I knit 3 preemie hats out of leftovers from my Ripple Blanket this past week. I love how little and sweet they are. Preemie hats are such instant gratification projects. They also use up those tiny bits of yarn that I can't seem to throw away.
Over on the Itty Bitty Knits board on Ravelry we run a charity knit-along (or KAL) every month. Each month a different member hosts and chooses a charity for us to knit for. This month Becca or Borkles as she's known on Ravelry is hosting. She had this to say about her charity:
"For this month’s charity knitting, I thought we could knit baby hats for the babies in the hospital where I work as a nurse- Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, CA.
I work on the antepartum unit, where we often care for mamas who have lost their babies- either due to extremely early preterm labor, or stillbirth at any point up to full-term. We have the need for teeny tiny hats (for extremely early babies who are too early to survive), up to newborn size. Our unit could also use small sized blankets (which we often give to grieving families as mementos, along with the little hats the baby wears.)
We also have a large NICU, and they could use hats for preemies up to 0-3 months (as some babies have a longer stay with them). Any machine-washable, baby friendly (not scratchy) yarn should be fine."
I knit preemie to newborn sizes. I cast on 44 stitches for the small purple and blue striped hat and 52 stitches for the teal and purple hats. I'm not fond of the rolled brim for hats for tiny babies, I think the ribbed brim is more comfortable. I knit about an inch of ribbing before knitting the next few inches in stockinette.
I've been participating in this KAL for the past 3 years and I can't say enough good things about the generosity of the knitters in our group. They're such a special group of ladies and I'm so pleased to be able to contribute this month.
If you have any tiny bits of leftover yarn please consider knitting up some preemie hats to donate to your local NeoNatal Unit.
