Knit a Plushie for a Kid with Epilepsy

Vickie Howell recently started the Purple Stitch Project, which asks knitters, crocheters and sewers to create purple items to donate to children with epilepsy. The project is Howell’s way of supporting and helping to build a community for kids with epilepsy because her son has the disorder.

Epilepsy is the third most common neurological disorder after stroke and Alzheimer’s, and is thought to affect about 300,000 kids in the United States. The project aims to raise awareness of the disorder and support kids through donations of hand-crafted items.

Just days after the launch of the project Howell came up with a specific need: producing 40-plus plushies for the kids who will attend Camp Brainstorm, a five-day camp for children ages 8 to 18 who have seizure disorders. The project has sample patterns in knitting, crochet and sewing, but any animal, robot or other small toy made in purple yarn (purple being the color of epilepsy awareness) or fabric will be accepted.

If you want to help you need to get your needles going, because the deadline to get the finished plushies to Howell is July 20. Good thing little dolls are quick projects.

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Not too long ago I was seeing a crochet pattern for a glasses holder shaped like a bear all over the Internet. It was super cute, and also useful as a place to put your glasses on your bedside table instead of just throwing them somewhere random.

This project stewed in my brain for a little while and I decided I needed to make a knit version, but I didn’t want to make a bear. If you know anything about me you might know that I’m a cat person, so of course my version had to be a cat.

The base is just a basic little basic worked from the center out to the desired size, then up the sides as long as you want them. Knit some ears and add embellishments to make it whatever kind of animal you want.

The way I figured out to work the base from the center out was to use a crochet cast on, which gives you an easier way to pick up stitches from the back of the cast on than if you worked a more traditional cast on for a knitting project. It’s kind of fun to do things in a different way from time to time.

This little project is adorable if I do say so myself, and even as a plain little basket not made into an animal it’s a cute way to keep your glasses or other little things in one place. I’m tempted to make one for my desk to hold pens or even little little scissors and sewing needles that are always on my desk but somehow always seem to get lost on my desk.

If you need a little holder for your glasses on your table, check out the pattern at Our Daily Craft.

[Photo: Our Daily Craft]

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