Check out how you can crochet and knit to help those in need.

Have you ever been in a situation where you don’t have a project on your crochet hook? Or you are working on a project but, it’s too big for you to travel with but you still want to crochet something? Anything?

That’s how I feel sometimes when I commute to and from work and I’m working on a project that’s too big to bring with me. When I was working on the Snowy Comfort Blanket, I got to a point where it was too big and I could not bring it with me and continue to crochet the blanket.

Well, I could but it would not be very nice for me since it’s always packed with other commuters. But, I still wanted to crochet. I can only play games so much on my phone before I want to do something else. And let’s face it… it ends up being wanting to crochet. Know what I mean?

So, what to do? Well, I heard of a not-for-profit organization, Warm Up America!, while I attended Vogue Knitting Live back in January. You can pay it forward by giving back to communities that are in need and work on small projects.

Warm Up America!

Warm Up America! was founded by Evie Rosen almost 30 years ago to have volunteers knit or crochet blankets and clothing for those who are in need. To achieve its mission, Warm Up America! will:

  1. Teach individuals on how to crochet/knit so that they can create blankets or sections of blankets.
  2. Coordinate its volunteers to seam sections together.
  3. Ship blankets and clothing to charitable organizations so that it can distribute the items to those who could really use them.

Sizes

On their website, it gives suggestions on the size of the blankets once could donate if you want to crochet or knit a full blanket. It also states how many panels would be needed for a particular size of a blanket.

If you want to create the panels, the panels would need to be 7” x 9” so that any panel can be lined up evenly together and seamed up to create a blanket. A tip that they suggest one to do is to cut up a cardboard or cardstock paper that is 7” x 9” so that it can act as a template for your panels. This template would save you from constantly measuring your panels to make sure that you are achieving that 7” x 9” dimensions.

That tip, alone, saved me so much time! Just line up the panel that I’m working on with the template to check up on my progress and keep going.

Patterns

If you are crocheting or knitting entire blankets, you could use whatever stitch and yarn that you would like to use. But, if you are just crafting the panels, Warm Up America! does recommend that worsted weight acrylic yarns be used. Sp, that panels from various individuals can match up smoothly when they are seamed together. With acrylic yarn, it helps in making the blanket machine washable and dryable.

Their website does suggest certain stitches if you are not sure where to start. It also suggests to using G crochet hook or one that is necessary to obtain the gauge when using their patterns.

Using their patterns, I’ve created the below panels using single crochet and double crochet stitches.

I’ve also used their shell stitch and alternating half double crochet patterns. If you would like for me to do a tutorial on these stitches, let me know by commenting below.

Assembling

Once you are ready to ship the panels (or blanket), their website lets you know where it can be shipped. It will then ship the panels to volunteers who will seam the panels together to create various sizes of blankets.

If you want to become one of those volunteers, send them a message! Their website gives instructions on how to lay out the panels and which stitches could be used to seam them together. Such as, the mattress stitch and the slip stitch).

This is a great organization where you can fill your need to crochet or knit wherever you are and give back to those who could really use blankets.

So, will you pay it forward and give back to the community? Which will you choose from? Create full blankets or panels? Let me know what you think!

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