Featured Charity: Handmade Especially For You
Handmade Especially For You is a wonderful nonprofit I have been meaning to feature for a long time now.
In fact, I learned about them years ago and only recently realized I hadn’t given them their due!
I mean, a charity whose sole focus is to provide handmade scarves to shelters for abused women?
Organizations like this are the exact reason I started Create To Donate!
So here are the things you should know about this important nonprofit.
Who Is Handmade Especially For You?
Handmade Especially For You was founded by Leslye Borden in 2008.
Their mission is to gift a handmade scarf to every woman who enters a shelter as a way to honor that she was brave enough to leave an abusive situation.
We want receiving these scarves to help lift their self-esteem and help them to begin changing their lives. We hope the scarves are a symbol of every woman’s transformation.
-Handmade especially for you
As of May 2026, they serve 74 shelters throughout Northern and Southern California.
Handmade Especially For You takes great pride in its diverse volunteer community and offers a variety of ways to support their cause.
How Should I make Handmade Scarves?
As you might expect, handmade scarves are the organization’s biggest need – and no matter how many they have, they always need more.
So, if you’re ready to start knitting or crocheting scarves for Handmade Especially For You, here are their requirements:
- Scarves must be at least 4 inches wide, but not wider than 4.5 inches.
- Scarves must be at least 60 inches long.
- Please personalize the scarf by adding fun fur, novelty yarn, and/or fringe to each scarf.
- Please print, cut and attach a gift tag to your donation (PDF below).
If you need a place to start that will easily help you meet these requirements, Handmade Especially For You has a whole page of free knit patterns and free crochet patterns.
Now, if you already have some scarves that you made that don’t yet have a home – they accept those too!
If you’re starting a new project intended for them, however, they ask that you please follow their guidelines.
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Where Should I Send My Scarf Donation?
Please ship donations to the address listed below.
How Else Can I Volunteer For Handmade Especially For You?
Providing handmade scarves to shelters across California takes more than just volunteers who can crochet or knit.
Handmade Especially For You also welcomes volunteers in the Rancho Palos Verdes area who can wrap, pack, and send scarves to the shelters.
These meetings are usually held once a month on Fridays from 10 AM – 2 PM at Leslye’s Borden’s home.
Volunteers focus on inspecting scarves for completeness and then roll them up and tie a colorful ribbon around them.
After the Friday wrapping parties, a packing party is typically held during the week to pack boxes for the shelters and complete any necessary mailing information.
Questions About Volunteering?
If you have additional questions about becoming a volunteer, feel free to send an email to Leslye Borden at Handmade.leslye@gmail.com.
More Free Scarf Patterns To Try
What New Scarf Project Will You Make And Donate?
One of the best things about making things to donate to charity is being able to try that new project or pattern you’ve been hoping to make but didn’t have a recipient in mind.
So, what have you had on your project list to make that you will send to the lovely Handmade Especially For You?
Leave a comment below and let me know!
