- 1). Call local hospitals, shelters, food distribution centers and churches to ask about their needs. In hospitals, baby clothing is needed for neonatal intensive care units and is often collected to provide layettes for needy families with newborns in the obstetrics units. Sadly, burial clothing is also needed for needy families who have suffered the loss of an infant.
- 2). Ask about the kind of items needed and what materials you should use to make them. Ms. Taitz of Knits for Infants recommends machine washable soft yarns such as acrylic, acrylic blends, cotton or cotton blends for hospitals. She notes that international charities such as "Wool-Aid" or "Children in Common" ask for wool or other warm animal fibers because they will not be machine washed and are much warmer.
- 3). Check each charity's website for free knitting patterns. For instance, Bundles of Love, which provides needy newborns in Minnesota with clothing, has patterns available on its website, including hats, bibs, booties, burial gowns, hooded towels and washcloths. Caps for Kids, which is a project of the Craft Yarn Council, has a pattern for a preemie cap on their website.
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