Weaving community

Not only was I able to do something good with giving it away, but by teaching it and just by building the community I desperately craved.”

Sarah Wilsea

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The Yorktown group gathers at Jefferson Valley Mall (650 Lee Blvd.), inside The Valley Collective on the second floor near the food court. It meets on the first Sunday of each month from 10 a.m. to noon and on the last Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m.

Jefferson Valley Mall
650 Lee Blvd.
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598
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Sarah Wilsea is knitting community together with the help of yarn.

The 23-year-old started Yarntown Heights in 2024 when she found herself in the throes of loneliness and in desperate need of community. Now, the knitting circle meets regularly and its creations are donated to people and organizations in need.

Wilsea, who now lives in Norwalk, Connecticut, also started a chapter there.

“I realized I have this craft I love doing. It's become my source of therapy ever since I learned it,” she said. “I've made too many things, and I don't know what to do with them. So not only was I able to do something good with giving it away, but by teaching it and just by building the community I desperately craved.”

The Yorktown chapter, which has about 15 regular members, meets twice a month while the Norwalk chapter meets monthly. In total, Wilsea estimates 100 people have participated in the group.

The group creates knitwear from donated yarn and donates to organizations like Birthright of Peekskill, a pregnancy center, and nonprofit Caring for the Hungry and Homeless of Peekskill.

“It helps us weave a community,” Wilsea said.

Even those who don’t know how to knit or crochet are welcome to join the circle, where Wilsea and others will teach them.

Sahtrese McQueen was one of those people who didn’t initially know how to crochet until meeting Wilsea, who is sharing her fiber arts knowledge with others after learning it from her mom and great-grandmother.

McQueen was an early member of Yarntown, which she says “connects me with my community and my own goals.”

“Having a space close to home where other ‘yarn enthusiasts’ could come together to create not only for ourselves, but others, is amazing,” she said.

Creating something for others is a motivator for Nathan Bilin, the organization’s creative director. He said knitting and crocheting is not only a hobby that provides a source of fun, but one that gives him purpose knowing his creations will benefit someone in need.

“We don’t know what the people who receive our projects are going through, and maybe a scarf with a cute bunny pattern would be just the thing to give them a little joy,” he said.