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.
Written by Knitting Stitches on December 17th, 2009
With over 300 chapters in the United States, this organization supplies hand knitted blankets to children in need who are seriously ill or traumatized in some way—in other words, “children in need of a big hug”.
You can help by donating knitted blankets to a Project Linus chapter in your area. Visit the national website for more details, patterns and other helpful information.
Written by Knitting Stitches on November 16th, 2009
Cancer patients need attractive caps to boost self-esteem after hair loss. ChemoCaps.com is a group of knitters who donate their time by making hand-knit caps for cancer patients in hospital oncology units and hospice. They encourage you to knit one or two or a few chemo caps and donate them to a cancer treatment center in the area where you live. “It’s neighbors helping neighbors one chemo cap at a time and yes it does make a difference!” That’s a quote from their website.
There are at least 7 free patterns you can use to knit the chemo caps. Visit the site to learn more about this worthwhile endeavor and how you can get involved.
Written by Knitting Stitches on September 22nd, 2009
Thousands of premature babies are born every month and spend their first few weeks in hospital nurseries across the country. The National Association of Children’s Hospital and Related Institutions (NACHRI) offers a directory of facilities in different parts of the country which would donations of knitted “preemie” blankets, caps and gowns.
Check out the directory for the hospitals nearest to you and contact the public relations or community affairs directors to find out how to donate your knitted items.
Written by Knitting Stitches on September 18th, 2009
Care Wear is a nationwide group of volunteer stitchers who knit, crochet, and sew handmade baby items to donate to hospitals around the country. Care Wear items are given FREE to infants, children, and their parents.
Care Wear began in 1991 as a personal effort to provide much needed apparel for premature and low birthweight infants undergoing treatment in neonatal intensive care units of several children’s hospitals in the Washington, D.C. area. Since that time thousands of handmade caps, kimonos, booties, blankets, teddy bears, bibs, burial gowns, finger puppets, incubator covers, mittens, mattress covers, and cloth animals have been submitted for distribution.
You can join the Care Wear effort by donating your handmade items to a local hospital or any of those on the Hospital List. Check out the FREE patterns on the site to knit to donate to charity.
Written by Knitting Stitches on September 12th, 2009
The Binky Patrol, an all volunteer, national non-profit organization makes and distributes homemade blankets or “binkies” to children (age 0-18 yearn) born HIV+, drug-addicted, infected with AIDS or other chronic & terminal illnesses as well as those who are abused, in foster care or experiencing trauma of any kind.
There are no set patterns for binkies. As long as they are soft and washable and made with love and care; they will be accepted. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
When you’ve completed knitting the binkies, donate them to a local Binky Patrol chapter or mail them to:
Binky Patrol, Inc.
PO Box 652, Beaverton, OR 97075-0652UPS/FED EX ONLY:
Binky Patrol, Inc.
c/o Susan Finch
6490 SW Elm Ave.
Beaverton, OR 97005
You can also just make blankets and find a local area shelter or hospital or agency to give them to. You don’t have to be a volunteer for Binky Patrol to do this. They are just happy to have inspired you and wish you well as you help to comfort the children and teens in your area.
Written by Knitting Stitches on July 22nd, 2009
Would you like to start a local chapter of the Get Well Gang in your neighborhood, community or church? This small but caring and sensitive organization seeks to donate comfortable and beautiful knitted hats to cancer patients who are experiencing hair loss. Its mission is to “warm both the heads and the hearts of patients undergoing cancer treatment.” What began with just six hats delivered to a cancer center has expanded to well over 12,000 hats donated throughout Canada and the United States.
The Get Well Gang began in 2003 when the founder, Gretchen Huntley, lost a close friend to cancer. The chemotherapy had caused her to lose her hair and Gretchen’s friend wore unflattering and uncomfortable hats to conceal the hair loss. After her death, Gretchen committed to making hats for cancer patients that were flattering and comfortable.
