Happy Valentine’s Day! So here’s my valentine to whipup’s readers: free fabric for a good cause. Post a request for the fabric you need to complete a project for a charitable cause. Tell me a little about the project and what you need. For example, “I need a yard each of red, blue and yellow fabrics to make a raffle quilt for our son’s school. His teacher’s are so great and the proceeds are going to buy books for the library,” or something like that. Give me some guidance about general colors, (specific colors, pastels or brights, multicolored prints, or you can just say “send me a nice palette of five fabrics with total yardage of 5 yds”) and I’ll send you what I can. You may receive scrap yardage but it will be high-quality quilting cotton and will look good together. We’ll choose the requests that best match up with the inventory we have. Be sure to tell me how receiving this fabric will benefit the community or a charitable organization. We’ll even pay for shipping anywhere. So get going!
{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
How very generous of you! I would like to make a flower baby quilt for the youth auction of our church. This is a fundraiser for the choir tour they do every other year. I am having trouble finding the right greens for leaves. I need about 2-1/2 yards for leaves and backing. Thanks.
great idea, i have some fabric i can donate….how should i go about that?
Oh, how incredible! I actually went on a hunt yesterday for fabric to make do-rags for children at St. Jude’s Hospital yesterday but found nothing. I wanted something vibrant and bright, as the usual selection of bandanas for these kids is probably bland. Just a couple yards would be great, as that would make a zillion of the things, but I didn’t notice an email address to send requests to. It would be great if someone could post it…
I’m in the middle of a charity quilt blitz. I’m donating 7 40X40 kids/baby quilts to Cocoon, my local battered women’s shelter. I’d like to make some “mom” quilts, too. Multi-colors would be great. Vibrant fabrics are best, so there is a bright spot in their sometimes very challenging lives. Probably about 5-6 yards, so I can do a few tops. Thanks.
As a member of the Ohio Valley Quilters’ Guild, I am asking for a donation of some fabric for our ongoing service project called Kids Komforts. We have distributed well over 1000 quilts to organizations such as Healthy Moms and Babes, Salvation Army, St. John Social Services, and Bethany House. Last year we distributed 189 quilts, and we will probably exceed that number this year, considering the number of quilts we already have. We usually kick off the project with a Sew-a-thon in March. This is an all day gathering where members can make quilts, make kits or help organize the ever-growing fabric stash. Quilts are made from donated fabric and batting. Several years ago, the committee started making quilt kits, with patches and strips already cut, and backing and batting. These have been very popular and keep us busy in between Guild meetings! We are always open to suggestions for new agencies that might benefit from a donation of Kid’s Komfort quilts and, of course, we are always willing to accept fabric donations!
We would like to request cotton or cotton blends only. We use light or medium weight polyester or bonded cotton batting. We do not use embellishments as buttons, bows, fabric paint, or trinkets that a child could pull off and put in their mouth. Our quilts are at least 36 inches square, but there is no maximum size limit. Our tops can be as simple as a colorful juvenile print that is tied or quilted, or a cheater panel. If a member can only get a top made, that’s fine. We have volunteers who will either tie or quilt the top.
Remember our quilts are going to be well loved and well used, so the sturdier, the better!
whipup, anything you can donate would be so appreciated by the truly unfortunate children for whom we make these quilts. Our next Sew-a-thon is March 31st. We work all day from 9AM until 4PM and would be proud to use your fabrics for “our kids”.
Gratefully and from the heart,
Karen Moore
Ohio Valley Quilt Guild member
Would you like to donate a bit of bright fabric to my quilting group? We’re trying to make a few bright, colorful quilts for 3 of the preemies at our local NICU. The knitters in the area are making a box full of preemie hats and booties and we quilters are trying to our part. As a group, we’re avoiding pastels and going for bright colors (one woman is going with reds/oranges/yellows; another is using purples/lavenders; I’m using greens myself). If you could contribute 3 or 4 yards for one of the quilts, we’d all appreciate it. We’re pooling our costs and resources.
What a great idea. I’m working on some patchwork pillows that will include artwork produced by the kids in my son’s secord grade class. The pillows will be on offer at the annual action that raises funds for the library, garden, art, and music programs at our sadly underfunded public school. I need a total of seven yards of fabric, both prints and solids in a nice palette. Hard to choose without seeing the fabrics so I’ll let you pick them out. Thanks so much for making this offer. I think it’s just lovely.
