EDUCATION
Crochet comeback OK, Boomer. These Gen Z needleworkers count stitches, not followers BY DAVID IVERSEN
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The sandworm’s intricate head-inside-a- head design and black-and-white stripes were popularized in the 1988 classic film Beetlejuice. Goncalves, born after the advent of the iPhone, saw it in the 2024 sequel. “I probably took about four days of just sitting down and watching movies and just doing the rounds,” explained the Heritage senior, who plans to study theatre tech in college. “I’m bringing my hooks to college. And the Longtime Heritage teacher Kasey Turik has a habit of building programs from the ground up. “This is my eighth class I’ve started here,” she said, noting she also launched the school’s American Sign Language program. “We tried to get crochet going a couple years ago, but the district just didn’t see it. Then our principal last year really pushed for it,” recalled sandworm is coming with me, too.” Hit the books? No, the hooks!
N A SUNLIT CLASSROOM AT Heritage Academy, a group of high schoolers sits quietly, hands in motion, eyes focused on yarn
and the needles being used to weave it. This isn’t detention or home economics revival — it’s crochet class, a wildly popular elective that’s inspiring creativity and some seriously jaw- dropping projects. On one table sits a towering, handmade sandworm doll. “I bought a $10 pattern off Etsy and just went for it,” explains Asher Goncalves, proudly holding up the figure like a prized catch. He’s one of the lucky ones. A quarter of Heritage Academy’s student population joined the waitlist for the course’s second semester this spring. “My goal was to have the biggest project in the class,” Goncalves said with a smile, “and I succeeded.”
Above: Carleigh Mrosko crochets. Opposite: Asher Goncalves shows off his 6-foot sandworm.
InMaricopa.com | May 2025
May 2025 | InMaricopa.com
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