The Bible says, “the poor you have with you always” I take this as a call to service. For me summer is a great time to start on my charity gifts. By the time cold weather arrives, I usually have an arsenal of small gifts, none of which took me much time. I also have blankets and quilts, but they take a bit longer.
SCARF (fleece blankets can be done the same except use 2 yards and just trim the margins off the sides and use a plate to make round corners.
Yesterday’s blanket backing was fleece and left me with scraps. Buy a 1/4 yard of fleece in colors for the recipient. I suggest the dark or team colors for men. This does not need to be prewashed as it does not shrink.
Since the piece was 66″ long and 8+ inches wide on each side, I cut those sides off.
Then trimmed them to be 8″
Then fringed each end by laying a ruler across the end where I want the fringe to stop and cutting every 1/2″ up to that point. I do not measure, just eyeball it. (If the fringed pieces are pulled they will curl). The fringe is optional.
With little time and money you have a quick gift or charity project. We make these for street people along with fleece hats and in purple for the hospital “shaking babies” program.
HATS
Newborn (6 months and younger) Circumference: 14 to 17 inches Crown: 8 to 10 inches
Infant (6 to 12 months) Circumference: 16 to 19 inches Crown: 11 to 12 inches
Child (12 months to 3 years) Circumference: 18 to 20 inches Crown: 11 to 12 inches
Child (3 years and older) Circumference: 20 to 22 inches Crown: 13 to 14 inches
Adult Woman Circumference: 21 to 23 1/2 inches Crown: 13 to 15 inches
Adult Man Circumference: 22 to 24 1/2 inches Crown: 14 to 16 inches
Using the infant size above I cut 2 hats with the 11 x 16″ measurements
Then sewed the long sides together with a 1/4″ seam to make a tube.
Sew a seam across the top of the hat
Sew the two points together using a strong thread (for a beginner, this is better done with a needle and thread)
Bare heads lose a lot of body heat, so I have not stitched the bottom of the hat. One can turn it up once or twice or even leave it full length. For a child, it can be used for a longer time.
Today, we have put away 2 scarves and 2 hats for gifts.
And because we paid for all the scraps, I want to use them. So using a bit of satin binding left over from another project and the last usable piece of this fleece, which is 10 x 11.5, I sewed the binding on for the baby to take along when they leave the house (esp in case she is a thumb sucker). In this way, mom can pin the piece to baby’s clothes and baby has her comfort piece.
In case you are concerned about the selvages cut off, they will become plant ties.
