Knitted baby hats

 Elsewhere on this blog I have shown some of the items I have knitted over the years. They are toys, primarily, although I'm still pleased about the Nativity set, which comes out each December. The last toys I knitted were a couple of dolls, complete with clothing, for my grandchildren. 

That was a long and quite complex project, and afterwards I decided to take a break from knitting toys. Our local friends' offspring had plenty of soft toys, and were growing too old to want new ones. Our grandchildren also had a large number of soft toys. I still wanted to knit regularly - it's supposed to be beneficial to both physical and emotional health. But I prefer projects that can be completed in just a few days, rather than many weeks.

I had previously knitted bonding squares and blankets for premature babies, for an organisation in the UK. But it had become increasingly difficult to get them to their destination, and the requirements were quite rigid. Only pastel colours, precise sizes that varied from hospital to hospital. And then they said that they didn't want anything from households with cats. I had been careful to keep the knitting away from our cats, of course. But that meant I could no longer knit for this group. I tried to find out if hospitals in Cyprus needed bonding squares or blankets, but it appeared that they already had plenty. 

In the meantime, however, a friend had started working with mothers and babies of refugees and asylum seekers in Cyprus. They always wanted blankets, but much bigger than the ones needed for premature babies. I did knit a couple, but blankets of 80-90cm squared take quite a while to finish. I made some bonding squares, and a few were used, but they're quick to knit, so no more were needed. And during the pandemic, they weren't allowed to use them.

So, as it was getting a bit cooler (this was December 2021) I then wondered if beanie hats would be useful - and was told, 'Yes please!'

I had a couple of patterns for baby hats from the premature baby group, but of course they're intended for very small babies. So I increased both the needle size and the number of stitches, and tried a prototype using double knitting yarn. It was received gratefully by a young mother of a newborn baby, and, I was told, it was exactly the right size. 

It's a simple pattern: 64 stitches, then six rows of ribbing, followed by 30 rows of stocking stitch, and a few rows of decreasing before pulling up the remaining stitches to form the top, and then sewing up the seam.  It usually takes me 3-4 days to complete a hat, depending on how much time I spend knitting. The weight of a completed hat varies between 16g and 20g depending on the yarn used (even though it's always double knitting). So I make sure I have 15g of the main colour, and 6g of the contrast.

One of the things I don't like about knitting is counting rows. So I decided from the start to make my hats striped. That made them more interesting, too, as I selected colours that I liked together, and also meant I could use up some fairly small balls of yarn that were left over from other projects. 

Here are a few examples of the first hats I produced. I couldn't decide, at first, if I preferred the thinner stripes with two rows of each colour,  or the wider ones with four rows of each colour. 

One of the things I appreciated was that the mothers - many of them from African countries - like bright colours, so I'm no longer limited to pastels. I don't use yarn that's specifically intended for babies, as it's not going next to their bodies, but over hair. 

At first I kept track, but it wasn't long before I lost count. Of course knitted beanie hats aren't needed in the summer in Cyprus, but I tried to make sufficient that each new baby could be given one in the cooler months. 

Then early in 2023, one of the women who works for the refugee/asylum seeker group asked if I could also knit some  bigger hats for older babies and young toddlers. I was delighted to be asked, and quickly realised that I should make them in slightly different styles so it was immediately obvious which size they were intended for. 

For older babies - typically six months to a year - I cast on 72 stitches, and knit 8 rows of rib (k1 p1), then I knit six stocking stitch rows with the main colour, followed by two of a contrast. I repeat this four times, then a couple of extra rows with the main colour, so there are 34 rows of straight stocking stitch. A finished hat of this kind typically weighs between 22g and 25g, so I ensure I have at least 22g of the main colour, and 6g of the contrast.  Of course it would be possible to use up very small scraps (2g each) by having the contrasting stripes in different colours.

That's then followed by the decreasing and finishing steps. 

The decreasing rows, for both these and the newborn baby hats, are: 
First row - k2, k2tog, repeat to the end of the row.
Second row - purl
Third row - k2 k2tog, repeat to end
Four row - purl
Fifth row - k2tog to end
Sixth row - purl

That leaves 16 stitches for the newborn hats, 18 stitches for the bigger ones. I cut off the yarn, leaving a longish strand, and thread it into a darning needle then pull it through the stitches and pull tight.  

