Afghans for Afghans Looks to Shower Babies

Afghans for Afghans is a longstanding knitting-related humanitarian organization that provides hats, blankets, socks and other warm knit goods to the people of Afghanistan.

Right now they’re in the midst of a June baby shower campaign and are seeking socks mittens and hats.

All the details are on their current campaign page, but basically they’re looking for wool (or other warm animal fiber) hats for newborns up to one year and age 7 to adult, socks (not booties) for babies up to one year and age 7 to adult and mittens for age 7 to adult.

They note that they get a lot of baby hats and would love to have more of the other items and sizes. Also, preemie sizes are not needed.

From their site:

These items have been requested by Trust in Education for babies born at Malalai Women’s Maternity hospital in Kabul.The hospital performs 85 deliveries a day, on average, serving the poorest families in Kabul. All services are free. Our wool gifts will accompany the distribution of birthing kits arranged by Trust in Education.

Clearly that’s a lot of babies and parents in need!

If you can help, get your items to Afghans for Afghans by July 3. Learn more about how and where to send your items.

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The felted slipper craze that began last year doesn’t seem like it’s fading away. The Sailor Slippers, often striped knit and felted slippers made with super bulky yarn, because the project of the moment late last year (check out more knit slipper options in this post all about sailor slippers) and they’re still consistently popular with knitters.

Which makes sense because they are fun and fast to knit, and seeing them go from this giant thing to something that actually fits a foot feels a little magical.

I have always loved felting (in fact my first book was about felting knitting) and it’s always fun for me to see people rediscover this technique.

If you’ve knit enough plain slippers to fit all the feet you know, maybe it’s time to stitch up some tabi style slippers instead.

Maymade Knits has designed these cute tabi ballerina slippers, made with bulky yarn and felted. They’re worked flat at first and then in rounds, and are available in 10 EU sizes (the Internet tells me add 31 to your American shoe size to get your EU size). The designer says the slippers are meant to have a close fit and you should choose a size a little smaller than your foot for the ideal fit.

The pattern includes a video tutorial along with the written pattern.

You can grab this pattern on Ravelry. The same designer has her own version of the striped felted slipper as well, called Sarah’s Striped Slippers. These are worked in super bulky yarn and have a contrasting foot and a striped body. These are knit flat and seamed and there are 7 size options available. Check that pattern out here if you’re looking for a more traditional slipper shape. They also look roomier so you can wear them with socks if you like.

[Photo: Maymade Knits]

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