Let's Knit Magazine - Your knitting, your style

What good cause are you showing your knitted support for?

I’ve been knitting random stuff from children’s jumpers to scarves, draught excluders etc. Had not idea where to send all this too until I heard of Loving Hands - there is now a big box waiting for me to take to the Post Office........

I did send some jumpers to Feed the Children but now they bombard me with donation appeals which I think is a bit rich considering you knit jumpers, send them and put a small donation in to help with transport costs!!!!

I love the idea of knitting jumpers for childrens charities - So far the only charity knitting I have been involved with is the Innocent smoothie hats and the the iKnit/WaterAid Knit a River - it was great fun!

Tell us more about knit a river! It sounds intriguing.

Knit A River was a campaign to raise awareness of the 1.1 billion people without access to safe water. This massive knitting project, which called for knitters to send in blue squares that were stitched together and used as a ‘knitted petition’, was organised by WaterAid! Great fun and a great cause!

I always have a charity project on the go.

At the moment, I am designing a pet blanket that will be used for people who want to knit for rescue centres. It will be made up of squares so that it can be used by groups. Primarily it has greyhound motifs, but also has squares with paws motifs and so knitters will be able to pick and choose which squares to knit to make their own blanket layout. I previously made the snood pattern you can see below, Dizzy Lily: A Snood for a Hound,named after my own two greyhounds and the pattern is free to anyone knitting for an ex-racing or rescue greyhound, whippet or lurcher. I expected to get a few enquiries, but so far I have supplied this pattern around 200 times to people around the world. Anyone who emails me directly and who has a rescue dog may get a free pattern.

I also have these hat patterns, which are available free to anyone who wishes to knit for fundraising or for charity. There are other childrens hats available too which were originally designed for the Children’s Society.

I am trying as well, to make a recycled swatch blanket for the homeless. On the way to my knitting club, I pass many homeless people and one night it was absolutely freezing, so I gave out some adult ribbed hats I had knitted up and stopped to hear some of their life stories. They all said that they would love to own a knitted blanket.

So, I had this idea,especially suited to people who hop between projects. Don’t we all have pieces of garments amongst our stash that will never be finished? Perhaps part of a scarf, or a sleeve, or just the back of a cardi? What if, we were honest with ourselves, admitted we were never going to finish that particular project but then donated the pieces to be sewn together to make a crazy knitte patchwork blanket?

Anyone who has spare pieces of knitting, or knitted squares is welcome to send them to me to knit up for one of my homeless friends.

I am disabled, and such a slow knitter, that I decided to donate my own designs and patterns instead for good causes, and it was this work that led to me becoming a part time designer. It just goes to show, that you can get just as much out of somehting as you put in without expecting too of course. Knitting for good causes is still my first love, over paid work.

that is such a great idea to knit for the homeless. I’m sure that your willingness to speak to people who are homeless as people, not as a problem was as important as giving away woolly hats. God bless you.
I saw the gingerbread house at the SECC at the weekend and was totally enchanted by it, so I signed up to knit squares for the next project, an underwater tableau for the RNLI.
At the moment I’m doing baby knits for the babypack project in South Africa which was mentioned in Let’s Knit.

Is there a list of charity knitting projects around? I didn’t realise there were so many great projects!

there was a great article in LK 4 giving details of all kinds of charities who value our help.

Here are some :

The babypack project,which helps south African mothers whose newborn babies would otherwise be wrappedin newspaper http://www.freewbs.com/babypackproject

To help african children who need jumpers/ blankets to keep warm at night http://www.feedthechildren.org.uk
To help children in orphanages around the world http://www.warmwoolies.org
blankets for britains elderly http://uk.geocities.com/oecs_central
hats for British seafarers http://www.biss.org.uk
dolls for HIV/AIDS orphans ( must be brown skinned dolls, similar to teddy patten but with skirt & hair) email , post dolls to TREE, PO Box 35173 Northway4065 South Africa
dog coats to raise funds to help abandonned dogs http://www.k9knitter.co.uk
premature babies in UK http://www.bonniebabies.co.uk
babies born asleep http://www.cuddles-uk.org
helping afghanistan’s poor http://www.afghansforafghans.org
and there will be many more. I’m sure Laura would be able to give more information.

Laura - 03 March 2008 06:20 PM

What good cause are you showing your knitted support for?

… I am a member of BLISS

www.bliss.org.uk/pagebuild.php?texttype=homepage

… and knit clothes, blankets etc for premature babies and, sadly, burial gowns/capes for the little ones that are taken too soon.

Some of the items I have knitted for charity, in the past, are shown:

they are lovely! well done you!

I’m knitting things that can be sold at the Summer Fayre for our local Hospice, Nightingale House, they want something different from Toilet roll holders and lap blankets, at present I’m knitting aran jackets for young children sizes 20”, 24 and 26.

suse - 17 March 2008 06:16 PM

they are lovely! well done you!

… good of you to say so!!

Knit for Kids is brilliant too..making jumpers etc for kids worldwide..the only downside is the distribution centre is in New York. This isn’t a problem for me as I can send my stuff post free, as long as I don’t overdo it.

I also do up a bunch of chemo caps and send them to the cancer or respite hospitals. And Jean Greenhowe has Rainbow babies you can knit and sell for charity at your craft sales.....or even make for someone who could use a smile! They are absolutely adorable I’ll try to find the URL but I assume if you google jean greenhowe + rainbow babies, you’ll find it. I have a stack of crocheted easter baskets with sweets and little handcreams for some alzheimer patients waiting for pick up. It’s win win..I get to indulge in my passion for craft AND spread it around

I have found the best way to avoid being bombarded after you send something is send anonymously!

The ideas here are brilliant!!! Thanks!!

I have a stack of crocheted easter baskets with sweets and little handcreams for some alzheimer patients waiting for pick up.

what a lovely idea!

I have just started knitting wee hats for babies.  Mainly to use up some of my stash as I have so many bits and pieces.  Hats are ideal for the smaller amounts but I will probably be able to do some matinee jackets or cardis as well.  I am not sure what I will do with them but will decide when I have enough to send off
Cath