Knitting Stitches to Make Clothing and Other Items for Charitable Donations
On this site you will find everything you need
to know to knit to donate to charity—from the basic essentials of donating to
charity to a list of charitable organizations that seek out donated knitted
items to give to sick children, the homeless, premature babies and others in
need; to how to work on your own or with other knitters to reach those in
need…and even more.
Most knitters own lots of knitting needles and a few of them have projects still on them (smile). We’ve found very creative ways of storing our needles—from plastic bins to wine cases to large glass canisters (normally used for keeping uncooked pasta) to everything in between. But, wouldn’t it be great to have a case that’s designed just for knitting needles? Well, you can find beautiful needle cases at your local knitting store; however, there’s nothing like making your own.
Alexandra’s Needle Case, made from a fabric stash or other fabric you purchase for just such a purpose, is a great example. The tutorial gives you step-by-step directions on how to sew a knitting needle case. You can modify the pattern to add or decrease the number of pockets required to store circular, double-pointed and long and short knitting needles. For even more creativity, add zippered pouches for bobbins, stitch holders and gauge counters and other knitting accessories.
The Thornberry blog has some excellent pictures of a Knitting Needle Roll made from beautiful fabrics in her stash. While sewing your own knitting needle case, make an additional one for a friend or donate it to a charitable fundraising event or auction.
If you like to knit afghan squares, consider participating in the Knit-a-Square Charity Knitting project based in Australia. Sandy McDonald, founder of this non-profit charity knitting organization is looking for knitters to make 400,000 squares for handmade blankets to be given to orphaned children whose parents died of AIDS in South Africa.
In addition to providing yarn and other materials for knitting the squares, a contributor will pay the price of a standard international stamp to send it to South Africa.
Squares should be made of wool yarn because it is warmer than other fibers. Acrylic yarn may be used if the sender of the squares indicates on the package that the fiber is acrylic so those squares can be sewn to other acrylic squares. Each square must be 8 inches by 8 inches. Twenty-four will make a baby blanket.
If you or your knitting group are interested in donating squares, visit knit-a-square.com for additional information on how to participate. You should plan to mail up to three squares in one letter-size envelope to Knit-a-square, Soweto Comfort Club, Private Bag X900, Bryanston 2021, South Africa.
A great project to knit to donate to charity is the Mother Bear Project. This non-profit organization provides hand-knitted or crocheted bears to children in emerging nations, most of whom have been affected by HIV/AIDS. These bears and other knitted toys have demonstrated love and given comfort and hope to over 38,000 orphans in sub-Sahara Africa and other places around the world.
All bears are made from the same World War II-era knit or crochet pattern, which makes the bears lightweight and easy to ship from the Mother Bear Project headquarters in Minneapolis as charitable donations to waiting children in Africa.
When finished making the bear, the knitter ships it to The Mother Bear Project where a heart is sewn onto the bear and a tag signed by the knitter is attached to its wrist. Finished bears range in size from 10 to 12 inches and come in many different colors and yarn textures.
Interested knitters can purchase patterns for $5 each and kits for $20 directly from the Mother Bear Project; or if you would prefer to donate money, supplies or work as a volunteer for the Mother Bear Project, you can find out how to get started by visiting their website
Regardless of your knitting skills, all knitters are welcome to participate. If you do not have a Mother Bear Project knitting group in your area, consider starting one. The fellowship will be out of this world and you will be comforted as well as you knit a bear to donate to charity.
Knitting Boards and Knitting Looms have been around for quite some time. They are an easy way to learn to knit without using knitting needles. The projects you can create with knitting boards and looms to donate to charity are endless—from sweaters, scarves, hats and other apparel to home decor items like dishcloths, potholders, kitchen appliance covers and more.
Among the many benefits and advantages of using a knitting board or loom to make items to donate to charity are their portability and ease of use. You can purchase Knitting Boards in various sizes that will fit in a purse, briefcase or tote bag for a quick access while waiting in reception areas or commuting to and from work.
