Lion Brand Yarn Collecting Blue Hats to Combat Bullying

For the second year Lion Brand Yarn is heading up the #hatnothate campaign to bring awareness to the anti-bullying initiatives of partner charity Box Out Bullying.

Their goal for this year is to collect 25,000 blue hats to distribute to kids around the country. The hats can be knit or crocheted, in any shade or type of blue yarn (it doesn’t have to be Lion Brand) and should be sent to them by August 1, 2019.

To encourage people to stitch up a storm, the person with the largest donation in terms of number of hats sent in (postmarked on the same day) will receive $500, while the second-largest donation will receive $250.

Learn more and grab free patterns for blue hats at the Lion Brand website.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn.]

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I guess I’ve decided it’s time to start knitting vests, and while I typically think of vests as being for fall, this one is decidedly summery.

Vanessa Ewing’s Fruit Salad Fest is covered with all kinds of fruits. I see grapes, blueberries, strawberries, peaches and kiwi all stitched up in rows for a cute and colorful vest.

This one is worked in sock yarn and comes in nine sizes. The actual finished chest measurement of the vest ranges from 29.5 to 59 inches, or 75 to 150 cm. It’s meant to be work with 2 to 4 inches/5-10 cm of positive ease. And while it’s called a vest it doesn’t look like it has any shaping, which gives it little cap sleeves when worn.

There’s a bit of ribbing at the armholes and neckline, and the bottom has a split hem. It’s worked in the round from the bottom up and includes steeks. It’s not really a pattern for people new to colorwork thanks to all the charts and different colors used, but if you’re ready to take on a challenge this would be a fun one.

Speaking of colors, there are 13 involved in this pattern, but a few of them aren’t needed in a huge quantity, so this could be a use for some mini skeins or leftovers from other projects if you have them in the right colors. This isn’t one where you can substitute colors that easily since they are meant to be true to real fruits, but you could use a different background color, make your grapes green or red, or change the blueberries to another fruit if you have different colors on hand.

Any way you slice it, this looks like a super fun knit that is sure to bring a smile to your face whenever you wear it, and to others whenever they see it.

Check it out and grab a copy on Ravelry.

[Photo: Vanessa Ewing]

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