Prayer shawls seem to be an increasingly popular project with many fibre artists these days. Often made with fairly simple patterns, they're intended as gifts of good will to those who may need it. Many prayer shawls are donated to women in need, be the need emotional or physical. Women in shelters, cancer survivers, or even someone who's just had a rotten run of luck and could use some cheering up.

But what's the idea behind them? Why are they called prayer shawls?

They are not necessarily shawls worn during prayer, though that doesn't mean they can't be. A shawl can be worn any time somebody needs a bit of extra warmth of comfort, after all, and what better time than prayer or meditation? But rather, a prayer shawl is one made with prayers and wishes of good will, of improvement and luck and prosperity, all those positive emotions and hopes going right into the garment as it's being made.

Sound a little cheesy? Maybe it is. But if someone handed me a prayer shawl, and told me that with each stitch they focused good intentions and a wish for happiness in my life, I would feel moved even if the shawl didn't have some measurable effect on my luck.

And that's the intent behind prayer shawls. It works in the same way that prayer does, that wishes and hopes and good vibes do. People often ask for prayers for loved ones during hard times, that extra little bit of spiritual energy to help see them through until things become easier once again. The prayer shawl is an embodiment of that gesture, a physical thing that someone can touch and feel and know that as the maker was working on it, they focused their positive energy and intent into each stitch, large or small, and as it grew in size so too did the amount of love and positive emotion that was contained within it.

For a prayer shawl to really mean anything, you have to believe in it. You can church out shawl after shawl and hand them off to the needy, but if no real emotion, no caring went into your work, then there isn't too much difference than going and buying one from the store and handing it to somebody. Intent and belief count for a great deal in the making of prayer shawls, just as they count when actually praying.

This is often why the prayer shawl is typically made with a simple pattern rather than a very complex one. The simpler the pattern, the easier it is for the hands to work without needing constant reminders from the mind about which stitch comes next, and this leaves the mind free to focus on the positive emotions that are being put into each stitch.

In addition to being a welcome gift for somebody in need, this sort of mindset also aids the crafter themselves. In having that positive focus in mind while they create the shawl, they improve their own feelings and mental health. Emotions, after all, are not the kinds of things that don't leave a mark on what they touch. If you focus on being happy and calm and soothing while you work on the shawl, then you retain those emotions when you put the shawl down. The maker's own outlook has been shifted by the very act of doing something positive for somebody else, and so more people benefit from the act of compassion.

Though the thought of prayer is often associated with Judeo-Christian-Islamic religions, this does not mean that only people of those religions have the right or entitlement to make or receive prayer shawls. Prayer, in a very basic way, means making a wish or request to some higher power. Whether or not that higher power is called God, or Goddess, or has another name or no name at all, it makes no difference. Sometimes the 'higher power' is little more than the belief that good emotions can transfer from person to person, which is the very purpose behind the prayer shawl in the first place. If the term 'prayer shawl' gives you a feeling of discomfort and feels too religious and confining for your tastes (and there's nothing wrong with that; we all have our particular likes and dislikes), then this is the place to state that these shawls are only commonly known as prayer shawls. They can sometimes be called comfort shawls, or peace shawls, which still carries the same message of well-being and love without potentially bringing religion into it. Some people feel more comfortable using one of the less-common terms, but the intent behind the gift is still the same.

Think this is all hoaky and don't believe that intent can be transfered like this? No problem. Some people don't. But even on a very personal level, there's evidence that emotion can affect the physical world, especially when it comes to making things. Long-time artists and crafters will probably know what I'm talking about when I say this. If you feel good about a thing you're doing, then it's much more likely to turn out with a higher level of quality than if you felt bitter and mean the whole way through. Negative emotions can affect how well you do a thing. If you feel bad, you tense up and are more likely to make mistakes, or to rush a job and end up with sloppy work, just to get the task over and done with. But if you focus on something positive, relax and enjoy the work you're doing, then each stitch becomes a joy to make, and the shawl is more likely to come out even, with more quality than if you just felt bland or negative toward it.

There are many organizations that collect and distribute prayer shawls to the needy. Often these are religious-based groups, such as churches, but that doesn't mean that's your only choice if you want to make a few of these shawls yourself. If you like, make them and go down to your local women's shelter or hospital, and ask if you can distribute them there personally, without bringing any organization into it at all. Or, if you're the more enterprising sort, band together with others and, as a group, make and distribute them as you see fit, under whatever name you choose. You can bring religion into it, or make it specifically unreligious, or just give them out in the name of friendship and charity. The choice is yours.

And believe me, whoever you give it to will be touched by your gift. They may not realize it at first, but the very act of being given something in good will by a stranger, something intended to comfort and warm them when times grow hard, will leave a mark on them, and it's entirely likely that each time they wrap themselves in that gift of love, they'll remember and know that somebody out there cares about them.