I make quilts for my Oakdale Quilt Guild philanthropy project. We make lap quilts for people entering a local care home. These men and women have given up most of their belongings and are given one of our quilts when they enter the home. I would take fabric in any color, for either men or women, most quilts are made 45 inches wide by 45 to 52 inches long. Thank you for making this offer. Any fabric you can give would help.
What a generous offer! I’m one of the keepers of the benefit quilt stash for my quilting guild, the Rising Star Quilters Guild in Massachusetts. Our guild supports three non-profit organizations in the Arlington, MA, area – a school for troubled teenage girls – quilts are given to graduating seniors; a Welcome Baby project – baby-sized quilts are given to newborns by a local agency; and a shelter that helps abused women and their children – quilts of all sizes are useful there.
I’ve found that our guild members are more likely to take some fabric home to make a benefit quilt if the fabric is bright and lively, or already has been kitted up in coordinating packages. Sadly, none of the older calico seems to move. It’s my personal mission to use the calico in fun and interesting ways. Any amount of bright, lively, coordinating fabrics to pique the interest of some of my fellow guild members would be terrific. Thanks so much!
- Lori Kay
Here, in Portland Oregon, I make tops/kits/patterns/quilts for a group called PassageQuilts.
Patients who are approaching the end of life and their families choose a quilt. A passage Quilt brings a renewed since of color and life to the surroundings, encourages sharing of memories and hope for the future. Loved ones often find solace in the quilt as they grieve their loss. The Passage Quilt, a comfort and a keepsake, is part of the fabric of life.
I have been doing this for 2 years. Over 300 quilts a year are made. I don’t know the real numbers, but we do at least 25 a month together, then others work independent and donate, so we always need material.
Because of the volume of quilts we do, we prefer donations wider than 5×5 inches. All fabric and labor is donated. My personal favorite is “long quarters”; 9″x wof.
heres my flickr photos of some of my work
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32008351@N00/
I haven’t been updating my site, I kind of abandoned it but will eventually redo it and add all the pattern.pdf’s to it(I have 3 now and the goal is 12 copyright free patterns for passage)
Weeks, even if you don’t choose us, I want you to know how grateful I am to you and Bill for your binding technique. Its fast, it looks great and I have been using it exclusively for about a year. I love it. I have done modified versions of “gone native” “nightfall” and “ocean view”-your online gallery and books have given me loads of inspiration and pulled me out of many a “I can’t sew, I don’t have an idea in my head” funk and have helped me find my voice. Thanks for that. Happy Valentines Day
Thanks.
Wow! I make quilt tops for my local chapter of Project Linus, and they are always especially in need of quilts aimed at teens and boys. So, anything you have that isn’t very girly. Primary colors would be great. If I had five yards total, I could make two lap-sized quilts.
Awesome! I am a social worker and I am teaching an Intro to Social Work class this semester and we are doing social justice quilts…they will be donated to various agencies/orgs including Soldiers Angels (takes care of soldiers returning from Iraq), our local emergency children’s shelter, and a local hospice. For most of the students it’s their first stab at quilting! Some of our quilts will have demin chambray backs in a dark demin color…would appreciate reds, and blues (for the soldier quilts)…even a few yards would be awesome! Thank you!
*applaudes* Ya’ll are awesome for donating your fabric and the shipping.
The rest of you *applaudes again* are wonderful for doing what you are for those in need!!
A very nice and generous offer you have made.
And I shall request some of what you are giving away. My quilt guild in Abbotsford, BC, Canada have an ongoing program of donating quilts to local needs — I usually try to contribute at least 6 quilts each year. We donate to the Childrens’ ward in our local hospital, to Women’s Transistion House (women fleeing unsuitable domestic situations) and to a program called New Beginnings which is quilts for students in high school who face the challenge of staying in school while pregnant or while caring for a child. Each student who graduates grade 12 recieves a quilt from our program — this is the part that I particularly prefer to focus my work on. So if you are inclined, I would appreciate a yard or two of teen age appropriate focus fabric — something like cars, or guitars, or dogs, or clothes or just anything that youthful parents would enjoy — any colours are fine as I can add borders or compliments from my own stash. Thanks for considering my request!
