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Knit a “Monster” for a Kid in Connecticut

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600 monstersAnyone who’s ever watched “Sesame Street” knows that not all monsters are bad. Monsters, in fact, can be a source of comfort and protection. A knit monster is a great symbol of love and happens to also be pretty quick and easy to knit.

That’s why monsters were chosen as the theme for a group called 600 Monsters Strong for Connecticut, the aim of which is to provide a knit or crocheted comfort item to each of the children who attends Sandy Hook Elementary School. The group formed hours after the shooting, as reported by the Huffington Post, and now has more than 1,100 followers on Facebook and more than 1,500 people are in their group on Ravelry (they’re still discussing what to do if they end up with more than 600 monsters, which seems likely at this point).

If you want to take part you can join the group in either of those places and knit up a monster of your own (check the Ravelry page for approved patterns and other guidelines) and send it to Ohio by the end of January. This is such a lovely project I’m really glad to see it doing well. People just want to be able to do something, and this small gesture will probably make a big difference to those kids.

[Photo by Alex via 600 Monsters.]

Comments

  1. I am going to be a meanie of sorts here: this is at least the third “make a ______for a kid in CT” I’ve seen. Beanies, pillowcases, now animals. We all want to do something because it hurts so much. But remember: there are children in YOUR neighborhood who could benefit from these same things. Maybe you should reach out to them first.

  2. donate any above and beyond 600 to local police to carry in trunk and gv to kids when they respond to violence and kids are involved

Have you read?

Classic Dishcloth Knitting Patterns

Fall will be here before we know it, and that means there are holidays coming right behind where we might be entertaining at home. It’s always fun to have a hand knit touch in your home for other people to see, and if you’re going to be in the kitchen all day you might as well have some nice knit dish cloths to use. 

I love this little plaid hand towel from Darling Jadore. Use a little bit of leftover cotton yarn from another project for the plaid portion. It looks like the horizontal stripes are worked as you knit and the vertical stripes are done with duplicate stitch, making this a quick and easy project even newer knitters can make. 

Combine garter stitch and an easy eyelet pattern worked sideways to make the Annette Dish Towel from Cluck Cluck Boots, which is meant to be reminiscent of flour sack towels. It calls for DK weight yarn and you can work it in one color or two (or even three!). 

Add a little more texture with this set of kitchen towels from Whileberry Creative. They’re mostly worked in garter stitch with borders in easy knit/purl patterns, and you can work them in sport or worsted weight yarn. 

Two of Wands Shop has another cute allover knit and purl pattern they call the Seersucker Textured Tea Towel. It’s an easy repeating pattern worked in worsted weight yarn, and there’s a chart in the pattern you can use, but don’t have to, if you want to practice knitting from a chart. 

The Classic Cloth dish towel from Handmade Home by Connie is another one that can use a little leftover yarn in a contrasting color, or you could color block it our use stripes throughout the pattern. This one uses worsted weight yarn and another easy repeating knit purl stitch pattern. 

If you like to hang your towel on the oven handle or elsewhere but it’s always falling off, try the Stay Put kitchen towel from Fancy Step Knits. This project is worked in garter stitch and includes a hole partway through so you can pull the towel through itself over a rod or handle. Stripes are optional but a nice addition.