Charity Knitting For Beginners (by Robyn Devine)

It seems like only yesterday you picked up a pair of knitting needles for the first time. Maybe it was to finally make a scarf for a friend, or an adorable hat for a new babe. No matter why you picked up the needles, you feel like you’ve got the art of the Knit and the Purl under your belt, and you’re wondering what’s next.

Some are immediately drawn to the intricate color work in Fair Isle knitting, and some are all about the cuddly shapes and sizes of knitted toys. Myself, I was almost immediately drawn to charity knitting. For me, there was no better way to use my newfound skills than to help keep others warm. Whether it was knitting hats for preemies or lap blankets for the elderly, I found my charity knitting taking over my house.

It wasn’t for years that I figured out most knitters around me either don’t knit for charity, or had the desire but didn’t know where to donate. I realize now that my “jump in and see where you land” approach to charity knitting is not the normal path, with most knitters stymied either by the overwhelming needs around them or the lack of donation bins in their area.

What Do People Need?

For new knitters, the challenge can be even harder – still struggling through casting on, binding off, and knitting two together, it can seem too great a hurdle to go from making yourself a scarf to making something for a complete stranger. But have no fear – with a few simple steps you’ll be crafting away for others in no time!

If you’ve got the desire to knit for charity, your first step is to figure out what you like to knit the most. Do you find yourself knitting scarf after colorful scarf? Do your fingers fly around the needles when you cast on a hat? Whatever you love to knit, there’s a charity organization that needs it, I promise. And figuring out what you want to knit, what you love to knit, will make your charity knitting projects more fun. After all, who wants to plug away at a pair of socks when all they really want to be knitting is dish cloths?!

Where To Give

Once you’ve figured out what you want to donate, the trick is to get it to the people who need it most. Lucky for you, I’ve done some of the dirty work, and at the end of this article you’ll find a list of some of my favorite charities, and the items they take.

Looking to donate locally? Start flipping through your phone book! Send an e-mail (or stop by) your local hospital’s NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) and see if they take baby items. Call up a local nursing home or hospice to find out if they’d like some comfort afghans, lap blankets, snuggly caps or slippers. Foster care organizations, AIDS crisis centers, and even your local Humane Society are also great places to ask. In my experience, just about any non-profit organization will take handmade items of some sort – it’s all in matching up your items to the right charity!

Share The Love

Once you’ve gotten in touch with an organization that accepts hand knits, be sure to let others know. If you’ve got a blog, post pictures of the items you’ve made, and let others know where you’re donating them. Hop onto local community boards or attend knit nights at the local yarn shop to recruit other charity-minded people to help out!

Remember, not that long ago you were someone who wanted to help but didn’t know how – now that you’re “in the know”, sharing your expertise is the best way to get others involved.

A Few Places To Start

Want to fast-track your charity knitting? Here’s a few great organizations that are always looking for items. Be sure to head to their websites for specifics!

Warm Woolies – collecting items for orphans across the globe, this charity needs socks, sweaters, and vests made from 100% wool items for sizes from preemie to adult.

The Nest – this organization brings 100% animal fiber items to people struggling through cold winters in Maine.

The Ghana Project – collecting squares to be sewn into blankets for over a decade – the perfect way to use up all your acrylic remnants! These blankets go to children across Africa struggling through painful surgeries.

Homespun Helpers - this group of charity knitters congregates on the web, banding together to knit for a wide variety of charities.

Article author Robyn Devine is a 30-something newlywed who has focused her life on craft, sustainability, and changing the planet for good. Having been a crafter most of her life, it wasn’t until recently she discovered she could meld her love of handmades with her passion to help the world become a better place for all humans, instead of a place that seemed to work only for a privileged few.

