• Handmade Especially for You
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Handmade Especially for You

Leslye Borden has taken her passion for knitting and crocheting beyond her own personal use by creating an organization that brings a bit of joy to abused women. Handmade Especially for You distributes special scarves to women and children in shelters. Presently, there is a request to the organization for 1,000 scarves for Thanksgiving baskets and another 2,000 for Christmas baskets. A handmade gift can be a small step toward building self-esteem that is so necessary during the healing process for women who have been abused.

Leslye Borden brings a soft touch to women who need it. Photo by Tom Underhill

Leslye's hints for creating scarves are:

1. Use soft yarn (for comfort).
2. Pick happy colors.
3. Make them four to five inches wide.
4. Make them at least 60 inches long.
5. Use open-weave stitch if possible (so they can be used in warm weather climates).
6. Add some novelty yarn or ribbon to make them special.

The intention of making these scarves is to provide a gift of comfort to someone who may have never received a gift before and to show that someone cares.

You can read more about Leslye Borden and the story of Handmade Especially for You online at HandMadeEspecially.org. Her Web site also gives information about starting a local chapter. If you would like to mail scarves directly to her, please send to:

We have included a pattern suitable for this charity with the Sparkling Champagne Scarf.