Knitting boards are rectangular hand knitting tools that fashion knitted items with both sides finished. The wrong side of the knitting does not show because knitting boards create a double knit with only the right sides exposed. Knitting boards are very versatile, and by changing the gauge in your project, you can create many different looks with all types of yarn. The knitting lays flat and does not curl on the edges, so it’s easier to sew pieces together when knitting coats, sweaters and other garments that require assembly.
Knitting looms are round, hand-held looms used for weaving yarn in a knitting pattern. Knitting looms are mostly made of inexpensive plastic or wood. Similar to a knitting board, knitting looms require little to no knitting experience and create knitted items without using hand knitting needles.
How to Knit with a Knitting Board or Loom
You don’t need any experience to use a knitting board or knitting loom, and the results are great. With a simple weave and hook process you can knit popular and fast-selling craft bazaar items like baby booties, scarves, preemie caps and other items for fundraising and to donate to charity. Check out this video to see how easy it is to learn to knit without needles on a knitting board or knitting loom.
One of the first projects to knit to donate to charity is a dishcloth. It’s easy to make, requiring only a few hours when using a basic pattern for beginning knitters or a more elaborate one for advanced and speed knitters. Dishcloths are very popular at craft bazaars and fundraising events and sell pretty quickly; so if you are raising money for a favorite charity; then get a few knitters to make lots of dishcloths.
Type of Yarn to Use
The best yarn to use to make dishcloths to donate to charity is cotton yarn. Cotton is a natural fiber that’s perfect to use when washing dishes, pots, pans and counter tops. Cotton yarns are great for sturdy and functional kitchen knitting projects. They can also be used for knitted face cloths and wash cloths as they are naturally soft and absorbent.
One of the best quality and inexpensive cotton yarns is Sugar ’n Cream by Lily Cotton of Canada. Lily Brand cottons are machine washable and dryable, and they come in a large assortment of colors and color combinations. They can be purchased online or at discount department stores and craft stores.
FREE Dishcloth Patterns to Knit to Donate to Charity
There are numerous patterns to knit cotton dishcloths to donate to charity. Most manufacturers of cotton yarns make them available for FREE download from their websites. You may have to register as a member to access the patterns; but membership is FREE. Here are a few of my favorites:
Knit these dishcloths to donate to charity on your lunch hour, while commuting to and from work (if someone else is driving) or as a rainy day knitting project; and then sign-up for a craft bazaar or fundraising event and raise money for the charity of your choice.
Ever heard of Caps for Kids or Warm Up America? They are just two of the programs you can participate in to knit to donate to charity. Caps for Kids provides children in need with cozy hats to keep them warm. Over one million caps along with other accessories for children have been knitted and crocheted and donated to charity by volunteers since the program began. Warm Up America has touched the lives of the homeless through charitable donations of knitted afghans.
What do these two programs and others like them have in common? Volunteers knit to donate to charity and everyone concerned benefits from their knitting stitches—the giver, receiver and charitable organizations who sponsor their efforts.
What about you? You could share your knowledge and knitting skills by creating beautiful things with needles by hand to donate to charity. If you knit because you love the end result and thereby gain a sense of extreme satisfaction in a job well-done; then others can benefit from your knitting in a way you may not have thought possible when you first learned.
Charity knitting is not a fad or an excuse to justify the time and expense spent on yarn, patterns and related knitting supplies; it is the experience of practical giving from hands and heart to those in need.
Future posts will discuss knitting for charity resources, ideas, projects and places to donate your completed items. There’s something here for the beginner as well as the advanced knitted and everything in between. So, take the plunge, pick up your knitting needles and yarn, find a FREE pattern on the web or one that is featured on this site, and knit…knit…knit to donate to charity.
and 
have been around for quite some time. They are an easy way to learn to knit without using knitting needles. The projects you can create with knitting boards and looms to donate to charity are endless—from sweaters, scarves, hats and other apparel to home decor items like dishcloths, potholders, kitchen appliance covers and more.
