Every year Adele’s Legacy works with the School Superintendent’s office in Franklin and Bedford Counties to choose an elementary school for a Giveaway Day. The Giveaway Day alternates between Franklin and Bedford Counties each year, with the other county getting a Hat Giveaway Day if hat numbers allow.
Once the school has been decided the parents are alerted, the local hand workers are alerted, the media is alerted, and Giveaway Day commences! Once Adele’s Legacy is at the school each class comes through and each child is encouraged to choose whichever hat, sweater, and scarf appeals to them. Adele’s Legacy volunteers stand by ready to assist with sizing issues to ensure that the children go home with items that will fit them appropriately.
For some children this is the first hand made item of clothing they have ever had, or even their first brand new item of clothing. Our volunteers taking this very seriously and really love helping the children choose items to take home. During the day hats are also handed out to every teacher, staff, or employee of the school.
If you are interested in helping us create hand made hats, sweaters, and scarves for children in Franklin and Bedford Counties we would love your help, and so would the children! Scroll down for ways that you can get involved, even if you don't knit or crochet!
Making Hats, Sweaters, and Scarves
Item Standards
- All the items we donate are made by hand. No store-bought hats, sweaters, or scarves are considered for donation.
- All the items must be made of man-made fibers (acrylic, polyester, nylon). This means no wool, no cotton, no cashmere! This is because the items will be LOVED and therefore will need to be washed frequently. If they were made of wool or cotton, they might accidentally be felted or shrunk to the point where they were un-wearable. In order to prevent this, we ONLY donate items made from easily washable and dry-able synthetic materials.
- The items we donate are well constructed and hearty. They should all last a long time. To ensure that your item is created with the same strong construction please read our Tips and Tricks below. We provide advice on all aspects of hat, sweater, and scarf construction, and we strongly advise that you take advantage of the education we provide. Sadly, items that aren’t made well don’t get donated, and we don’t want that to happen to any of your items, so please take a look at our tips!
- We have found that the items that work best for the children are made from worsted weight yarn. If you are new to hand work and want to create a hat, sweater, or scarf for us, you need to ask for “worsted weight acrylic yarn” when you go to your local yarn shop. If you are in Franklin or Bedford County, contact us because we might be able to provide you with enough yarn to make one!
- Decoration of the items is not necessary, but if you want to decorate them, GO FOR IT! Many of our volunteers love to use stripes or variegated yarn (yarn with many colors). Some of our hat makers prefer pompoms, tassels, or even crocheted flowers as decoration. Some of our sweaters and scarves have cables, or other stitch patterns that make the sweater more interesting for the knitter and more attractive to the child who chooses it. One of the children will LOVE what you have made, no matter how it is, or isn’t decorated, and even if it is the first one you have ever made!
General Tips & Tricks
Sewing needles: We suggest knitters have at least two types of needles on hand. One big, blunt one for sewing up, gathering last stitches, etc. and a smaller sharp one for sewing and skimming in ends, and joining invisibly.
Joining yarns and sewing in ends: There are NO KNOTS in knitting. Please don’t EVER knot your yarn. Knots are ugly, they fall apart over time, can be uncomfortable to the wearer, and are just plain bad knitting! We are so happy to teach you better methods, PLEASE don’t use knots!!!
Suggested methods for joining yarns:
- Overlay the old and new yarns, and work two stitches with both. Remember to knit it as a single stitch as you come to it in the next row.
- Another method is to split the yarn (both old and new) for about four inches, and overlap half the new and half the old for a couple of stitches (half of each will create a whole to knit with).
Sewing in ends:
- Leave 6 inches minimum for each yarn end you create in your knitting
- Split the yarn in half and sew in each end by skimming, on the underside of the project where it won’t be seen. Skim by putting your needle through just a few strands of a row of stitches. You can go horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. Better yet do it a couple of different ways!
- Your sewing in should be FLAT, not create a bump.
- Your sewing in should not be noticeable on the right side of the work.
Tips & Tricks for Scarves
Casting On
The method of casting on is not crucial to the “fit” of the scarf. This is a great opportunity to try some new cast on methods, if you like. Here are a couple of options:
Needles
The size of the needle doesn’t really matter with scarves, as long as you get to the suggested length and width. If you use small needles or hooks you will need more stitches, if you use larger needles or hooks you will use less. Larger stitches make the scarf more flexible and soft. Smaller stitches usually make the scarf stiff and less soft, but this totally depends on the yarn.
Scarf Sizing
Length: Scarves should be between 40 and 60 inches long. If they are too short they can’t wrap around a child’s neck to keep them warm, if they are too long they might present a trip hazard.
