Skyline students host inclusive crochet workshops at Sammamish Library
Growing up, Skyline senior Jax Rajtar, 18, watched his twin sister Alex Rajtar explore the art of crochet. But being left-handed, he did not have the same resources to easily learn the craft. Now, the twins are working to create opportunities for people to learn to crochet, regardless of their dominant hand.
They hosted a series of “Cozy Crochet” workshops twice a month at the Sammamish Library from January to March. Their most recent workshop was on March 17.
For Jax Rajtar, the goal of this program was to offer an activity that did not exist in the community.
“We wanted to start a program that brings together a diverse group of people and unites them in the pursuit of the same craft,” said Jax Rajtar.
Librarian Jessica DeWitz, 26, helped the Rajtar twins organize their program.
“One thing at KCLS we like to do is really get embedded in our communities and really serve the community to the best of our ability,” DeWitz said.
When the Rajtar twins came to her with their proposal, she saw a great opportunity for them to share their passion with the community. After months of communication and planning, the twins were able to put Cozy Crochet into action.
Alex Rajtar started learning crochet at the young age of 12, and her interest in crochet eventually led her to be on the board of the crochet club at her school. Jax Rajtar, on the other hand, had difficulty learning crochet because of his left-handedness.
“I kind of wanted to learn, and I made a couple attempts at learning, but I’m left handed, and it’s kind of a thing in the crochet community that there are no resources for left-handed people,” said Jax Rajtar.
Alex Rajtar taught herself to crochet left-handed the summer of 2025 in order to teach her brother.
They wanted to use this experience to share their love for crochet with the whole community, and make the art accessible to left-handed people. They started with simple Canva slides and eventually created in-depth pamphlets and videos of the process.
According to DeWitz, about 15 people of all ages attended each workshop. Left-handed people did indeed come to learn. At each workshop, participants got to work on a toddler-sized cotton hat. The Rajtars give participants the option to donate their hats to Seattle Children’s Hospital.
“I think crochet is also a really good opportunity for people to contribute service to their community in a way they might not have had the time or resources to do otherwise,” Alex Rajtar said.
