My 17 year old nephew will travel this summer to China to work in three orphanages. I thought it would be special for him to have gifts to distribute to the children. I believe this simple gesture can bring joy to these little ones and share kindness and maybe offer hope.
I talked with Hope’s Heart, the organization he is going with and they said they could use 200 small security blankets. I was totally inspired by what Carol did for the orphans with Made for China. I am also amazed at all of the skirts Randi was able to collect for Sewing Seeds. This was all made possible by your generosity and big hearts. So, if you could spare just a little more time and fabric I would truly appreciate help making these blankets.
They need to be about 12″ X 12″ in size and made from something soft or silky to bring comfort to the children. Carol has a tutorial on how she made her Linus blankets.
I took two pieces of fabric 12 1/2″ X 12 1/2″ in size, one a flannel and one a ‘minky’ type fabric.
With right sides together I sewed around the edge with a 1/4 inch seam leaving about a 3″ opening.
Turn right side out and then top stitch around the edge—making sure to close the opening.
These little blankets can be made as simply as the one above or could have a ruffle, small tags sticking out from the edges to provide tactile stimulation or bound with bias tape or satin blanket binding. These blankets can be made from scraps sewn together.
I was lucky enough to have my friend’s daughter help me sew blankets today. She made the darling patchwork one above and helped with the others. She is so very sweet and talented!
If you are able to help with this project please leave a comment and I will send you the mailing address and more details. Please consider mentioning this project to your friends or even linking to this post on your blog. Blankets will need to be mailed by the end of June.
THANK YOU!
By the way if you check out the website for Hope’s Heart you will see that there are many things we can do. Lillie is my niece (sister of my nephew that is going this summer).
I’ll be happy to make one.
Hi, I think this is a great idea~ I hope to get some done for you, and maybe tell some friends. Could you please send me the mailing address? Thanks! Good luck!
What a great idea! I definitely want to make at least one, if not more… What a wonderfully concrete way to make/do/create something that will directly touch/benefit someone.
Cindy, I’d be happy to help out. Can they be knit or crocheted as well, or do you just want them out of fabric? I’m betting you’ll get a *lot* more than 200!
I will make at least three. Thank you for the post.
i’m also interested if you would like some that are knitted/ crocheted. feel free to e-mail me if you’d like some made that way as well, as i can make three or so, if all they have to be is 12″ by 12″ (which seems super small to me, too).
Hi Cindy,
I will be helping you with some blankets, for sure! I have lots of flannel and fleece that would be nice for this. I am hoping that you get tons of little blankies for the kids!
I love this idea since I am also in the process of adopting from China (you can see my adoption blog here http://www.forksandchopsticks.wordpress.com). When do you need these blankets by? My mother has a sewing machine and I am sure that she would be happy to do this for you. She is currently on vacation and will be back a week from today, so would probably be able to sew up a few in mid-June. I am more of a knitter, so would it be OK to knit a colorful blanket? I have some wonderful brightly colored yarn that I was going to use to make for my own soon to be adopted daughter, but I just haven’t been inspired lately to do it. It would be good for me to make it for another baby still waiting. Please e-mail me at forksblog@optonline.net with the details.
I will mention this post on both my craft blog and adoption blog. Thanks for organizing this!
I would love to make some of these. Please email me the mailing address they need to be sent to. Thanks.
You can plan on three from my house. This will be a great project for my kids!!
I would love to help you out!
I’d love to make one!!
just thought of this- you could ask them to post your request at whipup.
I would love to help!
I would love to help. My daughter had some health issues when she was little and she received 2 Project Linus blankets while in the hospital and even though she is almost 5, they are still her favorite blankets to play with and her brother enjoys thems as well…what a wonderful way for us to give back to others that have blessed us. I look forward to your email.