Sweet

Quite a while back I wrote a post about a hat pattern, it was designed to fit a baby aged 3-6 months but due to a request from a reader I have re-worked the pattern so that it will fit a newborn. This is a super quick knit and the ribbon really finishes it off nicely.

Pattern

To fit a newborn

Needles- size 4mm / US size 6

using worsted weight yarn.

Other needles and types of yarn can be used to vary the size and texture of the hat.

abbreviations-

k2tog- knit two stitches together

k3tog, knit three stitches together

m1- an increase make one stitch by inserting the needle into the diagonal below.     

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Cast on 58 stitches

row 1- knit

row 2- knit

row 3- k2 tog, yo until 2 stitches remain, k2

row 4- purl

row 5-knit

row 6- purl

row 7- k2tog  repeat until last stitch, k1

row 8- k1, m1 repeat until last stitch, k1 

row 9-knit

row 10-purl

row 11- k2tog until last stitch, k1

row 12-k1, m1 repeat until end

row 13-knit

row 14-purl

repeat rows 13 and 14 seven times

row 28-k3tog, (k5, k2tog repeat until end)

row 29-purl

row 30-k2tog,k4 repeat until end

row 31-purl

row 32-k2tog, k3 repeat until end

row 33-purl

row 34-k2tog, k2 repeat until end

row 35-purl

row 36- k2tog,k1 repeat until end

row 37,purl

row 38-k2tog until end

row 39-purl 

row 40-k2tog

when 4 stitches remain cut yarn and thread through  the stitches, pull tightly and sew up the seam.

thread ribbon through eyelets if desired.

Please let me know if you spot any errors so that I can make corrections.

Happy knitting!

 

And again

 

The postman came laden with parcels…………………….

Two gorgeous toddler sized cardigans and four colourful hats were donated by Mrs Bentley.

 

A beautiful multi coloured blanket along with a stack of knitted squares and some yarn were sent in by Mrs Reedman  

 A fabulous collection of hand-crafted  jumpers and hats plus lots of pre-loved baby mittens, socks,vests and bootees were donated by Elaine and her Mum.  

Lastly, a whole pile of pretty crochet baby blankets, some fluffy yarn and a collection of toiletries were donated by Anna.

Thank you so much ladies for your efforts.  Everything is just great!

 

A mountain of toys

The crafters at ‘loving hands’ must have been crafting like crazy recently if the eight massive boxes of donations that we received this week are anything to go by.  As usual everything is just  fantastic! Beautiful baby clothes, things for toddlers and older children, blankets and lots and lots of toys- toys of every shape, colour and design imaginable .

 

Once again,  thank you so much for such wonderful donations!

 

Loads more

A sea of fabulous striped jumpers, colourful hats and a huge crochet blanket which is just beautiful was generously donated byMrs Dancer in High Wycombe.

 

Beautiful  crochet jumpers, hats and scarves were donated by Barbara in Stevenage.

Perfect ribbon tie bags, a summer dress crochet squares a teddy and a decorated colouring book were kindly sent in by Freya.

A colourful collection of over 100 items were made by the crafters  of Stroud and sent in by the office of David Drew MP.

Huge thanks for such wonderful donations!

 

And more………..

Beautiful hats were donated by Carolyn.

Some unfinished jumpers were sent in by Brenda on behalf of her 93 year old Aunt.    

Pretty pastel blankets were made by Anna’s Mum, these will be perfect for our baby packs.

 

Jan in Guildford sent in a parcel of pre loved men’s clothing, which is great as we hardly ever have things for men. 

Super soft baby hats, vests, socks, mittens, a bag and a toy were donated by Sheryl in Nuneaton.

Thank you so much for such lovely things, in fact enormous thanks to everyone for supporting the project with such generosity.

 

More beautiful things

A rainbow of hats, scarves, jumpers and cardigans arrived from the office of David Drew MP on behalf of his crafting constituents.

 

Four sets of bootees came all the way from the USA, beautifully made by Laura.   

A great selection of pre-loved clothes, some crocheted squares, knitted toys and some fabulous orange socks were donated by Jan in Guildford.