She divides her free time between knitting and scrapbooking most days, is in a constant battle with all the clutter threatening to take over her house, and truly believes that with a bit of compassion, some wool, and a slice of pizza, the world could be a happier place for all!  Enjoy Robyn’s blog: http://robyndevine.typepad.com

The Last Knit (funny)

We think this video cartoon is very funny. We posted it hoping this cartoon would encourage you to keep your knitting efforts light and happy. Take a few minutes to watch this knitting cartoon. We know it will put a smile on your face no matter how many rows of your latest project you have just ripped out! We originally posted this knitting cartoon as the FEATURED VIDEO on our home page. We liked it so much we wanted to keep it around for everyone to enjoy. We hope you do!

When knitting becomes an obsession. Directed by Laura Neuvonen. Country Finland and year of production 2005. Running time for the video is 7 minutes. Knit Happy!

Spinning Yarn on a Drop Spindle – Tutorial (video)

Hello Naughty Knitterz! Here you’ll see how to make yarn on a top whorl drop spindle. Megan shows starting a leader yarn, the park method, the drop method, and connecting more fiber.

 

Types of Knitting Yarn (video)

Hello… I am Mr Yarn

Hello…

I am Mr YARN. Now, you’re probably wondering who I am, and why I am here in this BIG wide world of ours… Well, I am the most charismatic ball of yarn you will ever come across. Yes, that’s right- or so my owner/creator tells me.

My life began all the way back in the year 2000, the Millennium, where I started of as an iddy biddy little bouncy ball (multi-coloured with a hint of white smudging to be precise). One day, my owner decided to wrap me up in some fresh woollen YARN and since then, my life has been an inner-twined adventure of knitty goodness. Every year I accumulate more and more colourful layers of yarn, causing me to grow and grow.

I guess I’m not like other balls of yarn. Unlike their loose, fluffy ovular quality, I am a triumphant round shape, with a structure so strong and unyielding I could probably crush an ant (if I had the pleasure to roll out my owner’s front door). My coloured woollen layers will often change, depending on my mood. This summer, I felt so happy and sunnified that my owner gave me a bright yellow cosy coating, allowing me to bloom upon my bedroom shelf.

It was this year I decided to cast off my curiosity and try and find other balls of yarn like my kind through joining Twitter. I began my Twitter adventure at a circumference of 23cm, weighing a challenging 2.2kg (babies can sometimes weigh this much I’ll have you know) consisting of pure sheep wool – apart from my fragile little bouncy ball heart of course. With over 20 different effervescent colours to my past I can even BOUNCE – this has to be done carefully though as sometimes my yarn comes loose. Waw. So, more importantly, my owner didn’t make me for knitting. Oh no, he made me for ball related pleasure as well as a great shelf ornament. Sometimes I do worry he is just building me up for one great big jumper.

You see, although life sounds great for me, I feel there is so much more to see and learn. Like sheep… I have heard all sorts of wonderful and magnificent stories about those field galloping, wool donating animals. I want to explore, venture out into the open and roll away from my tungsten lit bedroom shelf. What wondrous obstacles lie ahead of me? How will I survive? Are there other kinds like me, roaming our earth, evolving from thread to thread, rolling down roads rebelling against their knittable purpose of life?

I will do this! I WILL succeed in my mission! And for every ant I squish, I will document my journey along the way. See more of me at www.twitter.com/mryarn where you can suggest great adventures for me to embark upon, have control over what colour I shall be next, help me get BIG and ROUND and be part of fulfilling my dreams to explore the world. P.s. If you follow me, I will follow you. Tee Hee.

Lots of yielding yarn love

 

Mr Yarn

Variations in Stitches (video)

This video will show you how to combine knit and purl stitches to make patterns. This video is created assuming you already know the basics of knitting.

Machine Knitting Lesson (video)

Lion Brand’s Nili demonstrates the basics of the LK-150 knitting machine with LB 1878 yarn. Michelle of Craft Zine joins her in the Lion Brand Yarn Studio and tries her hand at the machine as well.

How to read a pattern (video)

This video is an introduction to reading a knitting pattern.

The Basic Knit Stitch (video)

Hey there Naughty Knitterz! Learn how to make the knit stitch used in knitting in this free online instructional video on how to knit.