Last December, Jordan Shelton, language arts teacher, found a new way to destress: knitting. 

Shelton said once she learned the basic stitches, she was surprised at how much knitting helped with her concentration and anxiety. 

“It’s been really soothing and has decreased my screen time,” Shelton said. “It has made me feel better about myself.”

Shelton started Stitch Club to share her new hobby with students. 

The club meets every Wednesday during Mod 1 of Ac Lab, and it is open to all students.

“I hope this gives kids a sense of community where we can talk about whatever and learn a new skill together,” Shelton said. 

As students learn how to knit and crochet, Shelton said she wants to challenge teachers to allow their kids to knit or crochet in class, so it gives students an appropriate way to fidget and stay present in class without scrolling through their phones. 

“I am trying to think of ways that we can creatively help students cut down on the need for their phones,” Shelton said. “Hopefully, this also cuts down on referrals and detentions as a consequence of their phone use.”

Shelton is partnering with a local yarn store, Yarncom, to help her run the club and provide supplies for club members. 

Heather Swan, Yarncom owner, said she is excited to help Shelton with Stitch Club and teach students new skills that will benefit their lives in the future. 

“It’s a lot of fun whenever I get to work with new people and watch them learn something,” Swan said. “It makes me excited when they get that ‘aha’ moment.”

Swan opened up Yarncom in January with the tagline  “Community through Creation.” The idea of her store is to provide a space where people can sit at a table together and hand stitch. 

“We just try to bring people together through all of the creative adventures that they like to go on through fiber arts,” Swan said. 

Swan met Shelton when she first came into the store, and they started talking about the idea of Stitch Club at MHS. 

“Life is busy for high schoolers, and you guys can’t always get to all the things you’re trying to shove in a day,” Swan said. “If I can come to you once a week to get you started, I would be happy to do it.”

Bryan Craft, senior, already knows how to crochet, but he said he is going to Stitch Club to learn how to knit and expand his hand stitching skills. 

Craft said when he is crocheting something he already knows how to make, it becomes second nature and he can easily listen to others and stay focused. 

“But, usually when I am learning a more difficult pattern, I get distracted easily and have to zone in on my project,” Craft said. 

Craft found out about the club through an Instagram post, and he decided to bring some of his friends with him, but he also met new people. 

“My favorite part was seeing people there that shared the same passion as me,” Craft said.