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Mar 04, 2024

Meet the ‘hookers,’ Syracuse’s coolest crochet club, who just finished this driveway

Members of Off the Hook Crochet Club (top row, left to right) Ishaaq Miller, CJ Goode, Michele Dyess, Jaleel Campbell, Nancy Aye Syeisha Byrd (bottom row, left to right) Lauren Ligon and Honey Burgos

Members of Off the Hook Crochet Club (top row, left to right) Ishaaq Miller, CJ Goode, Michele Dyess, Jaleel Campbell, Nancy Aye Syeisha Byrd (bottom row, left to right) Lauren Ligon and Honey Burgos pose in front of their community quilt at La Casita Cultural Center on July 29.William Stith

Watching people learn to crochet warms fiber artist Syeisha Byrd’s heart. She wants to teach everyone in her community (maybe even the world) how to create something with their own two hands. But crocheting has always meant something more than creating a hat or blouse out of yarn to Byrd.

“Not only can you help someone else make a hat and keep someone warm,” said Byrd. “But you could also calm somebody’s anxiety.”

Byrd joined digital artist Jaleel Campbell to form Off the Hook Crochet Club in January with the intention of creating a space for Black and brown people to get together and learn to crochet. The inspiration for the club came from Campbell’s experience joining a fiber arts club in Harlem while in graduate school at SUNY Purchase.

“It was one of the flyest things that I’ve ever done in my life. It was a group of Black and brown women meeting at the Harlem YMCA ages 30 to around 75,” said Campbell. “And they were creating some of the most beautiful pieces that I’ve ever seen.”

Byrd learned the skill from her grandmother. She taught Campbell how to crochet when he was 8 years old while working as a site director for an after school program. She wanted to pass along the skills to a younger generation.

Crocheting became an avenue for Byrd to ease her anxiety as a kid and gave her something to do when she felt socially awkward. The club has become a way for her to create and build friendships, bringing together people who probably would’ve never met otherwise.

Most members in the club didn’t have prior crocheting experience, said Campbell. He and Byrd taught members the basics of crocheting during their meetups.

“I want to say for 85% of our club, this was their first time learning how to crochet,” said Campbell. “They learned and they’re doing such great work, so I cannot believe I taught them how to crochet like this.”

When CJ Goode joined the crochet club, she had no idea how to crochet. She was enticed by the social aspect of the club and wanted to pick a new hobby.

“I have never done any sort of making with my hands before,” said Goode. “I was really coming for the social aspect alone. I was like, if I learn how to crochet along the way, it’s fine.”

Her first few attempts at crocheting weren’t easy, but by the time the club got to granny squares—a basic square pattern commonly used in crocheting—she felt like a pro. Having the support of Campbell, Byrd and other members of the club were helpful in the process.

Last month, the club completed its first group project—a community quilt. All 10 members made at least 50 granny squares each, said Campbell. The quilt, now on display at La Casita Cultural Center on the Near Westside, measures 25 feet wide by six feet high.

“That thing is a lot heavier than it looks,” said club member Ishaaq Miller. “It’s a lot wider than we thought it would be.”

Leading up to the quilt unveiling at La Casita in late July, Campbell was busy at work making as many squares as he could, curious and excited to see how big a quilt they could create.

The “hookers” as they call themselves—like crochet hook—showcase their personalities through the different colors and patterns in each square.

“It feels good to see this. It’s art,” said Byrd. “For me, it’s sometimes a lost skill. So, to see crocheting become popular here in Syracuse again, it warms my heart.”

Campbell hopes to change the perspective of what crocheting looks like with the club and the community quilt, he said. It’s not just older people who can crochet. Anyone can.

“Who’s to say that this is the only iteration of the quilt? Maybe this is something that can be an ongoing thing,” he said. “Where we continue to add squares. I want to see this become this big community project where anybody can add squares to it, to just keep it going.”

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