Width: Scarves should be between 7 and 12 inches wide. This is the width that is most comfortable for most children.
Decoration
You can decorate the scarf with any stitch pattern you choose, of course, but here are some things to keep in mind.
- Stripes are lovely.
- Knitted ribbing, garter stitch or a basket weave pattern doesn’t curl. Most crocheted scarves don’t curl either.
- Patterns that are reversible are a good idea because they look the same on both sides.
- Stockinette stitch (one row knit, one row purl) will cause the scarf to roll and be less cozy, so we don’t recommend it.
- Don’t forget scarves may also be worked along the long way; in this case you need more stitches and fewer rows!
Ends
The ends of the scarf may be left plain, or gathered and topped with a pom-pom or tassel. A fringe may be made with lengths of yarn wound around a book, cut to about 8-10 inch pieces, and pulled through the stitches on each end, two or three in a bunch, using a crochet hook, and knotted.
Tips & Tricks for Hats
At Adele’s Legacy we strongly believe that “there is a head for every hat!” No matter if the hat is simple or elaborate, single color or multicolored, has tassels or pompoms or nothing at all…no matter what the hat looks like there is a child who will absolutely adore it!
To ensure that the hats that you create will not only be loved, but will FIT, we provide the following guidelines. Please consider this a list of “best practices” to be used to assist you in creating the best possible hat you can. If you have questions or concerns about the sizing provided here, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Thank you!
How to Measure a Hat:
- Lay the hat on a flat surface.
- Measure the width from side to side (black line)
- Measure the height from top to bottom (white line)
- Remember: crochet items have NO give (i.e. they are not stretchy like knitted hats), so they must be wide enough to fit. Good rule of thumb: if the hat won’t fit you, it won’t fit a child.
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Hat Sizing
Hat Minimums and Maximums
- Minimum Width: 8.5 inches (17 inch circumference)
- Maximum Width: 11.5 inches (23 inch circumference)
- Minimum Height: 6 inches
- Maximum Height: 12 inches
The cuff of the hat should be somewhere from 18 to 23 inches in circumference. There is a head for every hat, but if they get much smaller than 18 inches or much larger than 23 inches then we have trouble finding that head!
Other Interesting, but not necessarily useful, thing that we can’t help sharing: If you don’t have a measuring tape handy, the length of your hand from your wrist joint to the end of your longest finger is about the height you should knit a hat before starting to decrease.
Casting On
- Use a needle two sizes larger than the pattern calls for and cast on loosely. This will ensure that the hat is not too tight and will easily slip over the child’s head.
- There are many methods of casting on, use the method you like the best. There isn’t any right or wrong way, they all work for hats!!
- When casting on to knit in the round cast on one more stitch than you need and join with a knit two together, making sure you haven’t twisted!!
Needles
- Many hat patterns call for a US#8 needle. But what kind of needle? Some knitters prefer to use four or five double pointed needles, or a 16 inch circular needle, or magic loop with a very long circular needle. Use whatever you are comfortable with, or experiment with a couple of different methods.
- There are also patterns that use straight needles, which gets sewn up at the end. There is a method available for every knitter!
- Don’t forget to provide yourself with a needle that is two sizes larger for the cast on row.
Cuff
- Some people prefer a 1×1 rib or a 2×2 rib, feel free to use whatever ribbing you prefer. The rib should be a minimum of 1.5 inches long, or 4 inches for a turned-up cuff.
- You can also make a turned hem. This can be made with stockinette stitch, or have a purl or picot row to emphasize the middle. Lots of choices!
- You can also use no rib at all and produce a rolled edge by starting the hat with stockinette stitch. For a rolled edge, at least 1 full inch should be knit before you start the stitch pattern if there is one. Make sure when you sew up a rolled edge that you sew the rolled part together on the KNIT SIDE, then it will not show on the purl side which is the “right side” when it rolls.
- If you are new to knitting in the round you might find it easier to work a couple of rows back and forth before you join into a circle. This provides you with a bit more body of work to help avoid a twisted row when you begin the circular work.
Body
- All hats should be AT LEAST 7 inches from the bottom of the hat to the crown of the hat, unless you are making a specific type of hat that requires more.
- FYI: If you want to make a hat for a specific person, get the length of their hand from the beginning of their palm to the tip of their fingers. This length is the exact length the body of the hat should be for that person. 7 inches works great for most children.
- The body of the hat can be stockinette stitch, or any pattern! This is an excellent way to try out a pattern stitch you might be interested in, before you commit to using it in a large item.
