How do I pare down my late mum's hand-knitted baby clothes?

[AndAllOurYesterdays]

We've recently moved and I need to make some hard decisions about what we store in the new place. My beloved mum died 10 years ago and was a talented (and prolific !) knitter. I've got loads of baby clothes and some absolutely huge and heavy knitted blankets she made. It's hard to describe them, I used one as a rug to put the baby on rather than a blanket as it's that large and heavy. And then lots of jumpers and cardigans that I did use when my kids were little (although they are more beautiful than practical).

They are wonderful, but I can't imagine my kids wanting them when they have kids. I don't want to get rid of everything but I do want to slim down the number so they don't take up too much space. The problem I have is that I can't think any charity shops would be able to have them either, and the idea of throwing away something she put so much love into upsets me. Any suggestions for how I choose which to keep and what to do with the other ones? Thanks

I love making things for my dc, and I'm sure I'll love making them for my gc if/when I have them.

I would not expect them to be kept once they are past their useful time. So once they have grown out of them, they are binned or unravelled and the wool used for something else.

The joy is in the wearing, having them in boxes in an attic is nothing but clutter.

Feel free to get rid, they have served their purpose.

How old are your children? I had my baby (now 3) at 26 and I loved hand knitted cardigans and booties, some were mine from when I was a baby. Maybe you could keep some blankets but donate some of the others. Keep the baby items.

Have u thought of putting them on freecycle as then you would meet who would take them and this should ensure they get use. Are any specifically significant so baby rolled in this or went to lovely party? Any family having babies sooner than your own kids? If they are lovely migjt make a thoughtful gift.

This must be hard for you. Precious memories. It must be so tough to choose.
You could create a photo book of memories with photos of your DC wearing items or lying on the blankets. I’d then maybe choose a couple per child to treasure for now plus one blanket.

To donate the rest you could advertise on FB or Freecycle as PP suggested or contact some charities. Any local refuges or mother and baby places?
Knitting shops or craft groups could be interested in displaying them as exemplars.

You could explore this charity

https://www.knitforpeace.org.uk/donate

Could you use the blankets like a throw? Folded on back or arm of sofa, or end of a bed?

You can unpick the wool from the clothes - a bit fiddly but not hard. Then you can use the yarn to make a useful scarf or two, which is a way of giving the work new life.

If you can part with some clothes hospitals are often looking for knitwear for prem babies.

My Aunt is a prolific knitter too, and one of the charity shops close to her does take them (and they make requests when she's in there too haha!). So maybe don't rule out charity shops for the ones that look new, give a few a call.

I do understand to an extent, I have a few talented crafty people in my family and it does make for a large volume of beautiful baby things. I think you should thin them out to keep one of each "type", one cardigan, one blanket etc. Then pass the others on - fbmarketplace or Freecycle if need be. There are lots of people who would love high quality knitted baby things and don't have anyone to make them.

Your mum made them with love and you received them with love, that is most of their value realised already. They still exist in the world though and can give value to someone else too and spread the love further, I'm sure your mum wouldn't want you to be burdened and would tell you to let the physical items go?

All the best with the new place x

I absolutely love hand knitted baby clothes and I tried to learn to knit when I was pregnant but I couldn’t get the hang of it and I had to buy knitted baby clothes so I would have loved to find some in a charity shop or for sale/given away online.

Donate them to a hospital or other charity - I just googled ‘where to donate hand knitted baby clothes and blankets’ and three came up in my area, one for neonatal care, once for refugees (some are babies), and one for families in need.

Donate to a baby bank or sell on vinted and do something meaningful with the money eg a daytrip. I dont know any knitters but found some lovely hand knitted jumpers on vinted for my baby.

Great idea

The nearest charity shop to me would take them. A foodbank might also take them.

Donate to your local special care baby unit

What about seeing if a local women’s refuge will take them?

Some great ideas here. Why not choose the nicest set and make a picture out of them with a deeper frame? I've kept a set that my MIL knitted and a couple of small blankets.

Keep a few lovely things in case your kids ever want them. And then give away the rest - you’ll definitely find people who’ll happily make use of them on Olio, Facebook or local WhatsApp groups.

Do you have a Babybank (its like a food bank) or women's refuge near you?

I think your kids actually might like them when they have their own children. I absolutely wouldn’t get rid of them, instead I’d really focus on how to clean them and store them well.

Absolutely keep the blankets. My MIL died when DH was a teenager, our DC are now young adults and they still love using the blankets x

Sorry I should have said we had lots of stuff but it's the knitted and patchwork blankets that are treasured 30 years on

Keep one or two per child that mean a lot to you and store in those vac bags, donate the rest to a local charity or give away

Pramdepot is an excellent charity which supports vulnerable mothers and their babies
https://pramdepot.com/

Contract a local baby bank and see if they could like them? Or offer them on a local Freebay type Facebook group? I'm sure someone would love them for their child.

Thank you so much for your thoughtful advice everyone. Some great ideas here. I will look into local baby banks and the charity linked above. I will keep a couple for my kids but the sheer volume means that I do need to tackle this. Thanks again