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Another Reason to Knit Red Baby Hats

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knit little red hats for babiesEarlier this month I told you about the campaign to knit red Santa hats for preemies and other babies in the NICUs in Kansas City for the holidays.

But if you want to help babies in other parts of the country, here’s another project for which you can knit red hats. Looking for more Baby Knitting patterns? Check these out on Etsy.

The Little Hats, Big Hearts campaign began in Chicago and has now expanded to 29 states. The aim is to provide knit or crocheted hats in the color red to all the babies born in participating hospitals during the month of February to raise awareness of heart disease, which is the number one killer of Americans, and congenital heart defects, the most common birth defect.

Hats are being collected through the end of the year, and you can contact a local chapter at the link above to get patterns, shipping addresses and more information.

This is such a sweet campaign and I hope some of you can squeeze in a little extra knitting this holiday season for some special little babies!

[Photo via American Heart Association.]

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Comments

  1. We’re doing this for the first time in the San Francisco Bay area. Preemie and newborn hats are so quick to knit, crochet, or loom. Check the American Heart Association web page for free patterns and yarn requirements.

Have you read?

A Knit Vest to Get You Ready for Summer

I know that my posts can be read at different times of year and in different years by different people, but as I write this we’re on teh cusp of summer. And I know a lot of people don’t knit as much, and certainly don’t wear a lot of knits in the summer, but I want to encourage you to make and to wear your makes no matter the temperature.

To introduce you to the joys of summer garment knitting, I offer the Tied Vest from Lion Brand Yarn.

This easy project is great to make and wear throughout the year but it’s especially good for summer. It’s worked flat in one piece from the bottom up, mostly in stockinette stitch with a seed stitch edging. The I-cord ties are worked directly onto the garment so you don’t have to sew them on.

The project uses worsted weight yarn, and calls for a blend of cotton and hemp that’s great for warm weather.

There are eight size options, ranging from a finished chest measurement of 35 to 62.5 inches, or 89 to 159 cm. That makes it sound like it should be worn with at least a few inches of positive ease, but the pattern doesn’t specify.

The ties at the front give it a casual look and make it great to wear over a tank top or T-shirt when the weather is warm.

I also think this one would be good to knit in wool or a warmer fiber, too, to make a version you could wear more comfortably in the winter months, too. Though of course you could layer the summer version over a long-sleeved shirt and wear it throughout the year, too.

The tied vest is a free pattern available from Lion Brand. You can also purchase a kit that includes the yarn and optional needles and stitch markers if you need them.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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