Little hats for little heads

I've been working on a gift for a work friend. They were expecting twins at the end of January, but for some reason, she went into labor early and delivered them in early October. Such tiny little babies, the baby girl only 1 lb 6 oz and the baby boy 1 lb 10 oz.! It was a scary time...being so little there were many obsticles in their way, but miraculously both have done well and continue to grow! As a gift I made a set of little hats for them after seeing that their hospital hats were too big on their tiny heads. Once I started I just couldn't stop and put together 10 hats so far. I dropped them off yesterday and as an added bonus was able to see their mom and the twins in person! It was so exciting...I hadn't expected it since I had only planned to drop off the gift and leave, and it was great to see how adorable they are in person. Their baby boy even smiled in his sleep as I was watching him...I couldn't help but get a bit teary-eyed. :)

I have a few more done already and once there are enough for another batch I will drop them off. I made them in a variety of sizes, all using Preemie patterns, but they all turned out in varying sizes depending on the yarn, tension, etc.

It's been a great learning experience for me too. While I know enough about crochet to feel comfortable making hats, knitting is still something I am a complete novice at so this gave me the opportunity to learn how to read patterns better and learn how to knit in the round.

I have to say thank you to all the wonderful people who have posted free patterns for preemie hats. It's really heartwarming to find so many people happily sharing their patterns for such a good thing as hats for these babies who were born too soon. I have quite a few on my Pinterest board, so if you are interested in them, please stop by and check them out.

I've also been in contact with the twin's NICU and have found out that they accept donations of hats too, so I have a project to keep me going even after the twins are finally able to go home. If you have a hospital near you with a NICU, ask if they accept donations too. They may have some requirements about the materials, so ask questions. At the very least use the softest yarn you can find, nothing too fuzzy or bumpy since their skin is very delicate and fuzzy yarn can shed which they may breath in. And for preemies I read that yellow might not be the best color, since so many develop jaundice, and the yellow yarn wont  look so nice with their skin at that time. And have fun with it...preemies are so little that most clothing doesn't fit them, so providing a special hat that will fit will be such a gift.

You can also check if they accept other hats too...perhaps some full term babies or children could use them, or adult patients. A soft warm hat can really make someones day...and easily will make yours too.

UPDATE 12/12/11: I was sent a photo of one of the twins wearing one of the hats by his dad. Doesn't he look cute???

UPDATE 1/26/11: Their little boy has been home from the hospital for a few days now and doing great! We're just waiting for his twin sister to join the family at home...hopefully soon!