Then, with the hat inside out, I sew up the seam, using both that thread and the one left at the bottom from casting on. Of course I make sure all threads are firmly finished and threaded through stitches so the hats won't come apart. 

It should be obvious from the way the decreasing works that the initial number of stitches must be divisible by four. The 'preemie' hat pattern on which I based mine had 60 stitches and smaller needles. I use size 4mm (8 in the old-style UK measurement, and apparently 6 in US sizes). But anyone wanting to try these probably needs to experiment, depending on the size of the baby or babies you're knitting for, and your tension. 

As for hats for toddlers (around age 1-2 years), after researching average head circumference I decided to try starting with 80 stitches, and making wider stripes. I use k2 p2 rib for the bottom, and do eight rows. Then a total of 38 straight rows of stocking stitch in stripes of 8 rows (and an extra six in the main colour at the end). For the decreasing rows I start with an extra one: k3 k2tog, repeated to the end (followed by an extra purl row, of course). 

These hats weigh between 31g and 35g, so I ensure I have around 28g for the main colour, and 15g for the stripes. 

I have friends who knit beautiful and complex shawls, blankets and other projects, and I have immense admiration for them. But I don't have the patience for those, which require a lot of row- and stitch-counting, and a fair bit of repetition. I have been making baby hats for two-and-a-half years now and there's enough variety in the styles and colour choices that I don't find it boring. And it's satisfying to know that they're being used, at least in the cooler months. 

Bonding Squares for premature babies

As I wrote in my last post, about knitting blankets for premature babies, there is quite a demand in UK hospitals for blankets, tiny baby clothes, and also bonding squares. I had not heard of bonding squares until I started reading about knitting for premature babies. I joined a useful Facebook group, and they provide both instructions and some explanations.

Bonding squares are knitted in identical pairs, usually square in shape, around 10-12.5cm square (that's four or five inches). They are used when, for any reason, a mother must be separated from her baby. This happens most often when a baby is premature. There is evidence for the vital importance of 'bonding' in the earliest hours after a baby's birth, when he or she gets to know the mother's scent. This works both ways; the baby's scent is an important part of the trigger for the mother to produce milk.

Normally mother and baby would spend a lot of time cuddling, including some skin-to-skin contact, and the bonding by scent happens naturally. But a tiny or sick baby may have to be in a special incubator, and this is where bonding squares come in. One is given to the mother, and the other to the baby. The baby will have it to lie the head on, and the mother will also keep hers close. Every four to six hours, they are switched, so each becomes familiar with the other's scent.

Bonding squares don't take long and can be made in any pattern so long as there are no holes. A beginner knitter could simply knit without any purl or other pattern to produce suitable squares. They can also be crocheted.

The number of stitches needed depends on the size of needles, and the pattern used. I have learned from experience that on 4mm needles, using double knitting yarn, I need between 24 and 30 stitches for around 12.5cm, and I have to knit about 36-40 rows. Some patterns require multiples of three, or eight, sometimes with one or two extras - so it's impossible to give an exact number.

I had tried knitting some earlier in the year, but they were too big so, as explained in the previous post, I sewed them together to form a blanket. However, on returning to Cyprus, I learned from a friend that babies are more often separated from their mothers routinely. She was visiting someone whose baby was being kept away from her, so I quickly knitted some bonding squares, in the hope that they might help.

After that, I knitted a pair or two each week for about three months until the weather became too warm for much knitting. I had to keep the cats well away, of course; babies cannot have any allergens nearby. I wasn't sure if local babies would need more, but knew I could send some to UK hospitals next time I'm there.

