Latest donations - bracelet sets, kimonos and hats

 One of my most darling angel mamas ever, Kassie, has set about making dozens of these sets in the month since her angel was born, a way to heal her heart.  To say that I was in awe is an understatement!  She and her sister totally outdid themselves!

 Here are the four sizes, largest to smallest, the smallest being for 18-20 weekers with heads about the size of a small plum.  The largest are about the size of a grapefruit.  The elastic they're set on is very stretchy and soft.  I had a large spool donated a couple years ago and we're still chipping away at it.  She hand made each of the flowers on the headbands, and no two are alike.  I love them!!  So creative, so feminine.  She also made two bracelets for the babies, so that one can be buried and one can be kept.  A very thoughtful idea.  The angels are handmade charms from variations of wing beads and other beads.

 Each set comes with a tag telling the recipient that they are made in Chloe's memory.  I have a few of my diaper and kimono making volunteers that have been adding these tags and I think they're a fantastic idea.  It makes the gift so much more personal.

 She also made me several sets of boy ribbon and bracelets, each different.  I use the ribbons to set in the baby boy's hand, with the mom's arm nearby so that you can see the matching charms.  Then the family has the option to either keep the ribbon or else bury it with their baby.

 Another amazing volunteer, Dakoti,  brought me a HUGE sack full of knitted treasures.  Kimonos, diaper shirts, hats and headbands.  The kimono on the left is following the original pattern, which we have deamed to be too wide for these skinny little babes.  She narrowed it a bit for the two on the right, and they're just right.  Stacy has made similar adjustments in her crocheted ones.  These just need buttons and then they are good to go!  After evaluating both kimonos and diaper shirt sets, we've decided to focus more on kimonos with a separate diaper because they are so much more flexible in sizing.  The diaper shirts only fit a specific torso length, and are therefore harder to match to an appropriately sized baby.

 Most of these were made by Dakoti, but I added a couple small ones that were made by someone else.  The small ones are appropriate for 18-22 weekers because they are very stretchy.  Knit hats tend to flex far more than crocheted ones.  The largest solid blue hat with a tail is crocheted, the other two are knit and can flex to nearly double, making them accommodating for a wide range of head sizes.  The little girl headband and hat on the bottom are darling as well.  Christine just alerted me to a a different type of knitting loom that accommodates thin sock yarn, has lots of closely spaced pegs, and is adjustable.  It looks like it has the potential to be super duper awesome for stretchy hats with the advantage that it's easy enough to use to teach kids how to do it!

 Stacy's been busy as usual, and this is a new pattern she tried for a pouch.  I use pouches rarely, but there are some babies that are truly too fragile to dress, and that's when these come in handy.  I like that it opens all the way up with the button flap.  We determined that it's a little on the wide side at roughly 3 1/4" x 6".

 These are just a few of the outfits Stacy sent me.  The tiniest one on the end is suitable for 16-18 weeks gestation.  Suuuuper tiny, but oh so treasured by those families.  The next size is 20 weeker, the cute dress with adjustable headband would go for 22-24 weeks, as well as the dark blue set with blanket.  Stacy's amazing.  She's been making so many sets, and also putting a lot of effort in to figuring out patterns.

I have started a Facebook group where ideas can be exchanged more readily.  Please join us!  Send a request to join and we'll approve you ASAP.  The group is set to "closed" so that we can post information about meeting locations, but we welcome any and all who want to participate.

Knit Hat Patterns (and a BIG link to other great stuff)

My sister makes me the best hats for my angels.  Darling, soft, perfectly knitted, and STRETCHY.  Stretchy is the key, folks.  It's super important when trying to get these on to fragile heads to have some give.  I've received a few crochet hats that are reasonably so, but I have found that hands down, the knit ones stretch the best.  Amy shared her patterns with me.  I'm not a knitter, so they're meaningless gibberish to me, but hopefully some of you smart knitty type people will understand it.

Small Hat With Basket Weave
(5.5 inches in diameter)
Fingering weight yarn, #2 or #3 needles.
Cast on 48 stitches.  K1 P1 first row.  Repeat 7 rows.  K2 P2 one row, repeat on second row.  P2 K2 one row, repeat on second row. Repeat this pattern 2 more times.  K2tog, P2, repeat to the end of the row. K1 P2 one row.  P1, K2tog, repeat to end of the row.  P1 K1 one row. K1 P1 two rows. K2tog, P2tog one row.  Bind off.

