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Little Hats Big Hearts

February 14, 2017 12 Comments

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.

It’s that time of year again! February is American Heart Month. And during Heart Month, the American Heart Association supports an initiative called Little Hats Big Hearts. LHBH connects babies born during the month of February with handmade red hats to raise awareness about congenital heart defects. In addition to the hats, babies are given info packets to help new parents understand more about their new babies’ hearts. Simple, straightforward, sweet.

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.

a Baby Hearts Hat knit for Little Hats Big Hearts

Inspired by my own family’s connection to congenital heart defects, I was excited to discover LHBH early on in its existence. To help support the cause, I’ve released a couple of patterns designed for preemies and newborns to encourage more folks to donate hats. You can find the Baby Hearts Hat pattern here, and the Declan Hat Pattern here.

The LHBH program has, at last check, reached all but 7 states in the U.S. If you’re interested in donating hats, you can visit heart.org/littlehatsbighearts to search for the nearest state’s donation information.

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.

Before I go, I wanted to share a quick word of thanks to the Skokie Public Library’s knitting group! They love charity knitting projects and discovered LHBH on this site. Being a resident of nearby Chicago, I’ve been lucky enough to visit their group a few times, and they’re a lovely crew! This past year, they made a whopping 127 hats to donate, and many of them made hats using the free patterns on Hands Occupied. The hats featured in this post’s photos were all knitted by the women in Skokie and will be paired with babies next February. Thank you for being awesome, ladies! 

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.

Filed Under: Crochet, Knitting Tagged With: american heart association, american heart month, charity crochet, charity knitting, little hats big hearts

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!

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Comments

  1. MariposaKnits

    February 14, 2017 at 6:24 am

    I had never heard of LHBH before. Great cause, and thanks for spreading the awareness.

    Reply
  2. Nan

    February 20, 2017 at 12:07 pm

    Thank you for sharing. I have always wanted to participate and I am glad I found your link. May I ask what yarn did you use to make the hats?

    Reply
    • Heidi

      February 21, 2017 at 9:05 am

      Great question! For the Baby Hearts Hat design, I used DK weight light worsted yarn, specifically Patons Classic Wool DK Superwash Yarn. For the Declan Hat, I used Berroco Folio.

      Reply
  3. Vera Staruch

    July 19, 2017 at 6:21 pm

    Totally by accident came across this project. Absolutely beautiful idea and is very close to my heart since I have been diagnosed with cong. heart failure. So this is rather truly special project.

    thank you for the chart information and so many different types of designs for the hats. However, my issue is that it is very hard to find really soft wool (acrylic) and that the color is bright red and not this dark one. Can you suggest a website or store location that might have some super soft wool. Would appreciate any suggestion. Thanks. Vera

    Reply
    • Heidi

      July 20, 2017 at 12:09 pm

      Hi Vera! Of course! I was at JoAnn’s just yesterday, and there are some Caron & Red Heart yarn lines with “soft” in the name that look promising. The colors are bright and even a bit shiny. I’m very sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I wish you the best! -Heidi

      Reply
    • Joan

      December 5, 2017 at 6:09 pm

      My suggestion for babies would be Mary Maxim Ultra Mellowspun yarn. Their red is perfect; the yarn itself is wonderfully soft and nice to work with.

      Reply
      • Betty A Monty

        January 2, 2018 at 12:26 pm

        I am using the Mary Maxim Ultra Mellowspun, and find it soft and easy to work with.

        Reply
  4. Annie Ruth

    November 15, 2017 at 12:01 pm

    I need yo know here to send the hats I live in Louisina

    Reply
    • Heidi

      November 16, 2017 at 11:42 am

      You can visit heart.org/littlehatsbighearts and look up all donation locations by state. For Louisiana, it looks like there are currently 2 options depending on where you are, so you should go check it out. :)

      Reply
  5. Jodi

    December 30, 2017 at 1:01 pm

    You are so kind hearted to bring this info to us. Your work is beautiful. Can I ask what your wrist tattoo says? Thanks for helping us beginners along Jodi

    Reply
    • Heidi

      January 1, 2018 at 5:45 pm

      Yeah – it says “I simply can’t to anything which I don’t feel deeply.” :)

      Reply
  6. wendy

    January 4, 2018 at 2:25 pm

    Hi Heidi,
    I just wanted to thank you for the Declan pattern. You inspired me to make little hats for donation . I am using up my Red Heart
    in true red color and then made few hats in other bright colors. I am proud of my little achievements and just wanted to
    tell you. I am cranking them out as I am retired and needed something new to challenge myself. I am knitting my hats while
    while keeping up with my old movies .
    Just to let you know, I am learning the Brioche pattern from your video. Another achievement for me.!

    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 (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.

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How to to knit throwing (a.k.a. English) style . How to to knit throwing (a.k.a. English) style 
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In knitting, there are a few common knitting styles. Most often you’re going to encounter continental style and English (throwing) style on your knitting journey. I recently had an old video teaching continental style get a lot of views. Based on the comments, it was clear the people wanted to also see a throwing tutorial, so here you go! 🧶
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Please note that there is a LOT of variation in knitting styles, and one isn’t necessarily better than another. Most often, I’ve found it comes down to two things: how you were taught and whether or not you’re really into colorwork knitting (which can involve a mix of styles). 
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Longer-term knitters who’ve made it this far: do you prefer one over the other? And why? 
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#handsoccupied #englishknitting #learntoknit #knitting #howtoknit #knittersofinstagram #knitting_inspiration
How to do a one-step provisional knitting cast on How to do a one-step provisional knitting cast on / a.k.a. crochet provisional cast on, scrap yarn cast on
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I read recently that tiktok and Instagram are being used as search engines more and more. 🤔 I thought since I’m going to all the work of making tutorials on YouTube, I should experiment with making a quick version of them for other platforms. There are obvious teaching limitations to vertical video, short-form content like this, but I think I covered the gist of this cast on in a minute. The YouTube version also covers how to unzip this cast on because there was time for it 👍🏻 L1nk is in my profile. 
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I’m very much looking for feedback as I continue to make instructional knitting & craft videos. Sometimes good tutorials are hard to find, and (ideally polite) feedback helps me improve. 
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#handsoccupied #provisionalcaston #knitting #knititngtutorial #knittersofinstagram #crochethook #knittingtutorial
For the first time in a long time, there’s a new For the first time in a long time, there’s a new tutorial from Hands Occupied! 🎉 The video is live on YouTube & the blog. 
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The post covers what provisional cast ons are & how they differ, and the video covers how to work a one-step provisional cast on using scrap yarn and a crochet hook. (This is a great one to save for future reference.)
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I learned several names for this method while researching this video & post. Crochet provisional cast on, one-step cast on, scrap yarn cast on - if you know even more names for this technique, please share! 
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#handsoccupied #provisionalcaston #knitting #scrapyarn #crochethook
Working on a sample for some upcoming videos. It’s an overcast day with intermittent sunshine & I have a scruffy little sidecar. 🐶 Can’t complain! 
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What’s on your needles this week? 
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Yarn: @debbieblissknits Cashmerino Aran 
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#handsoccupied #knitting #knittinglife
Peg boards and craft room organization go together Peg boards and craft room organization go together like peanut butter and jelly. So, as you can see, do latch hook tools and screwdriver organizers! 🪛 
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I think this trick translates to any tool with a thick handle, so leather working tools, punch needles, print making tools, etc. should work! What other tools am I, a needlecrafter, blanking on right now? 
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#craftorganization #handsoccupied #latchhook #latchhooking
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