small, but she wasn’t phased. Instead, she sat with a newcomer and taught them how to knit for the first time. She also brought pre-made knit headbands in case anyone didn’t finish, pink lemonade refreshments and dressed the tables with enough yarn and needles for all. 

“I mean, yeah, your headbands (are) going to look a little wonky,” Harrington said. “But it’s yours, isn’t it? Oh, my gosh, it’s yours. And you made it.”

Harrington thanked her boyfriend, Dimitri Seneviratne, for encouraging her to start Threads Club, a goal she has had for nearly two years. 

Seneviratne was initially hesitant to participate in club meetings as he feared he would overstep. But, as a former engineering major, Seneviratne has found enjoyment in this hands-on hobby and now occasionally practices crochet himself. 

“I’ve never seen a club like this on campus, for sure,” Seneviratne said. “It’s kind of like a de-stress week as a club.”

Club members also want non-members to know that they don’t have it all figured out, and that’s okay. 

Harrington said that as someone who puts a lot of pressure on herself, it’s nice “knowing it’s okay to fail” when she crochets or knits.

“It is very, very, very rare that someone gets it right on the first try,” Harrington said. “It’s frustrating, but resilience is key with it. And if you can take that from knitting, and you can apply it to realize when you may apply for an award, and you don’t get it, just let that be water off a duck’s back.” 

Although this is Threads Club’s first semester, this is Harrington’s last. 

“I’m very happy that I’ve been able to kind of help a community form, and I’m happy that I was pushed by my friends and family and my boyfriend to do this because I don’t think I would have done it,” Harrington said. “So well, this is the first of many, many courageous acts.” 

Despite her soon departure, Harrington said she hopes to leave the roots of a club to blossom after she’s gone. 

“We want to be able to, you know, help people make connections within the community, help them get back to the community in whatever shape or form that is,” Harrington said. “I mean, who knows? Maybe in, like, three years or something, we might be hosting a yarn festival where we can have local dyers in Wichita, you know, have their own market?”

But before Harrington says goodbye, she is still determined to bring about more than just tips and tricks. 

“In a small way, doing the Threads Club is a quiet way to speak up for a cause that I feel like is very important,” Harrington said. “There’s really a lot of things that you can do with knitting, and I think that it’s just so exciting just to see how much you’re impacting a community by making these small things.”