5 Luxurious Knits to Warm Hearts Beyond Your Own

Everyone deserves a little something special in a handknitted gift. Here are 5 that will warm your heart and those of others

It is easy to take our everyday possessions for granted.  But for someone starting over, the little things in life can make a huge difference.  Many of the families seeking refuge from crisis come to us with very little.  By providing handmade items, you are allowing them to focus their energy on healing and recovery… Thank you for providing this essential support.

These words were written by Erin O’Brien, CEO at Community Solutions in Gilroy, California. For context: this organization provides critical services for children, teenagers, adults, and families in crisis.

And for further context, this note came following a shipment from Handmade Especially for You, a knitting charity that focuses on offering beautiful items to domestic abuse survivors. 🎁

Charity Knitting Beyond the Utilitarian

Obviously, those of us who knit for charity do so to help people in difficult situations. Many of us who wish to knit for people in need immediately think of ways to knit warmth, with hats, scarves, mittens, blankets, and the like.

This is, of course, vitally important work. 👏

However, there is another kind of charity knitting that can serve not only to keep people warm, but to make them feel loved. 🥰

As just one example, for women or children who have escaped an abusive situation, the loving touch of a knitted item can provide comfort that may be difficult for us to fully grasp. That, I think, is a part of what Ms. O’Brien’s statement above indicates.

You can find further thank-you notes on Handmade’s Thank You Responses page.

For more about what beauty and love can do for someone in crisis, take a look at this video, featuring the transformation of a shelter.

And so, if you’ve felt yourself longing to knit something a bit more luxurious but wonder if this is “frivolous knitting” when so many people require truly warm items in tough conditions…

…let this be your permission slip! 🥳

Go ahead and knit something beautiful–perhaps one of the five lovely patterns listed below.

Afterward, take a look at four remarkable charities that serve to provide a lift to people who would love to experience a touch of luxury in their lives.

Luxurious Knitting Patterns To Melt Anyone’s Heart

Knitted Mohair Lace Pillows

• What you’ll need to make it: 720 yards laceweight yarn; US Size 6 needles; darning needle; 16 x 16-inch pillow form

• Why you’ll want to: “Breathtakingly gorgeous” and “sumptuously soft” barely does these pillows justice. Knit several of these beauties for a beguiling arrangement to adorn any bed. Delicate, airy, ethereal are just a few more adjectives that can only try to adequately describe these pillows.

Cromwell Court Afghan

• What you’ll need to make it: About 850 yards bulky-weight yarn; US Size 13 circular needles (at least 29 inches)

• Why you’ll want to: Imagine reclining on those beautiful Knitted Mohair Lace Pillows and reaching for a Cromwell Court Afghan to cozy into as you drift away into blissful sleep. What a special knit this could be for someone in need!

Breath of Glitter Shawl

• What you’ll need to make it: 485 yards worsted weight yarn; US Size 10.5 needles

• Why you’ll want to: This is the sort of shawl/wrap that turns heads! The pattern is knitting simplicity at its finest – so simple even the beginning knitter can create it in no time. Use the lovely design and create a truly stunning wrap using any soft, perhaps sparkly yarn in beautiful colors.

Cloud White Lace Scarf

• What you’ll need to make it: 235 yards fingering weight or laceweight yarn; US Size 8 needles; split-ring stitch markers; stitch holders, spare DPNs, or scrap yarn

• Why you’ll want to: With this pattern, you can easily create a classic, yet luxurious look that is both dainty and feminine. Knit it in something soft and luxurious to create a scarf with elegance woven right in. (This is the perfect pattern for that ball of laceweight yarn you impulsively bought and haven’t yet found the right project for it!)

Pale Gray Lace Cowl

• What you’ll need to make it: 265 yards DK weight yarn; US Size 8 circular needles (at least 24 inches long); split-ring stitch markers

• Why you’ll want to: This pattern provides another dainty and elegant look. It doesn’t have to be knit in pale gray, of course, but it sure looks beautiful in that color! Take any soft, seemingly heaven-sent DK weight yarn and make some magic happen.

Knitting Charities That Promote Healing Comfort

The Pink Slipper Project : Donates knitted slippers, washcloths, and more to domestic abuse shelters all over the US.

Enchanted Makeovers: They transform longterm domestic abuse shelters into beautiful spaces through the work of their core programs, including Shelter Transformations, The Patch Project, Doll Adoption, and more.

Knitting4Peace: This organization works worldwide, offering comfort items to people in crisis all over the world.

Handmade Especially for You: And now we’ve come full circle; this charity offers special comfort items to women and children escaping domestic abuse.

So if you’re longing to knit some special, luxuriously beautiful items for charity, why not check out one of these… or your local homeless or abuse shelter… and offer that touch of beauty that says “You have value!”?

And by the way… if you’re longing to knit something luxurious for yourself? Consider this your permission slip, too. We all deserve something special now and then, even for ourselves! 💕