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Hands Occupied

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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, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé. 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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Helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010
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Wow! I am floored by the awesome response to the S Wow! I am floored by the awesome response to the Spiral Hill Sweater Vest. Thank you. 🙏🏻❤️ If you love this pattern & didn’t know already, we are going to be doing a knit along (KAL) from October 1-29 featuring this spooky sweater vest & lots of tutorials, especially for the intarsia part. 
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Later today my newsletter will be coming out with additional Knit Along details, so if you’re not already signed up, now is a great time - the 🔗 is in my b1o. 
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Pictured: My Spiral Hill Sweater Vest pattern from the new Nightmare Before Christmas knitting book by @tanisknits. Model is wearing size 1 with 2” of positive ease, knit in @brooklyntweed Imbue Worsted. Vest images via @insighteditions 
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#spiralhillsweatervest #handsoccupied #nightmarebeforechristmasknittingbook
At long last! I can share the Spiral Hill Sweater At long last! I can share the Spiral Hill Sweater Vest, my contribution to the new book Disney Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas: The Official Knitting Guide to Halloween Town and Christmas Town, out now! 🎃💀 
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I’m hosting a knit along (KAL) October 1-29 for anyone who’d like to knit this vest along with a group & learn a little about intarsia while we’re at it. I’ve got weekly tutorials planned to help you knit this worsted weight sweater vest, and there’s a prize package giveaway at the end for KAL participants too. Details are on my site - you know where to find the 🔗 I think. 😉
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Book by @tanisknits 
Publisher @insighteditions 
Yarn @brooklyntweed Imbue 
Find it wherever fine books are sold. 
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Since there was some interest in stills of my WIPs Since there was some interest in stills of my WIPs closet after this weekend’s quick tutorial, here are few. ✂️ The tutorial is one post back in my feed as a video.
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As you can see, I didn’t worry about the wire hangers all being perfectly uniform, but it doesn’t matter to me. Also, this closet holds a lot! Despite that, it is already at capacity. Since the hanging bags don’t appear to be recyclable, I want to reuse them as long as possible. Who knows, maybe this will be a way to limit my WIPs? 😅
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P.s. In the third photo you can see how I use this system to store the original swatches, scraps, yarn ball bands, & notes from a design project all together. 
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#handsoccupied #wips #craftstorage #yarnstorage #yarncrafts #knitting_inspiration #craftstudio #craftroom #craftcloset
How to convert a closet into WIPs storage with jus How to convert a closet into WIPs storage with just a few supplies ✂️
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When I was a librarian, we would use these hanging bags to circulate books with audiobook CDs. They came to mind when I wanted to develop a filing cabinet-like system for my differently-sized WIPs. To fit in my studio closet, a standard bedroom closet, they just needed custom hangers. 🤙🏻 
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HOW TO MAKE THE HANGERS
1. Carefully cut approx. a 9” (23 cm) length of flexible 3 mm aluminum wire.
2. Near the end of a large knitting needle or dowel, wrap the wire around it as you would a twist tie. 
3. Bend the other end into a hook shape, perpendicular to the circle shape you just created. 
4. Hang like a hanger in a closet, as shown. 
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It’s time for the monthly review and giveaway! T It’s time for the monthly review and giveaway! This go around, get to know two new sister yarns from @manosyarnsusa, Marla and Sami, and enter to win a skein of each to try for yourself. 
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What makes these yarns sisters is that, while dyed differently, they’re the same weight and come in intentionally coordinating color palettes. For my review, I opted for a sky-inspired combo of Sami in Natural and Marla in Nube. 🌧️ 
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Check out the full review & enter the giveaway at the link in my bio. 
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