The Story Behind the Crochet Pop Fidget

A Classroom Idea 

The Crochet Pop Fidget was never supposed to exist.

In 2023, while completing a practicum placement in an elementary classroom, education major Riley Konesky noticed a common challenge among students. Even when children were asked not to use fidgets, they naturally sought sensory input in other ways—tapping pencils, clicking water bottles, or constantly moving their hands and feet.

As someone with ADHD, Riley understood this instinct firsthand.

The idea for the Crochet Pop Fidget came completely by accident.

While working on an unrelated crochet project one evening, Riley realized she had made a mistake in the stitch count. Frustrated, she unraveled the piece and was left holding a small crocheted half-circle that was headed for the trash.

Before throwing it away, she absentmindedly pressed it between her fingers. It popped... quietly.

What had started as a crochet mistake suddenly felt like the solution she had been looking for. The small piece provided satisfying sensory feedback while remaining soft, lightweight, and completely silent.

A few days later, the first batch of Crochet Pop Fidgets was created for sixteen fifth-grade students. 

Testing the Idea

After seeing how much her students enjoyed the Crochet Pop Fidgets, Riley was curious if the appeal extended beyond the classroom. To find out, she filled a bin with pop fidgets and left them out at her university anonymously. And she waited.

The response was immediate. Everywhere she went, students had them in their hands. People stopped to talk about how satisfying the little pop felt and how they could fidget with them during class without creating noise or distractions.  

An Unexpected Viral Success

Just one month later, in October 2023, a video featuring the Crochet Pop Fidget was posted to TikTok.

What happened next was completely unexpected.

The video reached 1 million views within 2 weeks, introducing the Crochet Pop Fidget to millions of people around the world. Orders began arriving from across the United States, and what started as a project for sixteen students quickly became a nationwide small business.

Within months, more than 6,000 Crochet Pop Fidgets had been sold and shipped to customers across the country.

For Riley, the most rewarding part wasn't the numbers; it was hearing from teachers, parents, therapists, students, and adults who found comfort, focus, and enjoyment in something that had started as a simple classroom idea.

Although the Crochet Pop Fidget has reached thousands of people, its mission remains the same as it was in that first classroom.

Each fidget is designed to provide a quiet, tactile experience that supports focus, self-regulation, and sensory engagement. Whether used in a classroom, therapy office, workplace, or at home, every Crochet Pop Fidget is rooted in the belief that movement and learning can work together.