Knitting

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Knit a Purple Hat to Help a Baby

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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.

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Pencil Knitting Patterns

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns! 

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil. 

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn. 

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point. 

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up. 

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.