A new club that will knit items for Afghan children in need held its first “knit-in” meeting Friday.

Thirteen students gathered for the “knit-in,” which welcomed both veteran knitters and others who are completely new to the skill.

The group, started by honors students Catherine Brist and Jamie Wernet, knits items such as blankets, mittens, socks and hats for a non-profit organization called “afghans for Afghans.”

Wernet, a linguistics sophomore, said it’s important that impoverished and refugee children of Afghanistan get these items because it gets cold in Afghanistan and they have a hard time keeping warm.

“The children will go to school, where they take off their shoes and don’t have socks, so their feet get cold,” she said.

Brist, an English literature freshman, said she came across the idea when she attended an art museum in Scottsdale and saw an exhibit called “Radical Lace and Knitting.”

“I was reading a blurb on organizations that collect these items, and I saw ‘afghans for Afghans’ listed on there,” Brist said. “I’ve been looking for a way to get more involved in volunteering and service opportunities, and I also love knitting.”

Starting this club was a way to incorporate her hobby as well as do good for others and teach people how to knit, she said.

“It’s a great craft and a useful skill, and not as many people nowadays know how to knit,” Brist said.

At the meeting, Brist and Wernet taught how to “cast-on,” or knit their yarn onto the needle and begin simple knitting. Wernet said they would like to create 5-inch squares that can be knitted together to create blankets.

Wernet applied Feb. 20 to receive $1,700 from Undergraduate Student Government’s iChange Initiatives fund to cover the expenses of the club.
“If we do get the money, it will go toward buying yarn and needles and paying for shipping costs,” she said.

If the money comes through, Wernet said she also plans to do a panel-style event for which she is looking to get professors to speak.
“I’d like to raise awareness about Afghan culture and historical roots of conflict,” Wernet said.

Spanish sophomore Kristen Lahr, who has been knitting on and off since she was 12, said she came out to support the new club because she used to knit scarves but was tired of spending so long knitting them.

“I really like knitting and I thought, ‘Oh I can knit stuff that will help other people,’” she said. “You can also finish a 5-inch-by-5-inch square in a couple of hours compared to knitting a scarf, which takes forever to knit.”

Biology sophomore Karissa Gonzalez, on the other hand, had never picked up yarn or knitting supplies prior to Friday.

“I’m getting the hang of it, but I’m left-handed so I’m finding that I’m having some trouble with it,” she said. “It’s challenging, but it’s nice for the people we’re sending it to.”

Most of the attendees were members of Barrett, the Honors College, and heard about the meeting through an e-mail from the Barrett listserv. But Wernet said anyone who is interested can come and knit.

Both Brist and Wernet were pleased with the turnout of students for the first meeting, but they hope to increase the membership for the future.
Wernet said she and Brist plan on putting up fliers and using Facebook to get the word out to get more people involved, and are also looking to apply to be an official student organization in the fall.

“I’ve actually received a lot of interest generated through the e-mail that was sent through the Barrett listserv,” Wernet said. “Hopefully, we’ll get more interest from people walking by.”

The group plans to meet Fridays at 1 p.m. in front of the Barrett Bistro outside Irish Hall.

Reach the reporter at bemattox@asu.edu.