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Hands Occupied

Contemporary yarn crafts by Heidi Gustad. Knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame.

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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 an artist, author and crafts designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame. In addition to running the Hands Occupied Blog and Pattern Shop, you can find her making videos & co-hosting the Very Serious Crafts podcast.

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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

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

Hi! I’m Heidi, an author, yarn craft designer and content creator specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. My work unapologetically features primary colors and vintage-meets-modern style. My first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is now available!

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knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé

Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s ab There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s about how I’m going to take the next 2 weeks off to rest & recharge. ☺️🧶 No new content for y’all means I can also take a moment to zoom out & plan what’s next. Link is in bio. 
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A note on Very Serious Crafts: In the post I discuss stepping away from the @seriouscrafts podcast to give myself more time to devote to some minor medical issues. Don’t you worry - my health will be fine, & @molliejohanson @redhandledscissors and I are still pals, and after a short break of their own, the podcast will be back! Just sans moi. 💁🏼‍♀️😆 
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See you in a couple weeks! ✌🏻#handsoccupied #knitdesign #craftdesign #sofadedsweater
Been a little quiet this holiday week, as it shoul Been a little quiet this holiday week, as it should be. ☺️🎄The past few days have been filled with a lot of catching up on festive zoom calls & raising toasts to the camera. 🥂 Connecting with people has been a welcome change of pace! Now I’m feeling ready to meet my inevitable end-of-year deadlines. 😆
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Warmest wishes for the season, my friends! ❤️💛💙
Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker beh Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker behind Hands Occupied! 👋🏻 I’ve been enjoying making Reels a lot lately, but I wanted to bop in to share a regular photo & say hello. 🤓 
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rather than giving you my bio right now, I have a question. I just got this new sweater & I can’t stop imaging how funny it would be to wear this to a knitting class ... is that bad? 🤣🤣🤣
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Pictured: a blond woman with glasses wearing a sweater that reads “all your sweaters are ugly” standing in front of a Christmas tree.
Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is o Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is one of the most common methods for finishing a knitting project and helping ensure its final size and shape. Learn basic blocking for absolute beginners in an easy-to-follow (non-Reel!) video tutorial! Catch the tutorial on YouTube or the Hands Occupied Blog, link is in bio. 🧶 #handsoccupied #stopswatchandblockit #KPAmbassadorsDec20 #sponsored
Had to share this perfect capture of one of my fav Had to share this perfect capture of one of my favorite weird homemade Christmas ornaments: a simple macramé Santa face with beads for the eyes and nose! My Great-Grandma made it too. 🎄
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Might have to try making a quickie Reel tutorial for this guy - I think it’s the perfect project for it, don’t you? 🎅🏼 #handsoccupied #macrame
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