I make comfort blankets for the local children’s hospital and I get denim donated but I have to supply the fabric for colorful side. I make them out of 12×12 fabric squares and I can use any colors as they are for babies to young toddlers, in the ICU and Cancer wards of Children’s Heathcare of Atlanta and I make them with Ribbon, and Praire points on the edges. I also sometimes piece one side to add more interest.
YOu can e-mail me at kates.1021 (at) yahoo (dot) com Thank you so much in advance for your consideration.
Wow, what a great response already! It’s so encouraging to see all the care going on in the world.
Anyway, I have started an effort called “Made for China”. I have invited fellow crafters to make something for orphan children and babies. My sister is making a trip out this March and will be distributing all the gifts to 300+ kids.
If you would like to check out my projects and more info., please do so!
I am at http://kidding-around.net, just click on the badge.
I would use the fabirc for pencil rolls, drawstring bags…really anything to fill in the gaps!
thanks for your generosity and I KNOW it will be put to use well, wherever the fabric lands.
Our sewing group is making soft toys for an orphanage in Cambodia some wonderful people in our small Victorian (Australia) town are building. We need to make 64 toys in various colours, so any scraps/yardage would be well received (and loved!). Cheers and Thanks.
My mother belongs to a quilt group who makes quilts and donates them to their local women and children’s shelter every year in their small town. One of the challenges they presented to themselves was to try and make a few quilts with either totally donated (free) fabrics or garage sale finds. Their group accepts any amount of fabric, any color.
You should hear the stories of the kids who get to pick a quilt of ‘their very own’ when they arrive at the shelter. Those quilts are treasured.
Weeks,
Such a generous offer. I’m making large floor cushions for the ‘individual differences’ room at my son’s school. The idea the teachers had was to create a beautiful environment for the children who have trouble with reading to sit around and look at books. I have already made a floor quilt and if you have scraps rather than yardage that would be very useful. The teachers have a limited budget and prefer to spend their money on books, so our family have been working away at this project. My son doesn’t use this room, but many children do. He gave us a week’s pocket money towards the family project. The room is pretty well grey and already what we have done has made it much more beautiful. If you do deem us a suitable cause, I would like to pay for the shipping as we’re in australia. Many thanks. Adrienne
Hi – I’d love to receive some fabric to make quilts for two boys here. We are currently living in Kiev, Ukraine, and an elderly British couple in our church take in abandoned children. They currently have two boys, but I don’t have any boy fabrics. I would probably need 5-6 yards of random boy colors (nothing pink or pastel) and would gladly take scraps, as I’ll be making a rail fence pattern.
I am the Australian coordinator of a worldwide initiative called the Heart Strings Quilt Project (see our website for an overview). We are making string blocks, assembling them into quilts, and donating them to charities that are local to the particular quiltmakers who worked on any one quilt.
We would be very appreciative of any surplus fabric – any amount, colour, pattern. Everything works in a string quilt!
To avoid the cost of international postage to me, perhaps you could send it to our USA based coordinator, who lives in Minneapolis.
Thank you for considering this request.
What a generous offer! I belong to the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild (where you or Bill are coming to teach in July 2008-can’t wait!) and we make quilts for the kids who come to our local domestic violence shelter. The kids take the quilts with them when they leave. These are all bed sized quilts a minimum of 60 x 80. So, if you have any fabric left, I’d love to make a lucky child a quilt with some of your fabrics. Anything you can send would be great! Thanks so much!!
I don’t need any fabric for a charitable cause, but I just wanted to commend you for doing this! That is such an awesome and sweet idea!
I am a librarian for teens at a public library in south-central Los Angeles. Although I am not a quilter myself, several women in the community have organized a twice monthly quilting club in the branch, teaching teens how to quilt. The girls really benefit from the multi-generational experience, and they need strong bonds to help them make good life choices in this rough neighborhood. They would like to make a large quilt to display in the library community room, so that they can work together on a common project, and also to improve the echoing acoustics of the meeting room. The library’s color scheme is all deep warm colors and earthy colors. Thank you!
Wow, Weeks, this is so amazing and generous! And I am moved deeply by the other projects posted here… so many good causes and wonderful work being done.
