How to Help the Needy in the UK & Worldwide through Knitting

Do you live in the UK and want to help the needy in your country & around the world? Take a look at Knit for Peace UK

UK knitters often ask me for ideas as to who they can send their knitting to. I often suggest one of two charities: Knit for Life UK and Knit for Peace UK. 

You can read about Knit for Life UK here. Today, I want to share with you about Knit for Peace UK. 

A group called Charities Advisory Trust sponsors Knit for Peace UK. Charities Advisory Trust began life as a group that would offer information to charities on trading and income generation.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Charities Advisory Trust quickly evolved from offering advice to offering actual assistance.

In turn, Charities Advisory Trust began Knit for Peace UK as a cooperative knitting project. In this project, women in war-torn portions of Rwanda and poverty-stricken parts of India were paid to create clothing for street children and orphans.

From Knitting with the Needy to Knitting for the Needy

As time went by, UK knitters — being knitters — asked if they could help in knitting for the needy. Those who ran the project discovered (again, unsurprisingly) that knitters love to find people to knit for. And they love it even more if these people are in need.

Charities Advisory Trust is a big advocate of giving to people in need, in any way possible. So, of course, they did not want to discourage these knitters!

Twiddle Muff
Photo: Knit for Peace UK

Instead they looked for ways in which knitters could help. They discovered many, many places to which knitters could donate. These include hospitals, prisons, shelters, hospices, and developing countries, among others.

Today Knit for Peace UK is a thriving charity that is always seeking more knitters. If you love to knit and you live in the UK, this is a great opportunity for you!

How You Can Join In

Of course the easiest way to help Knit for Peace UK is to knit. They are most in need of adult clothing, children’s sweaters, baby clothing (aside from hats and blankets), bed socks, scarves, and large blankets. However, they will happily take whatever is donated and will get those items to people in need.

(They do note that they already have a large supply of baby hats and blankets.)

Photo: Knit for Peace UK

If you need to destash or get rid of some gently-used knitting needles, this is a great opportunity for you to send them to someone who can really use them! Knit for Peace UK is always willing to help someone who wants to knit, so you can be sure your supplies will go to a good home.

(They especially enjoy distributing such supplies in prisons, where learning the skill of knitting can have a real benefit.)

You can use any pattern you wish. But if you’d like to find new patterns – or get an idea of the kinds of projects they can really use – Knit for Peace UK has a page of patterns that you’ll find useful.

Photo: Knit for Peace UK

Non-Knitting Ways to Help

Here’s another way you can help. If you have time and want to offer some leadership, volunteer to be a knitting group leader. Knit for Peace UK has many different knitting groups, and you can help people who are new to knitting or even who have never knitted before.

You can get more information and contact information on this page.

Finally, financial donations are always welcome. Donate if you have a few dollars to spare. Or, you can encourage non-knitting friends who are seeking opportunities to donate to charity.

A fun way to contribute financially is to purchase from their shop. They have knitting bags, needle and hook cases, and pattern booklets for sale. Enjoy their wonderful products while also supporting their fantastic cause.  

For more information about Knit for Peace UK, you can visit their website, like their Facebook page, follow them on Twitter, and/or visit their Ravelry group.

Knit for Peace UK is a terrific way for British knitters to clothe and warm needy people all over the country and even all over the world!