Places to Donate Fabric

January always puts me in the mood to organize and purge. If you’re cleaning out your fabric stash as part of a sewing-room reorganization for the new year and looking for a good place to send excess fabric, I’ve got help for you. Or for anyone who wants to give fabric to a good cause, I’ve created an updated list of places to donate fabric. There are some great causes that can always use fabric, batting or thread donations.

Important: Before you send off fabric willy-nilly, I do recommend contacting the organization directly before you donate to understand their specific needs and only send fabric they can put to good use.

Places to Donate Fabric, Batting or Thread:

The Forget Me Not Project is doing good at home and abroad. Renee teaches women in her local prison in Mississippi how to sew and these women make items to be sent to children in Uganda. You can contact Renee at forgetmenotprojectusa@gmail.com for more information.

One Common Thread quilts employs women in Honduras who handmake hexagon quilts to support their families and bring them out of poverty. You can read more about this inspiring organization here.  US administration (donation recipients) is in Utah and Texas.

Pipers Project in Kansas makes quilts for children in Foster Care and always needs fabric, thread, or batting.

19 Quilts for Natalie is an organization that provides quilts for cancer patients and grieving parents dealing with the loss of a child. 

Sew Blessed Kentuckiana makes clothing to donate to children in third world countries.

The Blessing Box in Katy, Texas prepares care packages for women who go through a mastectomy. They host regular Sew-ins. You can also find them on Facebook.

Dolls on Mission makes dolls for children in need locally and around the world. They are located in North Carolina.

Serving with Smiles is a Humanitarian organization in Utah that empowers kids to help serve. They can always use fabric and batting donations for blankets, bags, and quilt.

Looking for an organization near you in need of donations?

Many local Quilts of Valor chapters will gladly take quality red, white, and blue fabric.  You can find your local chapter here.

Check your local Days for Girls chapter. They typically need dark and patterned flannels and quilting cottons.

Project Linus is a wonderful organization that makes quilts for children in need. You can find your local Project Linus chapter here.

Check with a local Quilt Guild. Guilds frequently head up charity projects. You can find your local quilt guild using this list of world wide traditional quilt guilds here and local Modern Quilt Guilds here  and ask them if they’re looking for any donations.

One reader said she donates fabric to her local women’s prison where they teach quilting classes. You might want to check your local resources like prisons, homeless shelters, or refugee relief agencies that may teach sewing and quilting classes.

If you know of other organizations (or you are one) looking for fabric donations, please leave a comment on this post or contact me directly at amy@diaryofaquilter.com and I’ll add them as soon as I get a chance.

If you have questions about specific types of non-quilting-cotton fabric donations, feel free to leave them in the comments too. I don’t have suggestions for non-cottons, but someone else may have a suggestion!

Also, feel free to use the comments section to connect with others in your area who might be looking for scraps!

Causes and Projects in Need of Charity Sewing

A couple of years ago I hosted a Sew Goodness monthly challenge that taught me a lot about sewing for good causes. There are SO many out there. My goal was to up my charity sewing and contributions. Ideally, my hope was to sew a simple charity sewing project each month.

Looking back I learned a lot  – especially about pacing myself and how much I could manage.

If you’re looking for ideas for causes in need of Charity Sewing check out the list on the Sew Goodness page for lots of ideas of ways you can make a difference donating your skills and a little bit of extra time each month.