You can participate in this worthy cause by joining the Get Well Gang and knitting hats made of 100% Cotton Yarns
Written by Knitting Stitches on July 14th, 2009
About 3 years ago, I started a prayer shawl ministry to knit to donate to charity. As part of that one-woman effort, I knitted almost 30 prayer and comfort shawls for the senior citizens in my church and several friends and family members. While most of the patterns I used came from free resources on the web, I did purchase a few of these books to knit a unique prayer shawl for each recipient.
For many, the ultimate expression of spirituality is charity. And for years, people have been crafting prayer shawls – knitted wraps to comfort those in times of need and to help others celebrate special occasions. Written by the two women at the heart of this groundswell of charity knitting, The Prayer Shawl Companion
Create 8 inspirational shawls with these Quick-To-Stitch Prayer Shawls
Join the thousands of knitters and crocheters of all faiths who are creating handmade shawls for people in need using the patterns in The Prayer Shawl Ministry Volume 1
This eagerly anticipated second volume of The Prayer Shawl Ministry
Best-selling author and avid knitter Debbie Macomber teams with Leisure Arts to introduce a new Warm Up America! initiative — Friendship Shawls. Similar to prayer shawls, friendship shawls are handmade gifts of caring. They’re perfect for special occasions or simply as friendship gifts. In addition, these shawls are wonderful for individuals in nursing homes, hospitals, and shelters. Visit and be the first to introduce friendship shawls to your area through this inviting book! Ten shawls to knit: For All Reasons, A Hug to Keep, Because I Care, So Nice to Have You Around, A Little Something for You, Thinking of You, Gifts to Share, A Wisp of Warmth, A Girl’s Best Friend, and Always With You.
There are times when something special is required to fill a need, provide comfort or give someone a blessing. For that reason, we present this collection of shawls and throws along with a selection of prayers and blessings. Knitters of all ages and all skill levels will love this book! 16 pages.
Many contemplative, prayerful acts involve repetition of action: walking a labyrinth, reciting the Divine Office or saying the rosary. So why not knitting? As their needles flash and click, veteran knitters Jorgensen and Izard practice “contemplative knitting,” which they say is just as real and fruitful a spiritual practice as any longstanding tradition of the church. The shawls change the lives of the knitters themselves, inviting them to engage in quiet meditation, and they also make an impact on the people who receive them, many of whom are recovering from illness or bereavement. Fans of knitting will be, shall we say, hooked: the book offers practical steps on selecting yarn and knitting simple prayer shawls, but its most enduring feature is the heartwarming stories of shawls knitted and given as artifacts of prayer.
Written by Knitting Stitches on July 13th, 2009
Looking for a project to knit to donate to charity? The Care To Knit non-profit organization is a great resource. Its mission is to provide hand knit and crocheted items such as scarves, lap shawls, hats and other related accessories to those in shelters, hospitals, nursing homes and hospices.
To fulfill the mission, Care To Knit has attracted knitters and crocheters from around the country who are interested in donating their hand made items to men, women, and children in need. Baby and preemie caps, blankets and booties are needed year round. Recently the organization has received requests for sweater sets to include in layettes for needy families.
Scarves: adult sizes — width 5″-7″, length 60″; children’s sizes — width 4″-5″, length 48″
Lap Blankets: width 35″, length 40″
Hats: small, medium, and large sizes for both adults and children
Yarn Types: Use your favorite yarn or you can choose Lion Brand Boucle, Fancy Fur, Fun Fur, Red Heart Tweed, Lion Brand Suede, Moda Dea, Jai Alai, Patons Cha Cha or Caron–Simply Soft (good for baby hats and chemo caps)
If you are interested in teaching others to knit and/or crochet, or to donate knitted items and help sew labels into them, contact Care To Knit at 1 800 966-KNIT.
Written by Knitting Stitches on April 28th, 2009
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.
Written by Knitting Stitches on April 17th, 2009
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.
