It’s a Tuesday night and a dozen or so students are gathered in easy chairs in a loose circle in the Dean’s Lounge on the George Sherman Union third floor. They chat about their weekend, what they’re reading, the movies and TV series they’re streaming. The only other sound is the click of knitting needles.

Welcome to the weekly meeting of the BU Knitting Club, which is also open to students who crochet, weave, spin, or do embroidery. “We pretty much welcome anyone who wants to do anything with fiber,” says club president Jessie Caldwell (CAS’18).

There are no dues. No demands to show up every week. Just a casual, laid-back opportunity for like-minded people to do something they enjoy.

“What’s great about knitting club is I’m not watching TV while I knit. I’m actually talking to people, and that’s always nice,” says Anna Gregoire (COM’20).

“Even if you mess up, it’s not a big deal,” says Gregoire. “You don’t have to be good at all. And if you happen to be good, that’s great. We love having talent.”

What draws the women and men together is the satisfaction they get out of making something—either for themselves or for someone else. “Scarves are pretty much the basic project, so everyone makes a lot of them,” Caldwell says.

In addition to meeting each week, club members go to Stitch House in Dorchester, owned by Annissa Essaibi-George (CAS’96), at least once a semester to buy yarn, and they organize the occasional movie night.

“I think better when my hands are busy,” says Delaney Duke (CAS’17), the club’s secretary. “It makes me a better student.” Knitting is an important part of her life, so much so that once when she was in Allston, she was approached by some students, who asked her, “Aren’t you the girl who’s always in the dining hall, knitting?”

“That’s just how people remember me,” says Duke.

Jason Kimball can be reached at jk16@bu.edu.