• 0 items$0.00
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

  • BLOG
    • Knitting
    • Crochet
    • Latch Hook
    • Macramé
    • Punch Needle
  • ABOUT
  • Shop
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • YouTube

Celebrate Heart Month with Knitting & Crochet!

February 15, 2016 2 Comments

Learn how a simple donated baby hat can help save lives - click through for more information and three free patterns to get you started!

By now you’ve likely read or seen something from me about the American Heart Association’s Little Hats, Big Hearts campaign. In the few short years since the project’s inception, the AHA and volunteer knitters and crocheters have made thousands of red hats to help raise awareness about infant heart health and congenital heart defects. My family and friends have been touched by some of these issues, so every year, I do what I can to help drum up as many donations as possible.

Support the Little Hats, Big Hearts knitting program with a Well Wish! Click to learn how you can help this exceptional charity knitting program with more than knitting or crochet.
To avoid being too redundant, I’ll direct you to my blog posts featuring information about the campaign, and three free patterns that are perfect for donating to next year’s Little Hats, Big Hearts drive.

  • Baby Hearts Hat Pattern & My Family’s Story
  • Preemie Baby Hearts Hat Pattern
  • Little Hats, Big Hearts in the News
  • Declan’s Story & A Baby Pixie Hat Pattern
  • Help Support Little Hats, Big Hearts with a Well Wish

In addition to the patterns and updates, I recently wrote an article about the campaign in a feature article for this month’s issue of I Like Knitting magazine.* Here’s just a taste of the article:

We knitters tend to be a charitable group, and one excellent way we can give back this month, American Heart Month, is by knitting little red hats for newborns. The American Heart Association’s Little Hats, Big Hearts campaign sends newborns home from the hospital with red hats and some lifesaving information during the month of February. […]

To read the whole article, you’ll have to check out I Like Knitting magazine this month. If you already have a subscription, here’s direct link to the article. To learn more about the Little Hats, Big Hearts campaign, be sure to visit heart.org/littlehatsbighearts. The American Heart Association’s website lists donation information for all of the states currently participating in the program. We’d love to have you on board as a volunteer knitter! Just let me know in the comments if you have any questions about how to get involved. :)

Knit red hats to help raise awareness about preemie heart health with the free Declan Hat pattern!

*Conveniently and coincidentally, I Like Knitting magazine subscriptions are 43% off this week, from 2/15 to 2/21/16. I had already planned to share this blog post as a reminder of the campaign during Heart Month, but I thought the sale worth mentioning while I was on the topic of the magazine & article I wrote. This post is not sponsored, though there are affiliate links above.

Filed Under: Knitting & Crochet Tagged With: american heart association, baby heart hats, baby hearts, charity knitting, free pattern, heart month, little hats big hearts, red hats

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. She specializes in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macramé, and her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now!

Previous Post: « Picks of the Week
Next Post: Get to know Bijou Basin Ranch + A Giveaway! »

Reader Interactions

DID YOU LIKE THIS POST?
Visit similar articles...

  • Triangle Rib Baby Hat for Charity Knitting (plus a Charity KCAL!)Triangle Rib Baby Hat for Charity Knitting (plus a Charity KCAL!)
  • Heart Appliqué Hat – Free Baby Crochet PatternHeart Appliqué Hat – Free Baby Crochet Pattern
  • Little Hats Big Hearts pairs newborns with red hats and life saving information every year during American Heart Month. Click through for free patterns and donation information.Little Hats Big Hearts
  • Little Hats, Big Hearts, Declan’s Story & A Free PatternLittle Hats, Big Hearts, Declan’s Story & A Free Pattern

DON’T MISS ANOTHER UPDATE

Comments

  1. Ruth

    February 27, 2016 at 4:59 pm

    Where is instructions for a doible crochet baby’s hat? Please send a link. Thanks

    Reply
    • Heidi

      March 3, 2016 at 6:21 pm

      If you visit heart.org/littlehatsbighearts and click on any one of the states, each page features a variety of hat patterns for knit, crochet or loom knitting.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

UPDATES BY EMAIL

Monthly highlights sent to your inbox.

Find Me Elsewhere, If You’re There

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
Latch Hook by Heidi GustadDiscover Unique Items

Footer

INSTAGRAM

handsoccupied

Yarn craft designer & author. Into intarsia knits, latch hook, color & vintage-modern style.
❤️ Email for pattern support
👇🏻 Book, Patterns, Tutorials

Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
If you look closely, you’ll see I’m casually k If you look closely, you’ll see I’m casually knitting from one sweater into another here, no big deal. (What can I say, I lost a game of yarn chicken. 😂) I almost didn’t post this because I was worried someone might have some nonsense to say about my ability to knit. Then I remembered I can’t care about that. Silly me, I almost forgot myself! 
.
Speaking of which, dang it’s good to have my mental health back consistently after the past couple of years. The anxious parts of my personality are just chilling, rather than constantly screaming that my work isn’t good enough to share. The confident parts of me that matter have me creating (and starting to share my creations & process with strangers and friends) again! 
.
Anybody else feel like they are beginning to return to themselves, so to speak, this spring?
I’m feeling better, & all my [big, bad bug] proj I’m feeling better, & all my [big, bad bug] project needs is a couple of short sleeves! I’ll be finishing this sweater *just* before it gets too warm to wear, but isn’t that always how it goes? 🫠🧶 
.
#knittersofinstagram #soldotnacrop #handsoccupied #knitincolor #springknitting
Just divided the sleeves on this quick sweater, wh Just divided the sleeves on this quick sweater, which has unsurprisingly turned into a love letter to primary colors. ❤️💛💙 The heart stripe is a wee tweak I incorporated, and I don’t regret it! 
.
 #handsoccupied #soldotnacrop #strandedcolorwork #knitting #yokesweater
I am unfortunately home bound for the near future I am unfortunately home bound for the near future thanks to the big, bad bug. So far I’ve knit half a sweater, consumed about a gallon of ginger tea, & plowed through 3 seasons of Pit Bulls and Parolees. 
.
June doesn’t understand why I’m suddenly so boring, but she seems to like watching animal planet. 🤷🏼‍♀️
A bit of Saturday swatching. 🧶 I am working in A bit of Saturday swatching. 🧶 I am working in greyscale today to practice designing “without color”. Kinda cool, kinda weird. We’ll see if it yields anything interesting! 😆
.
#intarsia #intarsiaknitting #stopswatchandblockit #handsoccupied #knittersofinstagram
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 / Foodie Pro Theme On Genesis Framework / Branding by Ink + Mortar
All Site & Shop Policies / Privacy Policy / Cookie Policy