Brochet (Rhymes With ‘Crochet’) Is a Guy Thing at the College of Wooster

In the old days, we got our hats and mittens from our grandmothers. They gathered on weekends, probably drank tea, and gossiped about us while they hooked and stitched yarn for hours.

Seven male friends at the College of Wooster have updated the knitting circle of days gone by and are helping three local charities in the process.

The guys formed the Wooster Brochet Society, whose community-service aspect helped them score housing together through the college. Every month, each man is responsible for crocheting three hats to be donated to the group’s community partners, which include a children’s home and a women’s shelter.

It all started with Matt S. Pullara, a psychology major, who shared the skill with his buddies when they were all freshmen in the dorms. Today the housemates crochet together regularly, often with a football or basketball game on the television, says Jake W. Kubasta.

“We like to put flaps, braided dangles, and a pouf on the top,” he says. Each hat takes about two hours, depending on skill level.

So far, says Mr. Kubasta, no one has criticized them for breaking gender stereotypes. “A lot of people think it’s pretty cool, and a lot of people want hats,” he says.

Mr. Kubasta still remembers his first hat, the one he learned on as a freshman. But he doesn’t wear it.

“It was not very good,” he says, laughing. “It was pretty oddly shaped, it was way too big, and the color schemes weren’t awesome.”