KNITTING FOR CHARITY
Q
I do most of my knitting for charity but have been told by the ones I usually support that they are no longer accepting knitted items. I was really disappointed and am wondering if this is the case for all charities? Do you know of any others that I can knit for?
Angela Kelly, Truro
First of all, I want to thank you on behalf of the charities you have supported for using your precious time (and yarn!) to help others. You are correct that some charities have asked to not be sent handmade items anymore, either due to a huge influx in items during the crafting boom in lockdown or safety issues around little fingers getting tangled in stitches (this is mostly in regard to crochet granny square blankets though). There are, however, still plenty of good causes to choose from that would love your help. We cover a charity that’s looking for knitted wares every issue on our Lend a Hand page (see page 54), so that’s a good place to start, or you can check out the UK Hand Knitting’s list of charities looking for knitted donations here www.ukhandknitting. com/knitting-for-charity/charity-list which is regularly updated. If there is a particular cause close to your heart that you would like to support but doesn’t need knitted items, you can always help them by selling your craft goods at local fairs (or online) instead and donating the money. If you do decide to do this, make sure that you have the permission of the designer to sell the completed projects, or choose a pattern that is copyright free (see page 89 for more information on this) to avoid getting into sticky legal waters. Rachael