Every year, Sunrise Senior Living hold a #KnitForWinter Campaign. This year, they have teamed up with the charity First Touch to provide bonnets & blankets to the Neonatal Unit at St. George’s Hospital, London. So today I will be sharing with you the advanced option for the #KnitForWinter 2016 campaign, the Westminster Bonnet.
When I first heard about this campaign, it really touched me. 1 in 13 in babies born in the UK are premature. Along with the elderly, they are the groups most at risk of hypothermia in winter. As you know I am reducing my medication so Dan & I can try for a baby. Check out my Pregnancy Journey for more information on this. Just thinking of what the parents of premature babies go through moves me to tears. This campaign has allowed me to do something practical to show those parents that people care about what they are going through & are there for them. As I was making my bonnets, a fellow EDS sufferer (with classical & vascular type cross over) gave birth to twin girls prematurely. Unfortunately, one of the babies left us at just 2 days old. I wish there were more I could do to show her that she isn’t alone. This has shown me even more how valued the bonnets & blankets produced as a result of the #KnitForWinter 2016 campaign will be.
One of the things I love about this campaign is that there are 2 difficulty levels, so anyone can join in! For the beginner patchwork baby blanket you just need to be able to cast on, cast off, use a knit stitch & sew your squares together with a mattress stitch. The advanced Westminster Baby Bonnet is more complicated.
I decided to make some pale yellow bonnets, so that they are useful for all babies, rather than being gender specific. I also chose to make the smallest size of bonnet, as the pattern said it was the one most useful to them. I thoroughly enjoyed making the bonnets, which is by far my most complex project.
I experienced a couple of issues with the pattern, which I got my Mother-in-Law to double check for me as she is a more experienced knitter than I. On the first page of the pattern it gives the instruction to ‘beg off’. This was something I hadn’t come across before & couldn’t find it on the internet. It turns out it’s a typo, which should read ‘beg of’ (standing for beginning of). I also noticed that there is a line missing in the instructions on the bottom of second page, going into the third page of the pattern. The main part of the bonnet is made up of stocking stitch (knit one row, purl one row). The pattern calls for you to ‘PWork 2 rows in st st’ or starting on a purl row, knit two rows of stocking stitch (so purl one row, knit one row). This follows on the stocking stitch pattern. The next instruction uses the knit stitch, which goes against the stocking stitch pattern. To counter this, I added an extra row of purl stitch.
Something I didn’t know how to do was create a chain stitch. I could only find instructions for crochet, so I pulled out my Nan’s old crochet needle & used it for the first time! I used the instructions on ‘For Dummies‘ if it’s not something you’re familiar with.
My only concern about this project is that I have two cats. I’m worried that a premature baby may be more likely to react to any hair from the cats that may have gotten onto the bonnets. As a result, I have chosen to include a little note in with the five bonnets I knitted so that the hospital are aware that there is a possibility of allergic reaction & can make the best decision as to whether the bonnets are ok to be used. I’d much rather give the hospital more information than they need than be responsible for an allergic reaction in a baby that is likely struggling as it is.
You can find out more about the Knit For Winter campaign & download the two patterns from the Sunrise Senior Living’s annual Knit For Winter campaign website. You can also find information on the Sunrise Community Nursing Home in Solihull.
Will you be taking part in the #KnitForWinter 2016 campaign? Will you be making a blanket or bonnet?
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*As no one collected the box of bonnets, I donated them to Birmingham Women’s Hospital’s Neonatal Unit.
That is insanely cute. I can’t knit for the life of me though I’ve tried several times to get started. I’m not a huge fan of wool in any case so I think I’ll have to leave it to others who are much more talented than I (and probably aren’t left handed, too). Leaving the note is a good idea, but you could also wash it in a hypo-allergenic wash before sending?
Saoirse Sterling at XLeptodactylous
Thank you Saorise! I prefer knitting with balls of cotton as they don’t irritate my skin in the same way. You could probably learn to knit left handed… I write with my left hand but do most other things right handed. I’d be concerned about washing the bonnets before sending, as I know people who are allergic to hypo-allergenic powders, but if the hospital are concerned I’m sure they’ll wash them when they receive them. Xx
Thank you Saorise! I prefer knitting with balls of cotton as they don’t irritate my skin in the same way. You could probably learn to knit left handed… I write with my left hand but do most other things right handed. I’d be concerned about washing the bonnets before sending, as I know people who are allergic to hypo-allergenic powders, but if the hospital are concerned I’m sure they’ll wash them when they receive them. Xx