Charity Spotlight: Handmade Especially For You. Plus a Free Pattern!
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I’m Marie Segares from Underground Crafter, and I’m returning to Oombawka Design for another post in my charity crochet series. Today, I’ll introduce you to a charity that accepts crochet projects, along with a free pattern, so keep reading for more details.
January’s Featured Organization: Handmade Especially for You
A silent problem in many communities is domestic violence, also known as relationship abuse. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, more than ten million people are abused physically by an intimate partner each year, and 20% of women have been hurt by severe physical violence by a partner in their lifetime.
There’s a strong relationship between domestic violence and homelessness, and Handmade Especially for You has decided to take a handmade approach to helping women living in domestic violence shelters.
Handmade Especially for You has been providing comfort scarves to women who have survived domestic violence and who are living in shelters in Central and Southern California since 2008. Last year, they distributed 11,000 scarves along with 1,100 hats for children to over 50 shelters. That’s a lot of scarves, and they’ll need even more to meet their 2016 goals.
Tips for Making Great Comfort Scarves
The scarves collected by Handmade Especially for You aren’t designed for warmth, but rather for comfort and a bit of flair! Central and Southern California are warm for much of the year, so skinny scarves with open stitches work the best. The recommended size is 4″ (10 cm) to 4.5″ (11.5 cm) by at least 60″ (152.5 cm) long.
To bring a bit of cheer, Handmade Especially for You recommends that you combine a novelty yarn – like a metallic, sequin, or faux fur yarn – with a standard yarn to make a fashionable, accent scarf. Similarly, to keep these festive, they recommend using bright or happy colors.
You can find more details on the Handmade Especially for You website, including why you should donate and free crochet patterns for comfort scarves. Scarf donations can be mailed to the address listed on the website with a note of encouragement for the recipient.
Glittery Accent Scarf
Crochet Pattern by Underground Crafter
Finished Size
- Adult: 4″ (10 cm) wide by 60″ (152.5 cm) long.
Materials
- Loops & Threads Charisma (3.5 oz/100 g/109 yds/100 m/100% acrylic) – 2 skeins in 31 Black Raspberry, or approximately 155 yds (142 m) in any super bulky weight yarn.
- Loops & Threads Payette (1.75 oz/50 g/216 yds/198 m/84% acrylic/12% polyester/4% other fiber) – 1 skein in 7128 Periwinkle Tinkle, or approximately 168 yds (154 m) in any fine weight sequin yarn.
- US Size L-11 (8 mm) crochet hook, or any size needed to obtain gauge.
- Yarn needle.
Gauge
- 12 sts x 5 rows in pattern = 4” (10 cm). Exact gauge is not critical for this project.
Abbreviations Used in This Pattern
- ch – chain
- dc – double crochet
- ea – each
- rep – repeat
- sc – single crochet
- sk – skip
- sp – space
- st(s) – stitch(es)
- * Rep instructions after asterisks as indicated.
Pattern Notes
- Entire scarf is worked holding one strand of ea yarn together.
Pattern Instructions
Scarf
- With one strand of ea yarn held together, ch 13.
- Row 1: Turn, sk 1 st, sc in next st and ea st across. (12 sts)
- Row 2: Turn, ch 3 (counts as dc, here and throughout), dc in next st, *ch 3, sk 3 sts, dc in next 2 sts; rep from * across.
- Row 3: Turn, ch 3, sk next st, 5 dc in next ch-3 sp, *sk next 2 sts, 5 dc in next ch 3 sp; rep from * across to last 2 sts, sk next st, dc in turning ch.
- Rep Rows 2-3 until scarf measures approximately 60″ (152.5 cm) long, ending after Row 2.
- Final Row: Sc in ea st and ch across. Fasten off.
Finishing
- With yarn needle, weave in ends.
© 2016 Marie Segares (Underground Crafter). Published with permission on Oombawka Design.
Marie Segares is a crochet and knitting designer, teacher, and blogger, and the Proprietress of the Underground Crafter. Please visit her at one of the following links:
Facebook | Pinterest | Website
Or, check out her profile and additional Guest Posts on the Oombawka Design Contributor Page.
On behalf of the Oombawka Design readers, and myself, I would like to Thank Marie for sharing January’s Featured Organization, Handmade Especially For You and a free crochet pattern for a pretty comfort scarf to help us contribute to the organization too.
I recently had the opportunity to ask Marie some questions to get to know her better – you can check out the answers and 20 free crochet patterns from her collection right here: Marie Segares | Underground Crafter | Designer Spotlight
Check out the other Charity Spotlights and Free Patterns here:
Happy crocheting!
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