This pattern can be made larger by adding on stiches in multiples of 4, and making extra rows before decreasing.
Medium Small Hat
(6.5 inches in diameter)
Fingering weight yarn, #2 or #3 needles.
Cast on 56 stitches.  K1 P1 first row.  Repeat 7 rows.  Knit with stockingette stitch for an aditional 1 and 1/4 inches.  Begin decrease.  K6, K2tog, repeat for the rest of the row.  Knit one plain round.  K5, K2tog, repeat for the rest of the row.  Knit one plain round.  K4, K2tog, repeat for the rest of the row.  Knit one plain round.  K3, K2tog, repeat for the rest of the row.  K2, K2tog, repeat for the rest of the row.  K1, K2tog, repeat for the rest of the row.  K2tog, repeat for the rest of the row.  Bind off.

Medium Hat
(7. inches in diameter)
Fingering weight yarn, #2 or #3 needles.
Cast on 64 stitches.  K1P1 first row.  Repeat 8 rows. Knit with stockingette stitch for an aditional 1 and 3/4 inches.  Begin decrease.  K6, K2tog, repeat for the rest of the row.  Knit one plain round.  K5, K2tog, repeat for the rest of the row.  Knit one plain round.  K4, K2tog, repeat for the rest of the row.  Knit one plain round.  K3, K2tog, repeat for the rest of the row.  Knit one plain round. K2, K2tog, repeat for the rest of the row.  K1, K2tog, repeat for the rest of the row.  K2tog, repeat for the rest of the row.  Bind off.

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I was forwarded a GREAT LINK today to a newsletter from Care Wear that is chock full of fantastic knit and crochet patterns for hats, booties, buntings, gowns, bonnets, and blankets.  Go take a look!

Pattern links: Diaper Shirts, Hats, Headbands and Blankets

I met a couple of ladies from Idaho through the internet that are very talented with a ball of yarn and a crochet hook, and they have been an amazing resource for me.  I finally got to meet one of them last week as she was passing through and brought me a huge stack of outfits that the two of them had been working on.  She has very kindly typed up her patterns, along with photo tutorials, for diaper shirts, hats and blankets.  Click on the links below to see her posts:

Diaper Shirts

Hat

Blanket

Adjustable Headband

New crochet pattern links

 Some new cute stuff arrived today, and I love the uniqueness!  The yellow and pink ruffley style hats on the top have a ribbon to cinch it down, allowing adjustability and greater ease in putting the hat on. The small blue stripe hat was actually made with elastic yarn, which makes it nicely stretchy.  The tiny little hat with pigtails is the size for a 16 weeker...very, very tiny.  I have indeed photographed a couple of babies that small.  My only comment on that pattern is that babies of that size are particularly fragile and difficult to put the hats on, so stretchiness is even more important.  The headband on the top row has a unique stitch to the band portion that makes it very stretchy, and once my friend Wendy gets the instructions written up, I will post them.  The fuzzy all white hat on the right was made on a round loom.  A lot of loomed hats don't work very well because they're gappy and not stretchy, but with the right kind of yarn and careful technique (like the one shown), a very cute and useable hat can be turned out.

The remaining four hats came from patterns found on this page.  Thank you, Wendy, for finding this great resource!  So many great patterns in one place, and many of them with multiple sizes for babies of different gestation.

 I fell in love with this little owl hat!  So unique, and so cute!  Click here to find the pattern.

 This hat is super cute as well, though according to Wendy, far more time consuming than the other patterns.  I love the stripe and curly boinger thingy details.  Click here for the pattern.

And this hat?  Adorable!!!  I can't wait to use it along with a little crocheted sleeper sack.  Absolutely precious!  Click here for the link.

Other patterns on the page that look particularly useful include these cute little shell pattern hats, this layette set, and this "Fly Boy" hat.  I have photographed three little angels with a condition called anencephaly, in which the brain and the upper portion of the skull do not develop.  A hat that ties around the chin is really important for these babies.  For the girl that I photographed, we were able to rig up a bonnet with ties that held it in place nicely, but for the two little boys...well, it was a problem.  So I would love to have a few of the Fly Boy hats in my stash in various sizes.

Gowns, Hats, Headbands and the whole shebang

Here are some examples of crocheted and knitted items that have been donated recently.  I LOVE the sleeper sack on the top left and the dress on the bottom left.  They are both perfectly proportioned for babies around 20 weeks gestation, and smaller by far than the small size gowns that we sew.  The sleeper sack opens all the way down in the front and the gown opens all the way down in the back - very important when dressing wee little babes with fragile skin.  Across the top row are two more variations of the sleeper sack, both knit, and a dress that opens all the way down the back.  This size of dress is ideal for about a 22-24 week gestation baby.  On the bottom row, the pink dress is beautiful.  The skirt is a little long in proportion to the torso, which is a problem I see with many patterns, but otherwise it's great.  Notice that the skirts on all three gowns are tightly crocheted.  No big lacy holes for little feet to get caught in.