My current project is a large throw-sized quilt that I am making for an auction to benefit my local chapter of Planned Parenthood. Funds raised will go to public policy work, education in the school system, and the other myriad programs of PPFA. The auction will take place in late April with a “spring fling” theme, and I would like to do the quilt in a modern fresh spring palette, with about 4-5 yards of mixed fabrics. Thank you so much for considering my request and for your generosity!!
Free fabric! A true gift from the heart! The Piecemakers, a quilting group from Rhode Island, would happily accept any fabric donation. Like most quilting groups, we are always involved in a charity project. Our main ongoing project is called “Ginny Quilts”. We make lap-sized quilts to donate to cancer patients & survivors. Quilts are given to church members, to family & friends or wherever there is a need. Each recipient receives a letter explaining the project and the meaning of the colors used. Quilts are made in various shades of pinks & reds – representing cancer awareness, love and courage of the heart. Thank you for your kindness.
Hello,
This is such a great idea. I would like to add some of my own extra fabric to a good cause. Is there a way to donate fabric to the collection for distribution or should I contact one of the many good causes listed here?
Thank you for starting this very important giving.
I am making tote-bags and matching pencil holders (the rolled fabric kind) for my Sunday School class – 6 children, to carry their supplies to class. Any colors would be awesome and appreciated!
Thanks!!!!!!!!!
What an amazing offer! Thank you so much for your generosity.
I make quilts for premature babies. When a baby is born early, one of the most positive emotional experiences a scared-but-overjoyed parent can have is cradling that baby skin to skin. This practice, called kangaroo care, also helps the baby stabilize his or her heart rate and body temperature, and has been shown to reduce a preemie’s stress levels appreciably. Everybody wins.
The quilts I make are small, simple pieced tops backed with soft polyester velour. (The soft side goes next to the baby’s delicate skin to keep her warm while her parent cradles her chest to chest.) You can see a picture of one of my quilts in action here:
http://www.alittlepregnant.com/photos/quilts_for_other_peoples_/azurequilt.html
Any donation would be gratefully welcomed, with soft or bright colors being especially prized. (Parents with babies in the NICU need a lift.) Yours is such a kind offer, and I thank you for considering everyone’s projects here.
Hmm, for some reason that link didn’t post correctly. You can visit
http://www.alittlepregnant.com/
…and click on “Quilts for Other People’s Kids” waaaay at the bottom of the left sidebar if you’re curious. Thanks.
This is a very generous and sweet offer. My brother has a daughter adopted from China and is in the process of adopting another with special needs. They have three biological children 12, 15, 17 that have become involved with helping orphanages in China in various ways. This summer the oldest will travel to China to help work in the orphanage. I would love to send some items for the children. I have some family members that can help me sew. I would like to make small blankets and pencil rolls and maybe a few very simple softies (like Wee Wonderful’s bunny). I don’t have any color or fabric preferences —whatever you think would be suitable for these projects. Thank you again for your generosity. This is such a wonderful way to help people pay it forward!
Hey i am looking for custom made quilts for a possible gift for my moms birthday does anyone have any suggestions. I really don’t have any clue about quilts so thought i would as cause she loves them. thanks
I do snuggles they are for homeless and misplaced animals. i have been doing them for a long time now. They are called hugs for homeless animals. Animals need our help and love too.
I use Flannel, terry cloth, or light fleece usually in a solid color, but i can us any colors. They are double and line them in a low batting. The size’s run 20×20, 24×24, 36×36″. I try and do a dozen at a time but have done more.
So if you can help in any way! The animals would appreciate it I am sure.
Thank you for your Generosity!!
We are doing a craft fair April 21st to raise $$ for our youth groups Mexico trip this summer and the Cuirim House ministry there. We are making fabric totes to sell at the fair. Any fun fabric you have to spare we’ll take and whip it up into some fun bags. We’ll be posting what we’ll have for sale soon on http://www.cuirimcraftfair.com
Thanks so much for doing this. Here’s some bags we have knit already.http://craftydaisies.com/2007/02/15/knitted-bags-for-the-cuirim-craft-fair/
What a wonderful idea! I would like to make quilts for the local battered women’s shelter, in a rainbow of pastels (if no pastels are available then shades of red for hearts.) 4-5 yards should work. I think a soft handmade quilt to show love to women and children who are going through such a difficult time would warm their hearts during a time of need.
Thank you for your generosity!!! It’s truly love in action. :-)