Thursday, September 1, 2011

Random Thoughts and Tips on Charity Crafting

I needed to put down my thoughts about some charity crafting facts. Lots of us make things according to a pattern and do not give a thought as to the way in which it will be used.

Scarves for the homeless, are an example. When I created my free pattern for a ribbed, crocheted scarf for the homeless, I had one big thing in mind. It had to be easy, quick, and economical regarding how much yarn it used. Our Friday morning crafters make a lot of these for our local homeless, so the pattern was a big issue.

Then I began thinking about the homeless. We rarely donate any scarves that have fringe. This is one thing we thought about early on. Fringes, we feared, would get caught in any number of ways for those unfortunate folks out there.

We also chose to not use a lot of white or very light colors. We do use the light colors for cheery stripes or things like that. But we realized that these folks do not have access to washing machines and these scarves will get soiled. We didn't want the people wearing them to feel bad if a nice, white or pale yellow scarf became dull and gray. So, a completely solid very-light color is not on our agenda.

The other thing that I personally stick to is a slightly wider scarf. I like them to be able to pull it up over their ears or mouth, if they need to, to protect against the worst weather. If I don't make it wide, I make it long, so that the wrap around will accomplish the same thing.

So, those are my thoughts on scarves for the homeless.

Of course, opinionated as an old woman like me can get, I have other opinions on hats for the homeless, gloves for the homeless, caps for preemies, and chemo caps. I'll probably discuss them very soon. Can't help myself. Part of my nature, as the eldest sister of three kids, and never being blessed with any of my own, is to share what I know, whether or not anyone really wants to hear ;-)

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