Winter is coming in the North, and all my charity crafting friends are preparing lots of warm blankets, hats, and outfits to help out. Here are some of the things I've made.
Click on a photo to see it larger.
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If you're like me, you are sometimes overwhelmed by the needs of children and babies in the USA and other countries. I'm so busy sewing and knitting that I can't seem to find the time to post here.
Winter is coming in the North, and all my charity crafting friends are preparing lots of warm blankets, hats, and outfits to help out. Here are some of the things I've made. Click on a photo to see it larger.
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I know, I know, I have not written anything in a while! I have been so busy making clothes for a variety of charities that I have had no time to blog. Very quickly, I will share something that went to an elementary school. Here, we've got some Fall outfits and hats. Those are for when the days are getting cool on the Rez but the snow isn't yet falling. This box also went to Wolf Creek School, It contains knitted and crocheted hats and scarves that are heavier and warmer. Also included were some school supplies and store-bought socks.
This is the first time that I make a fully lined jacket. It really was not as hard as I had thought it would be. It did help that it had simple lines and the outer fabric is a double knit with a bit of stretch. The lining is a cozy and soft flannel.
I have never liked the lining fabrics normally used in jackets. They're cold when you first put the garment on, and stick to you if you are too warm. So I decided to use flannel, which will be much more comfortable for a child to wear. This jacket is about to be shipped to Pine Ridge, along with several other things. The school principal is back and ready to receive warm clothing for her students. This school goes from pre-K to 12th grade, so just about any child size will fit somebody. For now, here are a couple of photos of the jacket: This is absolutely the easiest blanket I have ever made! I think it took me longer to get all the fabrics nice and flat than to sew them together.
I used 1 yard of each fabric. The top layer is a cute cotton print with teddy bears. The lining is a plain broadcloth, and you could use any cotton fabric such as quilt backing. The interlining is sandwiched between the two fabrics. I used a piece of flannel to give baby a little warmth. Before starting, make sure you have washed all the fabrics so they are already preshrunk when you lay them out. Put your three fabrics flat on a table or, if you're limber enough, on a clean floor. Pin all around, leaving a space of about 5" for turning. Stitch, clip the corners at a 45 degree angle. Turn over and stitch the opening closed. Done! I made myself NOT start anything new till I had completely finished several of the Summer outfits I had started. I intend to send those to my "adopted" family in Pine Ridge. The family has four children, three boys and one girl, all age 5 and under.
Armed with several size charts, I did my best to hopefully make clothes that will fit them and maybe have room to grow. The striped fabric is a knit that was quite uneven and was difficult to make and align the stripes. The little girl's outfit is made of a knit fabric that looks like denim but is more comfortable because it stretches. I really liked this fabric: it keeps its shape and looks like it won't show dirt too easily. Here are the photos! For the past month or so, I have been focusing my charity crafting on the poorest of the great nation that we call the United States of America.
Can you even imagine an 80% unemployment rate? Living well below the poverty level, are a whole lot of elderly people and children. Plagued by low morale and illnesses, very cold weather (they had 12" of snow in late May!), and with no hope for improvements, those people need help. One of the projects to assist them is the Okini program. A heartbreaking list of DIRE needs is available online and you can choose to send them food, diapers, clothing, and money. You can sponsor a family on a regular basis, or just participate when you are able to spare a little something. When you look at the list, you will notice that they are asking for very basic items. This is a world where life is so different. There, going to the store for groceries is an agonizing moment where every penny is counted, obtaining a barely used pair of pants or a blanket without holes is a special treat, and having some propane to warm their poorly insulated home when it's -20F is a blessing. If you read their stories, be sure to have a box of tissues near you. If you are moved to help, the list can be found here. It is updated frequently so you can see at a glance what is needed. While I have sent some diapers, wipes, and a few other things, I have also started a box of nutritious non-perishable foods. By buying a few additional groceries every week, it is easy to quickly fill a box. I have also been knitting and sewing to fill a box of clothes for this Summer. Here's one of my latest outfits. It is done in knit fabrics so it should be comfy. I have found some wonderful stretch fabrics that can be for a boy or a girl. My "adopted" family has 4 children under the age of five, and I hope that they will like those. I will have more photos later on. I belong to an awesome Yahoo group, and we decided to craft some things to benefit the children of the Pine Ridge Reservation. The project started as: "Let's make some hair scrunchies for the girls and send some combs for the boys!" Everyone was very enthusiastic and we all started looking at patterns. We all went through our Spring color yarns.
Hair scrunchies can be made in minutes. Most only require a couple of rows of crochet. Check out the patterns that Suzie, the group owner has published for this project! Click here, here, and here for some ideas. After purchasing some hair elastics and combs, I suggested that just sending combs for the boys did not feel like sending them a gift. Some of us decided to make pouches for the combs. I made a few in crochet, but I was not very happy with them. Mainly, they had to be oversized, so the teeth of the combs would not catch as you slid the comb in or out of the pouch. I then turned to sewing and some sturdy Sunbrella yellow fabric. Somewhere along the line, someone mentioned finger puppets and other small Easter gifts. I ended up with about 50 scrunchies of various colors, sizes, and designs. I added several finger duck puppets, a cute brush & comb set, some pencils, some hair "claws" (maybe for the older girls?), and some small treasures pouches (possibly some little boys would have a rock collection to keep in there). This was an exciting project. There was no getting bored, as each scrunchie could be made in a different pattern, with different yarns and colors. A few more photos can be seen here. If you would like to learn more about the Pine Ridge Reservation, click here. |
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