April 16, 2015:

I made a donation of 208 little preemie hats to Women’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The nurse was glad to receive these.
They are mostly loom and machine knitted and I have a few crochet ones I gave them as well. I am sticking mostly with the knitted since they have the best stretch to the fabric.

The smaller hats are double-layered and I knitted these on my Addi Express Professional 22-needle machine. Using one strand of soft yarn, I cranked out about 55 to 57 rounds (or until the tube was resting on the table. Then I did a needle cast-off. At this point I had knitted a tube. I then pulled both ends separately into a gather and secured the threads. I put one side into the other and tied the ends together. Then simply fold up the brim and there is the hat/beanie!

For the slightly larger preemie hats, I used my blue Knifty Knitter loom which has 24 pegs and measures 5 inches across. Using two strands of soft yarn held together throughout pattern, I did E-wrap stitches and knitted them off with the pick tool. I knitted the hats until they were the length of the Knifty Knitter pick tool (around 28 rounds depending on your yarn). I did a needle cast-off and then pulled a gather for the top of the hat. I secured this with two true square knots.
I also did two true square knots for the cast on side (brim). The curl of the brim hid where I cut off the loose ends which I square-knotted, so that worked out great hiding loose ends.
My mom went with me and it was a great experience! There is another NICU at Baton Rouge General Mid-City. I plan on doing a donation to them too.

Yours in Christ,
Lee Ann H
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