WEST LIBERTY, W. Va. – West Liberty University’s Creative Art Therapy Club and Crochet Club collaborated with their “Worry Pet Workshop” event on Thursday, November 7th, 2024.
The event was hosted in the Center of Arts and Education from 6-8 p.m., and 24 people came to the event to create their own worry pets.
A worry pet is a palm-sized therapeutic toy made to relieve stress. They can be used as fidget toys and sensory lushes, and they can be given to others as anxiety-relief gifts.
The Worry Pet Workshop had three different sets of instructions for people with varied skill sets: a crochet pattern, sewing pattern, and hot glue pattern. There was also an assortment of supplies to customize your worry pet with, such as felt fabric, markers, and safety eyes. They even provided birth certificates for you to name your worry pet after you made it.
I took part in the event and created a worry pet of my own that I decided to name ‘Grobb.’
The hot glue instructions are as follows:
Step One: Trace any sized circle onto a piece of fleece. Eight inches was recommended but is not required.
Step Two: Pin two pieces of fabric together (each one being the same size).
Step Three: Use hot glue to attach the two pieces together. Leave a gap so you can add stuffing to the inside.
Step Four: Attach your eyes by hot gluing them to the surface of the fabric OR attach your eyes before stuffing your worry pet by cutting two holes and screwing the backs into place.
Many of the regulars had good things to say about the event as it was going on:
“It’s super cute and relaxing, and I love it,” said Annabelle Schafer.
“I like it because I get to sew and I don’t know how to crochet,” said Landon Frame.
“I like it because I get to create little monsters,” said Logan Frame.
Students Haley McClain and Matty Lamp organized the workshop together. Haley McClain is an executive board member of the Creative Art Therapy Club, and Matty Lamp is the President of Crochet Club. They were both excited that their clubs’ workshop had a lot of participants, and they want to host more events like this in the future.
“Working with Crochet club was an honor…CAT Club has so far done a collaborative event with Sewing Club and Crochet Club, and we hope to do another one with Poetry Club as well,” said McClain.
“I think Haley and I had a lot of fun organizing this event,” said Lamp. “I definitely want to do more collaborations with other clubs in the future! We had a great turnout, and we are already considering another workshop between Crochet Club and CAT Club in the spring. I encourage anyone who also wants to collaborate with us to reach out!”
At Crochet Club, people can learn to crochet and utilize the club’s yarn and supplies, and they can hang out with others to socialize while working on their own projects. Crochet Club meets every Thursday this semester in the Center of Arts of Education from 6-8 p.m..
Creative Art Therapy Club, or CAT Club, is primarily run by CAT majors to have a space to create art and hopefully work with the community to create art in the future. CAT Club meets on Mondays at 4:30 p.m. on the second floor of the Student Union in Room S22.
