Knitting

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Destatsh for a Good Cause: Knitting for Charity

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stash bustingIf you have yarn that you like but there’s just too much of it for you to knit it all for yourself and those friends and family members who who be grateful (because, let’s face it, not everyone in our lives deserves our knitting), the next option would be to knit things with an eye toward donating them to charity.

There are all sorts of charitable organizations out there that accept handknits, though the requirements and items accepted vary widely. You can find places to donate blankets for animals in shelters, sweaters and hats for homeless people of all ages, chemo caps and hats for preemies, even burial gowns for infants who didn’t make it out of the hospital. And that’s just the beginning.

I like to urge people who are interested in knitting for charity to look locally first. Is there a local homeless shelter that would accept knit hats or socks? A prayer shawl ministry you can support? Or even an affiliate of a larger group like Project Linus or Warm Up America.

If that’s not something that appeals to you, check out the Lion Brand Charity Finder, my list of charity knitting sites at About, or just do a web search for knitting charities maybe with some qualifiers about what you’d like to knit or for whom (as in, children’s hat charity knitting, for instance).

Most of all, check with the charity or group you intend to knit for and make sure you’re clear on what their needs are in terms of item type, sizes and fiber content of yarn before you get started. We want to knit things that will actually be useful, right?

If you have a favorite knitting charity that you’ve worked with in the past, I’d love to hear about it!

Looking for more Chemo supplies, Check out these Chemo friendly low irritant body products Gentle on the skin

This chemo cap is knitted in the round  and has a roller brim, This chemo cap is knitted in the round and is ridged with a small rim. We have some other patterns for knitted chemo caps too, check them out here.

One Ball Knitted Chemo Cap beanie

Rolled brim Chemo Cap

Visit our charity crafts page for listings of groups in your area who collect and donate these knitted items to charity.

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Comments

  1. I have been working on using up my stash. Two blankets, several hats.

    Now I am working on hats for newborns, and hats, blankets and gloves for the homeless.

  2. I knit up a stash of scarves and hats, put them in my car, and when I meet a squad car that is not in an emergency situation, I visit with the officers and give them the bags of hats and scarves for them to give to needy people when they come across them. The need has been REALLY great this year.

  5. I have done squares for Warm Up Canada. One of my dear friend, he along with his family goes to Honduras to set up schools and homes. I donate some of my teddy bears to them to pass along to the children.

Have you read?

Textured Baby Blanket Knitting Patterns

There are so many baby blanket knitting patterns out there I could probably do a post a month full of them and not run out for a very long time. This time I thought I’d look specifically at single color baby blankets that are interesting because of the inclusion of textured stitching. This makes them easy enough for new knitters but engaging for knitters of all skill levels. 

Take the Textured Checks Baby Blanket from Janet Dubbelman for example. This project is mostly stockinette stitch, with some what looks like reverse stockinette and garter stitch thrown in to make the ridges. You can use whatever yarn weight you like to make blankets of different sizes. Find the pattern on Ravelry. 

The Seedling from Modern Made Shop is just about as easy as it comes, combining seed stitch with a garter stitch border. It calls for worsted weight yarn and is perfect for beginners. 

The Julie Baby Blanket by Elisabeth Kristiansen is another one with an easy allover stitch pattern that you can knit up in a flash in whatever size you want. (The pattern notes say any gauge but it also says 28 stitches per 4 inches, which would be a superfine or fine weight yarn. Learn more on Ravelry. 

The Oscar Baby Blanket from Snufflebean is another one with an easy repeating stitch pattern that has a really fun, graphic effect. This is also great worked in a bright color, reminding us that babies don’t have to be in pastels! This one uses DK weight yarn. 

If you want to get a little fancier, check out Sammy Bristow’s Georges Blanket. This one alternates blocks of stockinette stitch with boats and anchors made by purling on the right side of the blanket. It calls for DK weight yarn and has multiple sizes for dolls through toddlers. Check it out on Ravelry.

Another cute texture is this heart blanket with diamonds that are a little reminiscent of argyle. Yarn Sonata Patterns has this one, which is worked in DK weight yarn and comes in four sizes. It includes a chart and row by row instructions. 

Or try the pretty Seton Portage baby blanket from Knitted Wishes, which has a border of trees and textured stitches that look like snow falling. The pattern includes different options for snowflakes and doing a mirror image of the trees on each end of the blanket. It’s worked in worsted weight yarn. This one includes charts, written instructions and video tutorials for special stitches.