Tips on Best Colors for Charity Crafting

Earlier this month, I posted some tips for charity crafters. I wanted to share what our little group of Friday morning charity crafters has learned in the past two years of this wonderful effort.

Tonight, I realized we have learned a lot about which colors to use and which not to use for specific projects.

For the homeless, we never use all white, all cream, or all pastels in anything. We don't want the wearer to feel bad watching it become soiled the very first day they use something. They do not have access to laundry facilities. We have no trouble putting in narrow bands or stripes of brights like white, cream, yellow, pink, etc. However, even then, we keep it away from the hand-held area. For example, we never use those colors at the hat brim where it needs to be constantly fingered to put it on or off. Similarly, we avoid them at the very ends of a scarf. And we never make gloves in all one pale color.

For those in long-term care, or hospitals, or even disabled at home, we try to make at least one third of our output in colors men can enjoy. There are many men who have a problem feeling comfy wearing something with pink or lavender in the lap robe or shawl. We also avoid calling them shawls when dealing with the fellows - we use the term shoulder-wrap. If you find yourself saying they shouldn't be that picky or they shouldn't care, well, then, maybe this isn't the project for you. See, I figure my goal is to make something that will comfort the wearer, and I intend to do my best to avoid anything that will not do that. It is not my goal to change their attitude but rather to uplift their spirits at a trying time.

I hope these few tips will add another level to your charity crafting projects. We have really enjoyed learning all these things along the way.