Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

Knit a Purple Hat to Help a Baby

by

click for babiesIt’s a fact of early childhood that babies tend to increase the amount of time they spend crying around the age of two weeks up to three or four months of age. Some health experts call this the period of purple crying, which is characterized by an increase in crying from day to day that often comes on unexpectedly and not because of a problem in their environment, crying that is resistant to soothing and looks like the baby is in pain and crying that is long-lasting and often happens in the afternoon and evening.

This sort of crying is normal and does go away, but it can be a great frustration to parents and other caregivers, sometimes causing them to abuse and harm the child in an attempt to get them to stop crying.

One effort at preventing the abuse of babies during the period is called CLICK for Babies, and it involves knitting purple hats that are distributed in hospitals across the United States and Canada to remind parents that this period is just a phase. There are chapters in 10 states and three Canadian provinces, but knitters and crocheters anyway can help in the effort.

The deadline for hats — which are distributed in the winter months — is Oct. 1. You can send the hats to your local chapter if they happen to have one, or send them to the national office in Utah, which will distribute them where they can be used.

Baby hats are really fun, quick projects and the fact that you can potentially help a child by knitting one (or a few!) is really great.

Specific to knitters, you can join our Knitting Patterns Only group to get, well, knitting patterns, ask questions and gain inspiration for what to knit next.

Looking for more Baby Knitting patterns? Check these out on Etsy.

Next Pattern:

Comments

Have you read?

Summer Headband Knitting Patterns

Some knitters have trouble coming up with projects they can both knit and wear when it’s warm outside. Especially if you’re not ready for garments (thought tank tops and summer tops are great first garment projects!) it might seem like there’s nothing to do when it’s hot outside.

One way to remedy this situation is by knitting headbands. Headbands are great any time of year to keep hair out of your face and make you look a little more pulled together without any effort. Wider headbands double as ear warmers when it gets colder, but skinnier ones are great throughout the year.

A couple of great examples are from designer Elly Donner, who has a set of headband knitting patterns on Ravelry you can buy individually or as an ebook. Homebody, shown here, is worked in garter stitch (the ties are crocheted but you could also use I-cord), while Slipstream uses slipped stitches and garter ridges, and Sounds of Spring has little cables. The patterns use DK weight yarn and are a great way to use a little leftover yarn from another project.

I also recently came across the lovely Plush Braided Headband by Yevgeniya Li. A free pattern on Ravelry, this wider design is covered in lush cables for a sleek and fancy look. It uses worsted weight yarn and you can customize the length for a perfect fit.

Celeste Knitwear’s Spikelet is a simple twisted headband with columns of eyelet lace to keep it from being too heavy. It’s worked flat and sewn together to make the twist, and uses DK weight yarn. It has three sizes available.

This skinny lace headband from Lusi Knits is another cute choice. It calls for fine weight cotton yarn, but you could use heavier yarn if you have it on hand to make a wider headband (or use any fine yarn you have available). It uses ties to customize the fit.

And if you want to go super basic but still really cute, try the easy ring headband from Lulu Pattern. The sample is knit pretty wide, but you could make a narrower version if you want, and the little ring turns it from a plain loop into a bow with very little extra work. It calls for worsted weight yarn but you could also use whatever weight you like for this one to change up the look and size.