Want to take up embroidery/crochet again but who will want the results? Recommendations please

I crochet baby blankets and donate them to our local 'baby bank'.

Very simple - just a rectangle in any stitch you want, then finish off with a row of a lacey edging.

I do much more elaborate lacey ones for babies of family and friends.

Something no-one has mentioned yet - proggy mats. You keep old clothes etc, cut them into small strips and insert them into a sort of coarse mesh to make a floor covering.
All the rage in the 40s-50s .
More seriously, when my fine finger and visual controls were declining I made some wool tapestries which I had framed. I drew the pictures first and researched different embroidery stitches to use appropriate for the various details.
We still have them hanging on our dining room wall.

Another one here making cross stitch cards. With a small design, words 'happy birthday' and the person's name.

I have just made a long cardi for my daughter. She saw one i had made for myself and loved it but wanted hers longer. I have also had a request from another family member for one so i shall be kept busy. Yes i agree yarn can be expensive but it does affect the finish of a garment. I tend to look out for sales in the online shops and try to buy the best i can.

Not crochet I know, but I have made three double bed sized throws over the last three years from knitted squares. ( The latest one I called my Corona blanket as I made it during lockdown.)
I knitted 99 squares for each. ‘Knitting on the net’ is a website that gives instructions for a variety of stitches/patterns. I chose ones with combinations of knit and pearl stitches as I am not very good at holding patterns in my head. Most squares had approx 45 stitches in each depending on the pattern. I chose multi coloured wools so every square was different with about 17 different patterns overall.
The three young people I made them for, one being my daughter, love them as they are so bright and colourful as well as being warm, though only acrylic yarn.
I vow never to make another but since it is easy to make at least one square an evening it passes the time as I can’t just sit watching tv.
If anyone can tell me how to post a pic from my iPad, I will post one.

Some churches accept blankets etc for refugees - I think it’s called “Knit for Peace” - they accept all types - crochet/knitting etc.
What about local hostels? Women’s Refuge?

Oh wow Firecracker just wow!! LOVE the cat basket!

Have a look on Ravelry free knitted patterns if you can't crochet

That cat basket is brilliant! I might have to learn to crochet just so I can make one for my cat-mad sister in law - she nearly always has a few foster-cats in addition to her own 2 or 3.

I made one similar with a free pattern off Ravelry for my granddaughters toys.

Plant holder

How about a cat basket

Last year I made a lot of tree decorations for Gdcs’ school Christmas fair - little mini knitted elves, snowmen, fairies, Father Christmases, etc. I wasn’t looking to sell for profit, they were donations, and to make sure they sold I priced them at just £1.50 each, which of course was no reflection of the work involved.

Elsewhere at the fair people who were paying for table space were selling their own decorations etc. but the prices were much higher (I did buy some) but there were an awful lot left at the end. Sadly, unless it’s something extremely special, I’m not sure you can ever really expect a price that reflects the work involved.

This year I’m making much bigger Christmas items, both for Gdcs and as raffle prizes for their school fairs, but again they’re donations. I just enjoy making them, and luckily the yarn I use for such things is cheap!

What about small coasters, toys or pictures? These can take quite a bit of work which may be a problem when setting a fair price for the charity to sell at.
Interiors magazines can give you an idea of what is 'fashionable' at the moment and easier for charities to sell.

I cross stitch and have made coaster using square acrylic cases from e bay very cheap. Stitch the design back with iron on interfacing cut to size and just clip in. Also made various cushions using Aida 14 . And with Sudan canvas using chunky wool usually paint box yarns as they have a wide range of colours. Christmas tree decorations and made cards for all sorts of occasions. This year's cards the cross stitch is back with felt as they are book marks.

Jaycee5 thankyou for that I will take a look and maybe print some info out for my mum.

Hopeful Honey has a free crochet pattern for baby bootees in the form of yellow ducks with an orange beak. She uses bought eyes but I embroidered them for safety reasons. I also used to make Mickey Mouse booties. I volunteered in a charity shop and used to sell them there.

One year I made a load of Father Christmas badges and they sold for £1 each. They were so popular, I got fed up with doing them in the end!

The danger of making things to be sold in charity shops is that the price charged may not be worth the amount of work involved. I priced the things that I had made and they used to sell ok.

I crochet blanket squares for knit a square (8" x 8") but if you google knitting for charity there are hundreds of charities wanting knitting.
Some places also ask for volunteers, Knit for Peace is in Kensington, Knit for Life in Scarborough for example.
Once you start looking, you'll be spoilt for choice.

current !! hmmm...

My mum 85 and has cancer, kept going downhill doan and down not eatinge etc

The other day she suddenly !! said I think I will try crocheting again! It lifted our spirits as we thought she had given up completely.

Mum said they used to want little crochet things in hospitals.

I would love to tell her they need them somewhere (what ever she crochets) blankets, muffs anything.

If she thinks it will be used by someone, anyone it may give her a little bit longer to carry on.

Not sure where to start here in Lancashire but my dd works at a hospital so maybe thats that starting point.

I realise due to the currant situation things are a bit different.

Not so long ago, I became interested in machine embroidery of clothes. Because a common way to decorate clothes is to apply various inscriptions and images that can be applied to fabrics in different ways: thermal printing, silk screen printing and sublimation, but machine embroidery is the best. By the way, I bought myself one of the best embroidery machines www.sewhomegrown.com/best-emboidery-machine-for-custom-designs-2020/ and now with her help I can decorate not only clothes, but also accessories. Separately, I want to note that machine embroidery has many advantages over the traditional method of embroidery.

BradfordLass73

Do you have a pattern for the bags or is there one you use on the internet please?

I've crochet and knitted hundreds of things for Hospice and the local food bank (hats, scarves, slippers) but the easiet thing to make is a long rectangle and then turn it into a pretty bag with beads sewn into the crochet work and a long handle to wear it over the shoulder.

Most charity shops can't get enough of these because they're big enough to hold a phone, keys and purse for times when you don't need all the paraphernalia of the regular handbag.

Davida1968, I bought cotton yarn and scrubby yarn and crocheted some dish cloths for my daughter. Two had scrubby centres and the square one was double sided.
I'm now making hats for Innocent smoothie bottles. My daughter bought me the kit.

If you want to make something small which you can use yourself, how about crocheting cotton dish-cloths? Initially I made these for myself; now I supply them to relatives. The dish-cloths can be hot-washed and bleached and they last for years. (I now receive requests for them!)