Baby Hats

Hello Everybody,

I just thought I'd share with you some baby hats that I've made recently. Back in September, my friend gave birth to her baby girl a bit earlier than expected and she weighed just 1lb 9oz! It was a stressful few months but she's doing well now and weighs nearly 6lb. Premature babies struggle to maintain their body temperature so have to wear warm clothes. I made her a few little hats. I forgot to take photos of some of them, but I'm sure you get the idea. They are really quick and easy to make and are great for practising knitting in the round, Fair Isle, stripes, intarsia etc. I mostly made knitted hats, but a few crochet ones snuck in too.

I found it quite hard to find patterns for teeny tiny preemies. The pattern I mainly used was one I found on a random typed piece of paper that someone gave me years ago. It's not credited to anyone, so I'll type it out here.

I made the smaller size, which I think still just about fits the baby (so probably up to 6lb). It also fit her when she was much smaller too. In the picture with the dusky pink hat, she was just under 4lb.

Using 3.5 mm needles (can be done in the round or straight) and DK wool (you can use 4-ply and smaller needles to size it down for a tiny baby):
Cast on 60 (70) stitches. Work 6 rows K1P1 rib.
Change to 4 mm needles (I actually didn't bother) and continue in stocking stitch until work measures 9 cm.
Then decrease:
1st row: K6 (7), K2tog, rpt til end.
2nd and alternate rows purl (or knit a row if knitting in the round).
3rd row: K5 (6), K2tog, rpt til end.
5th row: K4 (5), K2tog, rpt til end.
Continue decreasing as thus until approx. 12 stitches remain.
Work one row. Break yarn off and thread through remaining stitches. If worked straight, sew edges together with as smooth a seam as possible.

The crochet pattern I used was from Rosie's Cozies, it was the one with the ear flaps. The hats on this site are really cute and were designed for a 1lb 7oz baby that sadly didn't make it. I'm sure they can be easily modified for a larger baby. I only made one of these for the baby when she was still under 2lb but she wore it for some time.

I'm going to try and find some free time every month to make a hat to donate to the local SCBU/NICU. They are quick to make and can really make a difference. Make sure you use a washable yarn!

Thistle Girl x