 

Pretty baby sets, dresses, cardigans, hats and mittens were donated by Lynn in Gosport.

 

Cute cardigan sets complete with a soft toy in the pocket came from Kathleen in Canada.

 

  Emily, her 12 year old daughter and her 87 year old Mum donated soft cuddly toys, colourful jumpers. some craft materials and a handmade colouring book-fabulous!

Gorgeous crochet blankets, a knitted sleep suit and two pretty lemon cardigans were donated by Francis. 

Huge thanks to everyone for sending in such fantastic things!

 

October

Some really lovely things have been donated this month both hand-crafted and shop bought items.

Sheryl in Nuneaton sent in a great selection of baby clothes including vests,socks, hats,bootees,mittens and the cutest little shoes.

.

Absolutely beautiful crochet sets were donated by Ann, everything is fantastic but I just adore the trousers!

A fabulous selection of knitted cardigans along with baby vests, bibs,socks and pj’s were donated by Jenny in Stratford upon Avon.

Thank you ladies for taking the time to support the project.

 

Inspiration

I really enjoy opening up the parcels of donations, beautiful things are always being sent in and we are very lucky to have such talented and generous people supporting the project.  Every so often though something will be really outstanding- Something like the gorgeous sanitary towel sets sent in by Helen, everything about them is great- the colours, choice of fabric, the bag and all finished off with a ribbon tie and a ‘hand made’ heart charm. The young girls will love them!

Helen also donated some children’s craft packs which are just fantastic, containing an array of materials including paints,crayons, pencils, gummed stars, stickers, paper and scissors.

Thank you for such an inspirational selection of donations.

 

Update

 

Things have been hectic to say the least.

 On a personal note, my good news is that I am now a mother of three. My little girl was born on 2nd October weighing 8lb 6oz. She is of course, absolutely gorgeous!  The pregnancy was a difficult one and it is such a relief to finally have it over. Much of my time has been spent looking after the baby, resting a little and  helping the family adjust to the new addition -all of which has meant that e.mails, pictures, thank-you’s and this website has been neglected.  Over the next few days I hope to catch up, everyone’s help and support is truly appreciated and I’m sorry for the delay.

So first off here are pictures of donations that were received at the very end of September-     

A gorgeous selection of baby cardigans, two crochet blankets and a scarf from Carole in Southampton.

A complete wardrobe of new girly clothes from Alice.

A collection of stripe jumpers and colourful teddies from CSV

Now that the Summer is over the Otley knitters are back in full swing! They sent a huge variety of colourful hats, jumpers, scarves and blankets.

And lastly, a parcel from an anonymous donor- lovely fleece hooded capes,slippers a jumper and some trousers.

Thank you so much for taking the time to make such lovely things.

There are a stack of parcels that are waiting to be opened so more pictures will be posted up soon.

 

Toys from ‘Loving Hands’

 

Loving Hands is a craft group that makes wonderful items for different charities throughout the world, for a while now Algerian Action has been the lucky recipient of many beautiful and much needed items from them.  In addition to their general crafting they have different ‘challenges’ which run throughout the year where they have targets to make particular things. Recently I was asked by Lou,the groups founder if there was anything specific that we required.  Well, everything is needed but after a bit of thought I suggested that the group could make toys.  On my very first visit to Algeria one of the things that stood out for me the most were the lack of toys.  Hardly any children seemed to have toys, not just those from poor families but those from average families who had enough clothes, food etc. It is quite normal for children to play outside and the children amuse themselves with make believe games and team sports like football. But what about children who can’t or don’t play outside with their neighbours, those in hospital for example or those who are just too young to go out? With that in mind I thought it would be a nice idea to create some ‘toy boxes’ which could be donated to a few different places including an orphanage and a children’s ward.

A few weeks after making the suggestion a box full of toys arrived from loving hands, of course everything is beautiful and so carefully made.            

Once again, huge thanks are owed to the generous members at loving hands.

The ‘toy box’ collection continues so if you feel inspired by the pictures above and fancy making a toy or donating a pre-loved one it would be much appreciated. All types of things including craft materials, pencils etc are welcome.

 To read more about the work of loving hands take a look at their website -http://www.lovinghands.org.uk