The last two items on the bottom row are buntings.  These are ideal for 18-20 week babies that are not in good enough shape to actually dress in clothing.  One of my angel grandpas has made several of these for me, and I love that I can tell the families that they were made by him.  Notice the open rows of stitching to thread a ribbon through to help tie it shut.  I have also at times added a simple square of flannel inside.  The bunting on the left is beautiful, but a little bulky with the border.  As I messed around with it a bit, I figured out that I can overlap the edges in the front and even thread the ribbon through the corners to pull them down and away from the baby's face.

 Little details like the ribbon belt and tiny bow on the front make a big difference.

 Close up of this gown.  If any of you find the pattern for it, please email me or post it in the comments so that I can post it.

 I have a wide array of hats and headbands that have been donated.  The size up at the top is perfect for 20 week gestation babies.The blue one on the bottom row is normal newborn size.  Most of these hats are knitted and are perfectly stretchy.  The crocheted ones have a little stretch, but not nearly as much.  I LOVE the little embellishments, like the purple flowers and the ribbon threaded through, and the cute things worked in to the pattern like the twisty knot on top.  The headbands have stretchy soft elastic bands and a variety of flowers and bows.  The largest size would fit a normal newborn head, and the small one on the bottom is perfect for a 20 week gestation baby.

 I adore these little matched sets.  I am waiting for just the right family to use them.  Huge thanks to the people who have put the time, effort and love into making all of these items!

Guidelines for hats and headbands

I often get asked about hats and headbands.  They're an awesome gift for bereaved families, and also serve a very valuable purpose of covering bruising and providing support to fragile heads.  I did a photosession recently for a family that doesn't speak English as their primary language.  The hospital had a beautiful crocheted gown on hand, but nothing for their baby's little head.  I pulled out a hat and a headband, and the mom's eyes immediately lit up when she saw the cute little pale pink flower on the headband.  It was just the right touch.

There are a wide range of head sizes.  It is easiest for me to visualize objects of comparison.  The smallest little micropreemies have heads about the size of a plum.  The next size up is about the size of an apple.  Then a large navel orange, a grapefruit, and finally, normal newborn size.

One of my biggest issues with some of the hats I have had donated in the past is their lack of stretch.  In order to slide these hats on without damaging fragile skin, they need to be quite stretchy.  Preferably stretchy enough to turn them inside out and carefully flip them right side out onto their head.  I've had a lot of hats donated that were made on the round looms.  Some of them work ok, depending on what kind of yarn is used, but many of them are pretty tight.  The more flexible ones are either sewn from stretchy fabric, crocheted or knitted.

I love hats that have a little bit of character.  Little embellishments like a flower, pom pom or a button, or a pale blue stripe as an accent make it so much more personal of a gift.  One of my favorite hats that I've photographed was a cute beenie style hat with a crocheted purple flower on the front that matched the accompanying blanket.  Just like I posted in the previous post about yarn colors, though, stay away from rainbow yarn.  Blotchy hat + bruised skin doesn't come out looking so great.  Also, yellow and green don't complement the skin tone well either.

Here are some links to patterns that I particularly like.

Knit hat patterns  (These are my absolute favorite!  So cute!)
Crocheted bonnet for little girls
Knit hat and bootie sets
Knit hat and hand mitt set (This may not be very stretchy, but it's very cute.  More muted shades would be desirable, but the embellishment concept is great.)
Crocheted hat and bonnet patterns (This hat looks like it may not be as stretchy.  I would love some feedback if you try this pattern.)
Hat and Kimono set (totally adorable, and I'd love them in sizes as small as fitting around a standard bottle of water)

Headbands are fantastic for baby girls.  Use soft, stretchy banding that's at least 1/2" wide up to 5/8".  Flowers and bows should be 1-1 1/2" in diameter.  As cute as ginormous big-as-their-head flowers are on healthy newborns, they're a bit much for bereavement use.  Pale pinks, purples, creams, whites, and even pale yellow as an accent color are all great.

I will come back and edit this post to include photos in the next week or so, but in the mean time I just wanted to get some patterns up for those that have requested it.

Thank you!