Sometimes, you get to a point where you just don’t need all the yarn skeins, balls and cakes in your stash. But, of course, you don’t want to throw them away! Though you can try unloading some of it onto a crafty friend or using it to make a scrappy blanket, you may still find yourself with piles of yarn to re-home. That’s where charities can help, they’ll take your yarn and either give it to those who need it or sell it to raise money. If you want to do some good with the unloved skeins in your stash, read on…
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8 places to donate your yarn!
Knit for Peace
Knit for Peace is where we at Simply Crochet donate the yarn from our Yarn Reviews! The charity sends yarn and other knitting and crochet supplies to refugee camps, care homes, prisons and hospitals, as well as to textile departments at arts colleges. They’re all about helping people from different backgrounds connect through yarny crafts and helping those in difficult circumstances benefit from the mindful practice of making.
Donate your yarn to:
Radius Works, Back Lane, Hampstead, London NW3 1HL
Age UK
Age UK’s Day Centres allow older people to meet up for fun activities like quizzes, gentle exercise, sing-alongs and, of course, crafts! Use the Age UK website to look up day Centres in your area and get in contact to find out if they can use your leftover yarn. Plus, during the charity’s annual Big Knit campaign, you can donate your extra yarn to Age UK’s many knitting groups, who work to create warm winter accessories as part of the charity’s cold-weather support for the elderly. Find your local Age UK Day Centre.
The Ripple Effect Lancaster
A small but mighty charity, The Ripple Effect sends aid to refugees across Europe and beyond. They're always in need of blankets and yarn (for making blankets), so visit their website or Facebook page to find out how to donate.
Local charity shops
Never underestimate a charity shop’s willingness to take your under-loved craft supplies. Not only will the proceeds from the sale go towards funding the charity of your choice, the yarn itself will be sold for a hefty discount. This means the person who picks it up might be someone who couldn’t afford to buy it otherwise. That’s goodness doing double duty!
Residential/retirement homes
Get in touch with local residential and retirement homes to see if they need craft supplies. People living in these places often have limited mobility, so accessible activities like crochet or knitting give residents a fun way to pass the time. Not to mention it benefits their mental health and wellbeing, too.
Scrapstores
Scrapstores often sell waste materials from various businesses to community and children’s groups for use in arts and crafts projects. This reduces waste since a lot of the things you find in a scrapstore would have been chucked in the bin otherwise. Scrap stores are also great as they offer high-quality craft materials (since many famous brands donate) to those who need them.
Get in contact with your local scrapstore, or fill in the form on the Reuseful UK site.
Schools
Sometimes schools (particularly primary schools) use yarn for kids’ arts and crafts. Call or email your local schools to see if they could use (and are able to store) your leftover skeins and balls.
Freecycle
Post on the Freecycle network for free! Freecycle is a brilliant site which allows you to offer yarns to people in your local area.
Help your community through yarn donation
Donating your yarn is a wonderful way to give back to your community. Not only can it help those with a passion for craft get the supplies they need, but it can also introduce people of all ages to the world of knitting and crochet.
Give your stash a good clear out and get donating today!
Start sustainably crafting today
Despite donating lots of lovely yarn, we bet you'll still end up yarn shopping again (we don't blame you)! If you'd like to make your yarn collection a little more sustainable why not switch to vegan yarns? They're great for the planet and so much fun to crochet with.
Do you know of any other places you could donate yarn? Send an email to the Simply Crochet team at simplycrochet@ourmedia.co.uk with the details and we’ll add it to the list!
