**Letters written by the children at Lamberton Public School thanking Streetknit for the donatations of hand knits.**

Despite the warm weather, it’s still cold and the need for warm accessories for the homeless is high this year. If you’d like to knit for the homeless you can drop your knits & crochets off at the store and we will donate them to Streetknit, or if you aren’t in our neighbourhood you can contact shelters in your community (you can also look into organizations that collect donations for refugees, or who are sending outerwear to the Ukraine).

FYI: Catherine from Streetknit says there is extra need of mittens right now!

Events

If you like knitting for the homeless and need some yarn donations please contact Streetknit or you can pick some up at their next event:

Considerations when knitting/crocheting for the homeless:

The yarn MUST be machine washable. Machine washable wool, wool blends, or synthetics are best.
The knit should be warm – a loose, holey tension doesn’t serve.
Keep it simple … fancy isn’t important
Preferred accessories include hats, neck-warmers, and mittens.

To make thing easy, many the patterns below recommend Berroco Vintage Chunky – it’s machine washable, warm, a little bit thicker (so it goes a bit faster and makes a knit that’s a bit warmer), and relatively affordable. You don’t have to use this particular yarn, it’s just a guideline that’s works for me.

Yarn Combining

If you want to use up your stash you can hold a few strands together. Here are some general guidelines. A project like SNAP (above) is great for using up stash yarn. :

2 strands of sock-weight yarn = light worsted weight (4.5mm/US7 needles)
2 strands of DK weight yarn = worsted to aran weight (5mm/US8 to 5.5mm/US9 needles)
2 strands of worsted weight = chunky/bulky weight (6mm/US10 to 6.5mm/US10.5 needles)

Neckwarmers/Gaiters/Cowls

Whatever way you want to refer to it, a neckwarmer is a great way to stay warm! It stays on your body, and there are no long ends to flop around, get wet, trail in the snow – just snuggle down into it and stay warm.

1. The Cowl

This pattern calls for 3 different sized needles, but for you purposes we don’t need to get fancy, one pair is fine. It also holds a couple of strands of yarn together, and we can skip that – you only need the single strand of Berroco Vintage Chunky.

2. Clara’s Sorbet Cowl

This pattern is good for newer knitters, especially if you’ve learned how to knit and purl, but you haven’t got the knack of doing them in the same row. If you don’t know how to knit in the round you can find a good video tutorial on our Knitting Skills Page under “Working in the Round”. If you’re still not up to working in the round, you can cast on and knit the neckwarmer on regular old single pointed needles and them seam it up the back (see “Seaming & Sewing” on the Skills Page).

Berroco Vintage Chunky: 2 skeins (adult size requires approx 170m: if you want to make it coloured you’ll need 1 skein of each colour)
5mm/US8-16″ circular needles
6mm/US10-16″ circular needles
Stitch Marker (fixed or locking)
Tapestry needle
FREE Pattern

Stash Dive Scarf

This is a VERY big scarf, and if you’re knitting for charity it would probably be better made shorter and joined as a cowl, but I love an artful stash-busting and it’s so inspiring!

Berroco Vintage Chunky: OR 600mof worsted weight yarn AND 600m of fingering weight yarn held together
6mm/US10-16″ circular needles
stitch marker
FREE Pattern

Hats

1. Jason’s Tweed Hat

A basic watch cap is a great solution for cold weather.

2. Barnes

A simple 1×1 rib makes for a warm watch cap or slouchy hat – whichever way its worn works!

3. Northward

Don’t be intimidated by basic cables – they only look hard, they’re really very easy – check out some good videos under “Cables” on our Knitting Skills Page.