Welcome back to my series on sharing what I like to do in my free time as a Bryn Mawr student! I’m sharing an activity that became a hobby during my senior year – crocheting!

I picked up crocheting after years of not doing it, thanks to my TikTok For You Page. There were a bunch of videos of people crocheting stuffed animals, accessories, window curtains, and more, and that led me to challenge myself to tackle a bigger project, one beyond my usual doilies and puff flowers. Since it was getting closer to finals season, I thought it would be fitting to assign myself a larger task to end my year given that most of my classes would conclude with large end of semester projects. Clearly, that is a very good idea when I’ve got a bunch of tasks for finals.

I decided I wanted my crochet project to be related to May Day. May Day at Bryn Mawr is a whole day filled with traditional May Day activities such as May Pole dancing, various performances from student performing arts groups, a concert by a musical artists and more. For me, I associate May Day with arts and crafts as most of my memories of the day involve hanging out with friends while making flower crowns, sand art, and tie-dye shirts. Because it’s customary for people to wear all white on the day, I decided to crochet a white top, I found a free pattern on Youtube and took my time following it during the weeks leading up to the event.

For me, crocheting is very meditative because I’m just making rows and rows of the same loops and connecting them as I go. I personally believe the repetitiveness in the activity makes it quite accessible, especially since one just needs a crochet hook and some yarn to get started. Plus, it’s fascinating that you can get an entire garment from such simple actions. My favorite time to crochet my top was after a 2-3 hour long seminar class in the afternoon, and I’d also spend that time catching up on Youtube and Netflix. These crochet sessions were very much needed as the semester became more hectic.

Since becoming more comfortable with crocheting, I wished I had interacted with more people who also do fiber arts at Bryn Mawr. I know there is a knitting club that provides resources and a community for most fiber crafts such as knitting, crocheting, embroidering, cross-stitch and more. Other than that, I’ve known people who have commissioned products from friends who make fiber products, and I’ve even had a classmate knit a sweater in class.

Even though I did my best to space out my crocheting progress, I still ended up staying up super late the night before May Day to finish my top. However, it turned out to be a success! It fit well, it was comfortable, and I was happy to show off the piece to my friends. I’m so happy I got to spend my last May Day while wearing something I made. As I was going about my day, from the senior hoop race to the two acapella performances to eating delicious May Day food, this top was representative of the skills and values I’d built during my time at Bryn Mawr. I’ve learned to take the initiative to challenge myself, do things I’m interested in, and share the results with people I’m close with. This was my last May Day, and it was a wonderful way to reflect back on all my friendships and cherish the memories I’ve made.