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Hands Occupied

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

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little hats big hearts

The Triangle Rib Baby Hat knits up so quickly! Get your hands on this free charity knitting pattern for babies on Hands Occupied. #charityknitting #freepattern #babyknitting

Triangle Rib Baby Hat for Charity Knitting (plus a Charity KCAL!)

December 4, 2019 Leave a Comment

The Triangle Rib Baby Hat knits up so quickly! Get your hands on this free charity knitting pattern for babies and start stitching for a cause. :)

Get a free crochet pattern for a baby hat featuring an adorable heart appliqué, and learn how to you can crochet to help save babies' lives!

Heart Appliqué Hat – Free Baby Crochet Pattern

October 4, 2017 Leave a Comment

Every fall, I like to share a free pattern for red baby hats designed specifically for the American Heart Association’s annual Little Hats Big Hearts campaign. The AHA, along with tons of volunteers and partners around the country, distributes red hats to newborns born in the month of February.

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

February 14, 2017 12 Comments

Little Hats Big Hearts pairs newborns with red hats and life saving information every year during American Heart Month. Read on for free patterns and donation information.

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

Celebrate Heart Month with Knitting & Crochet!

February 15, 2016 2 Comments

Learn how a simple donated baby hat can help save lives – read on for more information and three free patterns to get you started!

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.

Help keep Little Hats, Big Hearts going with a Well Wish!

December 17, 2015 1 Comment

Learn how you can support the Little Hats, Big Hearts campaign with more than your knitting and crochet.

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

Little Hats, Big Hearts, Declan’s Story & A Free Pattern

November 19, 2015 10 Comments

Learn about the Little Hats, Big Hearts campaign, and how you can help raise awareness for infant and preemie heart health through yarn crafts! Read baby Declan’s preemie story to find out why making little hats matters, and snag a free pattern for the Declan Hat, available in preemie & infant sizes.

Little Hats, Big Hearts in the News | Hands Occupied

Little Hats, Big Hearts in the News

February 26, 2015 Leave a Comment

There was a moment yesterday when I realized my healthy heart was full. Despite the front page news about Chicago’s mayoral election, a story ran on page 9 of the Chicago Tribune featuring something I’m quite passionate about.

Red Hats for Preemies - Click through for the free pattern & donate a hat to help raise awareness about congenital heart defects in newborns. | hands occupied.com.

Red Hats for Preemies

December 29, 2014 14 Comments

A couple months ago I shared a very personal story about losing a relative to a congenital heart defect as a teen. In that post I shared a pattern called Baby Hearts Hat in two sizes, newborn and infant, and I let you guys know about the American Heart Association’s Little Hats, Big Hearts drive. For those who missed it, the AHA is looking for red baby hat donations to be given to (hopefully!) every baby born in February in Chicago.

Red Hats for Newborns Pattern at handsoccupied.com

Red Hats for Newborns + A Free Pattern

August 18, 2014 98 Comments

The story of one of the most critical moments of loss in my life, how you can help raise awareness for this all-too-common issue, and a free knitting pattern to help you contribute to helping the cause.

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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!

Professionally I’m most known for: advanced intarsia knitting design & modern latch hook design.

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Latch Hook by Heidi Gustad

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handsoccupied

Craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. / #latchhookbook out now!
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knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé

Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
Happy Wrestlemania weekend, folks!!! 🎊 It’s c Happy Wrestlemania weekend, folks!!! 🎊 It’s coincidentally International Punch Needle Rug Hooking Day today, so I’d be remiss not to share a first look at this project finished JUST in time to wear while I watch some rasslin’ on a pirate ship in a football stadium in Tampa! 💪🏻 I’m excited to watch tonight’s women’s matches the most. Eee!
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Pictured: A blond woman in a denim dress and glasses wearing a giant belt made with punch needle. The belt is made with wool in primary colors and was inspired by the WWE Universal Championship title belt. 
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This is just a preview - after jab 2.0 tomorrow (feeling grateful 🙏🏼), I’ll be editing together a vlog about the design process for this wooly waist cover. Sometimes it’s hard to know how to make some of your wilder craft ideas come to life. Stuff you’ll never find a pattern for, you know? I’ll finish editing that ASAP, but I might take a few days to edit if I feel like trash from 💉 and only want to watch wrestling and wrestling YouTube for a day or two. 😂
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#ipnrhd #punchneedle #wwe #wrestling #championshipbelt #wool #yarn #handmade #universalchampionship #universalchampion #rugmaking #wrestlingfan #wrestlemania37 #wrestlemania
A look at the halo on the back of my wrestling-ins A look at the halo on the back of my wrestling-inspired punch needle project! It’s interesting to see how fuzzy the handspun beige yarn is compared with the primary color sections of @knit_picks Wool of the Andes Bulky. ❤️💛💙🤎 
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Pictured: The back of an in-progress punch needle project. A wooden punch needle tool sits on the work.
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#punchneedle #woolrug #rugmaking  #kpambassadorsapr21 #sponsored #griefproject #handsoccupied #wrestlingfan #universalchampion #yarn #yarncraft #wool #needlepunch
Happy Easter / One week til Wrestlemania! Finishin Happy Easter / One week til Wrestlemania! Finishing up the punch needling part of this crazy @wwe inspired project by tonight. 💪🏻🧶 Anybody else have crafty plans for this fine spring day? 
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Pictured: A blond woman sits, smiling and holding an in-progress punch needle project inspired by the Universal Championship belt. Houseplants are in the background and there’s lots of sun. 
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#punchneedle #griefproject #handsoccupied #heidigustad #wrestlingcrafts #wwe #universalchampion #universalchampionship #wool #wooloftheandes #primarycolors #oxfordpunchneedle
I'm finally starting to get some of my energy back I'm finally starting to get some of my energy back from the past few weeks, and as I dip my toe back into production mode, the long-promised seamed sweater knitting YouTube series is at the top of my list. I've got FOUR versions of a simple sweater I've been playing with since last JULY to feature as a free pattern for folks who want to knit along during the series. Pictured is the first prototype for the series, knit in 2 colors of @knit_picks Mighty Stitch yarn. I imagine this soon-to-be short sleeved number will come in handy as an emergency Waldo costume or Christmas sweater. 🌲 
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I've got my own list of topics I think folks would like to see in a series like this: things like tips for construction, working with vintage patterns, how to seam as invisibly as possible, and more, but as always, I'd love to hear from you: What scares you about knitting seamed sweaters? What would be helpful to cover, especially since we'll be doing more long form video content. I get so much positive feedback on my series of 20 minute+ intarsia tutorials, so I'm using those as a starting point as I produce this series. Seamed sweaters using vintage or self-improvised patterns are one of my favorite things on the planet, so I'm eager to share some seamed sweater skills with y'all super sweet folks. 😉 
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Pictured: A red and white striped, short sleeved sweater knit in pieces that have yet to be seamed. They are laid out on a yellow and orange colorblock background and one sleeve is yet to be bound off. 
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#handsoccupied #seamedsweater #kpambassadorsmar21 #sponsored #knitpicks #waldo #waldosweater #wip #yarncraft #yarn #knitting #knittersofinstagram #heidigustad #vintageknitting #sweaterknitting
Work continues this evening on my absurd punch nee Work continues this evening on my absurd punch needle pro wrestling inspired championship belt project. I’ve finished most of the front pretty quickly thanks to the @knit_picks Wool of the Andes Bulky yarn I’m using. For now, I’ve got a couple more weeks until Wrestlemania, & I’m on track to finish this in time! 
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The biggest question I have is what to do with the “plates” - the open circles in the picture. Should I try to closely replicate the Universal Championship belt or go rogue and make it wool themed? Please advise in the comments. ☺️🧶🙏🏻🐑 
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Pictured: The front of an in-progress punch needle project. A wooden punch needle tool with navy yarn running through it rests on top of the work. 
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#kpambassadorsmar21 #sponsored #knitpicks #punchneedle #rugmaking #primarycolors #punchneedlerughooking #punchneedlelove #wool #wip #yarncraft #yarn #yarnaddict
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