Chairty Knitting & Youth Jester Hat Questions

#1

:wink: Hello Everyone!

I have a lot of bits & pieces of wool, so I decided to knit hats for charity. Unfortunately I cannot find and organization in “Ontario, Canada” that would accept them. Being new at donating hand knit projects I was not aware that there were a lot of rules to follow, eg. type of wool, size of hats, specific areas accepting donated knitted hats, etc. I have already made quite a few different styles of hats that would keep someone warm this winter.

  1. Would someone please help me with the “rules” in donating knitted / crocheted hats for children and adults?

  2. Also would you please help me find a youth’s jester hat (3 points)pattern?

Any suggestions to a good organization would be appreciated. Thank you for your help.

#2

Have you tried getting intouch with your local churches to see if they have needs? I know my church has an “ugly quilt” project and they stick a hat and pair of mittens in each blanket. They don’t have “requirements” and are happy to take what ever you donate.

#3

Hi, CK:
Different charities have different rules and or requirements for their organizations. Asking a specific group or place you want to donate what they require is really the best route; however, don’t get discourage there is usually a group out there who would gladly accept what you are able to donate. You could also try asking at your LYS (local yarn store) or a local shelter (homeless or women’s). A general rule I normally follow though is that for very cold climates for children and adults I use wool either worsted weight or bulky. For preemie hats, blankets, etc. I use cotton or man-made fibers, and for in-between type chartible knitting depending on the item I use a wool-man-made fiber blend or a soft man-made fiber.

I am not able to locate a youth jester hat pattern; though, you might want to look at this pattern on woolly wormhead and possibly adjust the pattern for smaller heads. Here is the web site: http://woollywormhead.blogspot.com/2006/02/pattern-for-wormheads-jester-hat.html

Here are also two links for charities and charity links for places in Canada that accept donations:

http://www.canknit.com/charity.html

and

http://www.warmingfamilies.org/caav.aspx

Finally, you might want to post this question in the “Charity Knitting” section of this web site you will probably receive a lot more responses to your question.
Good luck and happy charitable knitting,
Katrina

PS. I also forgot to post this article form Knitty: http://www.knitty.com/issuefall03/FEATcharity.html
you might want to also try the yahoo group caring4canadians. Or do a google search for charity knitting canada.

#4

Thanks to everyone for all the information!