20 Hats Project

Archiving this blog

2008-12-31T20:59:00.000-08:00

Hi all -
I just can't manage multiple blogs any more, so I'll be doing my preemie hat stuff over on my normal one (Knitwithkt).

Many thanks to the several of you who sent me hats over the summer - we gave 57 to the UNC Children's Hospital in Chapel Hill, NC! In December I gave another 10 to Hopkins as well - making it a running total of 88 hats given to the two hospitals from Christmas '07 to Christmas '08.

I am still collecting hats for UNC, Duke, and Hopkins - if you'd like to send me some donations please leave a comment on this post with your email address so I can send instructions. I'm turning moderation on so that your email won't be made public.

Thanks again to everyone who has helped with this project to date - you are wonderful people!
- KT

Presto! Baby Hat (moved)

2008-02-19T19:18:00.001-08:00

Sometimes it's fun to make a baby hat that you would never in a million years wear yourself, but that would be adorable on a baby - and this is one of those. Named Presto! because it reminded me of the collapsible tophats used by magicians, it has alternating stockinette and reverse stockinette ridges that gather into each other. Because of this, as well as the natural stretchiness of knitting, the hat will fit for quite a while - just pull it a bit longer as the baby's head grows a bit bigger, or squish it a bit shorter for a smaller baby.

This pattern is now available in the preemie size at the blog Knit with KT and in larger sizes (baby, toddler, child, adult) as a fundraiser for the NC Cancer Hospital as the Beehive Cap.

Thank you from Johns Hopkins

2008-01-28T08:32:00.001-08:00

Hello all -

On Christmas Day I presented 21 hats to the Chief of Neonatology at Johns Hopkins. I wrote in the card, "We cannot do what you do to save these babies. What we can do is knit. Enclosed are 21 hats knit by 5 women around the country." I also included the names and locations of everyone participating in the Project, with the name of the hospital to which you've pledged your hats.

This is a photo (taken and posted with permission) of the first baby to receive one of our hats and blankets! The mom was so touched that total strangers would send birthday gifts for her child, as were all of the nurses and docs in the hospital.

I also received a formal thank you note from the Nurse Manager of the NICU. She wrote,

"Thank you and all of the ladies who participated in the knitting of the hats and blankets that were donated to our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) recently. They are so beautiful and reflect the love and care that it took to create them.

Once again, thank you for your generosity."

Good job everyone! This has prompted me to keep up my knitting of preemie hats - I am working to do two a month on average. Once I get photos I'll have the January hats posted here. I hope to see yours, too!

Ripple Brim Baby Hat (moved)

2007-12-21T07:28:00.000-08:00

This little hat is distinguished by its simple ruffled brim (with a bit of slip stitch detail at the turn to the body for strength) and subtle crown shaping. Otherwise it is a basic stockinette hat - very quick and simple.

Instructions for this hat are now available on the Knit with KT blog. If you would like instructions for an adult sized version, please see the Ripple Brim Chemo Cap; proceeds from the sale of that pattern benefit the NC Cancer Hospital.

Too Early Birthday Preemie Hat (moved)

2007-12-21T07:15:00.000-08:00

This hat - knit in the round with occasional purl ridges and a flat top - reminded me of a layer cake... which I last had at a birthday party... and preemies are babies who are born too soon... which means they get an "early birthday"... and thus the name of this hat was "born": the Too Early Birthday hat.

It's a simple but eye-catching design, just the thing to make for wee babes needing some love.

This pattern is now available on the Knit with KT blog. Please update your links!

Conehead Baby Hat (moved)

2007-12-21T06:56:00.000-08:00

Newborns - at least, those delivered rather than "hatched," as we put it in my family - have pointy heads. All that squeezing... this reminded me of the old Coneheads skit from Saturday Night Live... and so I decided to make a hat for a coneheaded baby. It's an extremely easy pattern, and lots of fun to make.

This pattern is now available at the Knit with KT blog. Please update your links!

Simple hat (with eyelets) (moved)

2007-12-09T14:43:00.001-08:00

Sometimes I just want a mindless knit - and this hat managed to be that, with some little twists to keep it from being totally boring. First, there is a round of eyelets introduced into the ribbing section - you could thread a ribbon through these for extra oomph - and second, the decreases are done more gradually than usual in the hopes of creating a "conehead" effect. Otherwise, it's just knit knit knit all evening long!

This pattern is now available at the Knit with KT blog. Please update your links!

Baby Bowties Hat (moved)

2007-12-09T14:19:00.000-08:00

When I saw the "Tiny Bowknot" pattern in Barbara Walker's 2nd Treasury, I just knew I had to make a preemie hat out of it. It's just so cute and delicate, and perfect to spice up an otherwise typical stockinette hat. The stitch itself is easy to remember but uses the possibly novel "knit into the stitch below" (K1B) technique.

Since you have half a prayer of keeping a hat on a baby's head, but very little of getting a tie on a squiggly babe, I chose to rename the pattern "baby bowties" - their heads can be fancy even if their necks aren't!

This pattern is now available for free on the Knit with KT blog. Please update your links!

Angled Rib Hat (moved)

2007-10-28T18:26:00.001-07:00

This baby hat has all the elements I love in a preemie cap: extra soft yarn, ribbing to allow for multiple sizing, interesting stitch pattern (but not so much so that you mess it up while watching baseball), and a cute topper.

This pattern is now available on the Knit with KT blog. Please update your links!

Top Down Diamonds Hat (moved)

2007-09-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

Top down hats scare a lot of knitters, even ones experienced in circular knitting. It's because of the increases needed, I think. However, top down hats are great - if you don't know your gauge you just increase until the diameter is about 1/3rd the desired circumference (C=3.14159D), and then work the hat normally. If you're not sure if you have enough yarn to complete the hat (as happened with this one), you can work it until the yarn is gone and then either add on a new skein for the body (as I did here) or make a beanie. Plus, it feels a lot more like a hat than a tube for the majority of the time!

This pattern is now available at the Knit with KT blog. Please update your links!

Lace Edged Preemie Hat (moved)

2007-09-21T17:40:00.000-07:00

This very simple but very elegant preemie hat is made from a small amount of Caron Simply Soft yarn, and is knit in the round on US5 needles. It has one repeat of a simple lace pattern at the bottom, stockinette stitch for the body, and a 9-armed pinwheel crown.

This pattern has been moved to my blog, Knit with KT. Please update your links!

Guidelines for Preemie Hats

2007-09-05T18:34:00.000-07:00

While you can knit pretty much anything you want for your own kid (or kids you know), there are a few guidelines for hospital garb.

1: Sizes needed: Babies' heads come in all sizes (and shapes!). Generally, hospitals need preemie hats in sizes from 10" (25cm) circumference for the very smallest up to 15" (37.5cm) for the average newborn. Hat depth should be 4" (10cm) for preemies and 5" (12.5cm) for newborns.

2: Colors: Some people are purists and do pink or blue. I do whatever strikes my fancy - including green and yellow. Generally pastels are preferred, please no black.

3: Materials: The hospital will want to sterilize each hat. This means they must be made out of yarns that are very much washable and dryable. I am allergic to wool, so I never make baby hats out of wool, though if you find something that could stand sterilization and is very very soft you're welcome to use it. I generally stick to cotton blends and the "soft" acrylics. Please no novelty yarns - they don't stand up well to washing.

4: Patterns: I'll be posting my favorite patterns in the sidebar. In the meantime feel free to comment about your faves too... and if you join I'll make sure we have an index page of free patterns. I may also do hat reviews... you never know.

Anything else? Let me know!