On Monday evenings, from one corner of the Elizabethton/Carter County Public Library the sounds of conversation and laughter can be heard as members of the Crochet Club catch up with their friends and work on projects to serve those in need in the community.
Club members are working to make plarn mats, blankets and pillows to be given out to the homeless.
“This is our club project,” said club founder and library clerk Charlee Workman. “We all have our own little things we are working on, but when we get together on Mondays this is what we do.”
Plarn mats are created by cutting plastic shopping backs into strips, linking them together and then crocheting the resulting plarn (short for “plastic yarn”) into a mat that is six feet long and three feet wide.
The plarn mats are light-weight and because they are made of plastic bags they aren’t damaged by moisture the way a traditionally fiber-filled or fabric mat would be. Using the plastic bags to construct the mat recycles them into something useful rather than sending them to a landfill.
“It takes 600 to 800 bags to make one,” Workman said.
Workman said she saw a post on the social media site Facebook about plarn mats and decided to talk to the club about making the mats for local people in need.
Some members of the club are also using scrap fabric to sew blankets and pillow shells. The pillow shells are then stuffed with the scraps left over from the plarn mats.
The club is working with the Appalachian Regional Coalition on Homelessness to get the mats, blankets and pillows where they need to go.
“They will be giving them out to the folks who need them,” Workman said.
The Crochet Club is looking for new members and volunteers to join them for this project and all skill levels are welcome, Workman said.
“What we need more than anything is for people to bring us their bags and for anyone who can to join us on Monday nights,” Workman said. “We need people to cut, or to crochet, or whatever they would like to do. They don’t even need to call, just show up with a hook.”

The age range of the group varies as does the experience level.
For Stephanie Shipley and her son, 9-year-old Dominic, coming to the club provides them with some time together while also giving back to the community.
Stephanie Shipley said she saw a sign about the Crochet Club while bringing one of her other children to a program at the library. “I started coming and then he started coming with me,” she said of her son, Dominic.
On Monday evening, Dominic focused on the chain of plarn he was crocheting as he sat next to his mother. He said he enjoys crocheting even though the skill is a bit new to him.
“I kind of started a little bit before this, but I’m still learning as I go,” he said.
Club member Marcie Gordon began crocheting while she was undergoing cancer treatments. “I bought myself a ‘Teach Yourself How’ kit,” Gordon said. “When I heard Charlee was starting this class I wanted to be a part of it.”
The Crochet Club meets every Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the Elizabethton/Carter County Public Library. Those interested in joining the club are invited to stop by during a meeting to get to know the group and join in the fun.