This topic has been on my mind recently because of our rather large charity quilt give-away a few days ago now.

I know that I’ve written about this before, but I thought I’d do it again. You never know who will see this.

What is a Charity Quilt?

Charity quilts are the quilts that you give to an organization usually involving people you do not already know. (That’s my definition as I write this personal opinion piece.)

So, for me, at least, this does including all Quilts of Valor, Quilts of Honor and other gifts to veterans, quilts to hospitals for preemies, to groups or organizations for battered women and children, quilts for sick children, quilts given to the police and fire departments for people they help, the homeless, rescue missions, and places like camps, children’s homes or orphanages. Plus, there are a lot of groups overseas who will donate to people just need something to stay covered and/or warm such as war zones.

There are many different types of organizations and reasons for charity quilts. You all inundated us with quilts for Ukraine - back in 2022. Thank you so much. Even if they didn’t start out being charity quilts, by the time you donated them, each one of them - and believe me, some were beauties - became a charity quilt!

Some people have nothing - maybe having had a fire and lost everything. Some are alcoholics and need to be covered to stay warm as they struggle with addictions. However, most of us give to organizations who can use them and don’t donate directly to people.

What materials can I use for these quilts?

I’ve heard many people say things like their charity quilts need to be made from the finest materials (only quilt shop quality - no big box stores or other less expensive materials) as it is a disgrace to do so.

I have kind of mixed feelings about this. I’ve mentioned this before, but for me - we are looking for is a top that is well made - and not necessarily as beautiful as you are used to with all the newest fabrics. We don’t have to have stunning bargellos or paper pieced quilts

There are some (many) organizations that have specific requirements for their quilts. If you are looking to make quilts for a specific group, please be sure to check out what their needs and requirements are! A preemie quilt in a hospital is a lot different from something you make for the homeless!

I look at charity quilts like I used to look at feeding my family. My children did not have sophisticated taste buds when they were young. If we took them to an expensive restaurant they still wanted chicken nuggets and/or hamburgers - but at 3x the price of McD’s or Burger King for NOT 3x the quality or amount of food. We decided as long as they were this simple in their tastes, we didn’t need to take them to some expensive place - as it was a waste of our precious resources. However, when we had something special like Thanksgiving Dinner, well, I didn’t serve nuggets and hamburgers - I really did go all out.

My conclusion is that when you make charity quilts, it is wise to look at who the recipients are and decide how fancy, how nice, how sophisticated your quilt should be. Most of the time, a simple quilt is absolutely fine. Most of these people aren’t quilters and maybe have no idea how to even sew! If you are making quilts for the homeless, yes, they could be ugly and you would not even need to worry about it. They really just need to keep someone warm. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, anyway. Remember that saying?

(Last Saturday we did have a lady who came in who sewed a beautiful tote bag, so I’m hoping to make contact with her in the future - she was Ukrainian.)

We all know that a really simple quilt design such as squares or Around the World, or even an orphan block quilt has charm - and these are all absolutely amazing to people who don’t sew! This is what we have to remember. Most of these people haven’t a clue how to turn on a machine, much less, cut out fabric and make a design of any sort. So, it’s all a little bit like magic to them. If we try to make the fabrics fit the recipient, it is really best. Don’t plan on Mickey Mouse for the homeless - save those for the children’s quilts - so I guess if there is a family of homeless - with children, then it would be appopriate, but I don’t want to think about that possibility. Don’t give camo fabric to a war zone - as it is a constant reminder of what they are trying to flee from.

We will use second hand fabrics in our charity quilts. Yes, I love the look of bright new fabrics, however. But, if buying new fabrics makes something unaffordable, then we try to make do with what we can afford. In our case, since sometimes the tops I receive are not always stunning, I always try to make sure the back is beautiful or interesting. In this way I can be sure that if they want to use the back as the front - then they still have something nice! In our part of the world where duvets are usually reversible, I think this is a good philosophy anyway. I’ve been in multiple homes where people have received our charity quilts. At least three times I saw the back being used as the front. So there’s that.

In short, they do NOT need to be the thing that makes your heart sing. It is okay to donate a quilt that you don’t even like. Someone else will like it!

It is not okay to donate something with holes or poorly made. In our case, we will take things with second hand materials - once again - I just need to make sure they are not poorly made. It is not okay to give quilts with lace as part of the top, unless there is fabric under the lace - between the lace and the batting..

If you are donating to children - I would make sure they are bright, colorful and cheery with something interesting to look at!

I’ve decided to make this a multiple part series. This part 1 is my own philosophy of what materials are acceptable as well as how beautiful a charity quilt should be.

Have a great day wherever you are reading this.

Thanks for coming along with me on my journey!

Be sure to check out what my sis has for you in the store here!

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Let's Talk Charity Quilts - my personal philosophy