2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The growth of the maker movement has led to a 14-fold increase in number of makerspaces worldwide over the past decade [1], yet many institutions struggle to retain a gender-diverse user base of these facilities [2]. Gendered ideas persist about who belongs in a makerspace, with masculine-stereotyped environments setting a less-than-inclusive tone [3]. Yet women are the predominant practitioners of fiber arts [4], one of humanity’s original engineering skills that dates back to the Neolithic time period [5]. This work aims to challenge students’ preconceived notions of what skills belong in a maker space by introducing mechanical properties of materials through crochet, a fiber art that has exploded in popularity in the past five years.

Here, we present an inquiry-based laboratory experiment for an Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) course for non-MSE majors in which students 1) learn basic crochet stitches to fabricate samples for tensile testing, 2) perform tensile testing on their samples to determine how the mechanical properties of un-crocheted strands of yarn differ from the crocheted yarn, and 3) investigate their own research question regarding how crochet can be used to enhance the mechanical properties of yarn. Throughout this experiment, students will learn how to create and analyze a stress-strain curve, and identify Young’s Modulus, yield strength, and tensile strength of materials. The session culminates in a discussion of why the knotting used in crochet leads to enhanced mechanical properties, and a historical and cultural perspective on fiber arts as an engineering practice. Students will also become familiar with the relevance of the skills learned in this experiment to the textile industry.

We implement a student survey pre- and post- activity to understand the following: 1) Do students’ attitudes towards fiber arts as an engineering skill evolve after completing the lab? 2) Do students with prior crochet experience report a higher self-efficacy in testing the mechanical properties of materials than students without crochet experience? Do gender differences arise in students’ self-efficacy in mechanics pre- and post- experiment?

We believe this work will have implications for creating more inclusive makerspaces and curricula that value all types of engineering skills. This work could also be implemented as STEAM outreach to engage middle or high school students in Materials Science and Engineering through art.

(1) Makerspace Analytics. https://lit.gse.harvard.edu/makerspace-analytics (accessed 2024-10-06).
(2) Eckhardt, J.; Kaletka, C.; Pelka, B.; Unterfrauner, E.; Voigt, C.; Zirngiebl, M. Gender in the Making: An Empirical Approach to Understand Gender Relations in the Maker Movement. Int. J. Hum.-Comput. Stud. 2021, 145, 102548. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2020.102548.
(3) Schauer, A. M. K.; Schaufel, H.; Fu, K. The Makeup of a Makerspace: The Impact of Stereotyping, Self-Efficacy, and Physical Design on Women’s Interactions with an Academic Makerspace. Eng. Stud. 2023, 15 (2), 122–143. https://doi.org/10.1080/19378629.2023.2224016.
(4) Decker, I. Knitting and Crochet Today: Statistics, Trends, and More. https://blog.anthonythomas.com/knitting-and-crochet-today-statistics-trends-and-more (accessed 2024-10-07).
(5) Giner, C. A. Textiles from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Site of Tell Halula (Euphrates Valley, Syria). Paléorient 2012, 38 (1/2), 41–54.