- Avoiding jogs in Stripes: Knit one round in new color, when you work the second round in the new color slip the first stitch. When you sew in the end you will be able to even up the join exactly by tweaking it a tiny bit. Carry the old color up the back (if you plan to use it again), and catch every three or four rows, or sew down the float with the same end.
- Another pretty way of easing into a new color is to work the first row of the new color as knit one, slip one (as if to purl), and repeat across the row.
- The body can be ribbed, contrasting stripes, bands of seed stitch, odd rows of purls, lace, cables… ANYTHING you can imagine!!
Top of Hat
- For a round top: the more often you decrease, the flatter the top of the hat will be.
- Most patterns start at the cuff and work up to the top, but there are some patterns that start at the TOP and work down!
- Hat tops can be round, square, a flat line (with tassels!) or spiked. Try them all!!
Tassels or Pompom
- There are two ways to attach pompoms or tassels. If you want to sew them on permanently always use a separate piece of yarn to sew them in. Do not tie them on with the end of your yarn from knitting. This needs to be woven in separately. Another choice, and one we suggest, is to pull the ends of the pompom or tassel through the hat and tied in a bow on the inside. This way they can be removed, if the child doesn’t want them, without damaging the hat.
- You don’t have to have a fancy pompom maker from the store, wind yarn around a small book, or your mobile phone! (How to make a pompom.)
Suggested Pattern
Tips & Tricks for Sweaters
Adele’s Legacy gives out a lot of sweaters. Elementary school children vary in sizes from very small to adult sizes, so providing enough sweaters that we will have one to fit every child is a challenge. It is a challenge for our knitters as well, as a sweater is a pretty serious time commitment. But let’s face it, there is almost NOTHING as sure to keep a kid cozy as a hand knit sweater! We would love to have more sweater makers, but we do have a few standards! Here are some general things to keep in mind about our sweaters.
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Neck
It doesn’t matter if you make a neck with ribbing, or garter stitch, or a curled edge – what does matter is that it will go over the head of a child. I know we all think that kid’s heads are smaller than ours but if the neck of the sweater won’t go over your head, then it won’t go over a child’s head. It’s just that simple. The cast on (if you go top down) or the cast off (if you go bottom up) MUST be large enough to go over your head if you want it to fit a child. THIS IS THE NUMBER ONE PROBLEM WE GET FROM DONATED SWEATERS. Please, ensure that the neck is large enough so that your sweater will be donated.
Sleeves
- Make sure that the cuffs of the sleeves are wide enough for your hands to fit through them.
- If you lay the sweater down flat the sleeves should be at least 2 inches LONGER than the body of the sweater.
Body
A good trick to make sure that the length of the sweater will work with the width lay the sweater down flat and fold up the bottom so lays along the side of the body. If the length is shorter than the width then you haven’t gone far enough. The body of the sweater should be basically AT LEAST a square. The length should be AT LEAST as long as the width. Remember, we are trying to Keep Kids Cozy, not make them fashionable.
Ribbing Kits
Now that some of our volunteers use knitting machines we are always looking for people to knit the cuffs of the sweaters. We provide Ribbing Kits to volunteers who take the kit home and knit two sleeve ribbings, and two body ribbings and then return them with live stitches on needles. These ribbings are put onto the knitting machines and quickly knit up into sleeves and body pieces. These piece are then sewn together, by other volunteers. If you are interested in working on a ribbing kit stop by Yarn Seasons and see what we have in stock – they are free and a lot of fun! Even beginner knitters won’t have any trouble following the directions provided.
Suggested Pattern
"Holy" Yarn Rollers
This group of volunteers meets once or twice a month to roll yarn, donated by a local yarn mill, into usable yarn balls for people to create hand made garments for Adele's Legacy and other organizations.
Rolling the yarn is not hard, but it's good exercise and they are always looking for people interested in helping! If you like to walk, give it a try! It's a fun sociable group and you are really helping us get yarn for the handwork! The "Holy" Yarn Rollers (Holy because they meet at Trinity Ecumenical in Moneta) meetings are on our calendar. Get your exercise by rolling yarn! It's fun!
Contacting Adele's Legacy
We would love to hear from you! These are things we can help you with:
- Want to donate some acrylic yarn?
- Want to donate some knitting needles or crochet hooks?
- Want to send us your hats, sweaters, and scarves (view guidelines first!)?
- Want one of our members to come and speak to your group?
- Want one of our members to teach a class to your group?
- Want to know how to get in touch with one of our supporting groups?
- Media inquires?
Just drop us a line (on our About Us page) and we will get back to you as soon as we can.