I decided to experiment with as many different patterns as I could find. The Facebook group has several suggestions, and I found one or two others elsewhere, and adapted a few myself.  Since my first pair was blue, I thought I would do a pink set in basket weave stitch, which is one of my favourite styles. It doesn't need a border, and the effect is quite pretty:

I then started a pair in ordinary rib, wondering how that would work. They don't take much wool, but unfortunately, half way through the first one, I realised I would not have sufficient yarn for the pair. So I decided to do a two-toned effect:

It was the turn of pink again - while I am not a fan of matching colours to genders of babies, a lot of people liked to do so. I did this pair in double moss stitch, a stitch I find very easy to do in company (unlikes some of the more complex ones!).

I still had plenty of the dark pink, and decided to try a pattern with a raised heart in the middle, which I found on the Ravelry site. It didn't come out square, although I knitted some extra rows once I'd realised it was wider than the height. And as a plain knitted border was needed to stop the stocking stitch part curling, it wasn't entirely even. Perhaps that's my knitting tension at fault. Still, the effect was rather nice:

I decided to adapt this pattern a bit to make a diamond shape around the edge and in the middle; the outside part was quite effective, although again it wasn't particularly even, but the middle bit didn't work too well. I don't suppose a newborn baby would mind, but I decided not to repeat this idea.

My next effort was a diagonal moss stitch pattern which I found on the Facebook group. I quite liked this, although it was hard to keep track of where I was and I had to back-track a few times:

I then tried the leaf stitch pattern, which was even more complicated - not one I could have done with anyone else in the room!  I liked it, but thought it perhaps a bit over-fussy.

Back to a simple moss stitch for my next pair:

Then I thought I would do the diamond effect style, another pattern from the Facebook group. I realised it would curl so I made a border, and was pleased that it turned out reasonably even:

Caterpillar stitch was the next one I tried - another one that was tricky to keep track of.  Again, it needed a plain knitted border. This picture doesn't really show the detail:

This is what it was like close up:

Next I followed another pattern, a simpler 'waffle stitch' which I had tried before with a blanket.

I didn't take photos of all of them, but those were the main different patterns I tried out. I think I'll be sticking to double moss, waffle stitch and basket weave for most of my future bonding squares.

We're soon flying to the UK, so I gathered up all I had done - thirteen in all, in addition to the blue ones which I had already given away.

Three of them had turned out slightly larger than the 5 inches/12.5 cm required by UK hospitals, so I kept those for my friend in Cyprus who visits newborn babies, and will be sending the other ten sets to the relevant contact on the Facebook group. 

Christmas Eve and our latest newsletter

Continuing the theme of a fairly low-key Christmas, I didn't make mincemeat or Christmas puddings this year, because we still had some left from last year. I did make mince pies earlier this week, and our usual traditional Christmas lunch is currently in the oven, to be cut and refrigerated tonight, re-heated tomorrow along with cooking roast potatoes and carrots and brussels sprouts, and so on.

I iced our cake yesterday, but since it looks much the same as it always does, though rather less tidy (since I put marzipan only on the top) I haven't taken a photo yet.

Thank you so much to all who were concerned and prayed for our granddaughter Esther after my last post; within a few days she was home and free from infection, so we are very thankful and relieved. They are remaining in the UK for Christmas, with other relatives visiting.

Meanwhile our tree has continued to suffer from the cats' enthusiasm. Alex looks rather pleased with himself here:

It's currently standing, however, and has done for a couple of days, so perhaps they have finally lost interest.

One entirely new thing that happened this year was that Richard was co-opted as 'Santa' for a couple of performances of 'The Snowman' by Little Muse Theatre.  I didn't see the show this year, not having a small child to take, but I gather it went well. He wondered if our grandson would have recognised him; when I saw the photos, I'm pretty sure I would not have recognised him before he spoke!

It's been a strange week. The sky has mostly been grey, and there has been a lot of rain - more than we can remember in some years, although statistics online show that December is usually rather a wet month in Cyprus. Sheila and I didn't walk on Thursday as it had rained all night, and hadn't stopped by the time we usually go out.

But this morning it was clearer, so despite the trail being a bit soggy in places we did our usual 4km walk, and saw that the Salt Lake was looking quite full once more.

And finally, here's the link to this year's family newsletter.

Wishing all who see this a joyful and peaceful Christmas, as we celebrate again the birth of the world's most important Baby, and every blessing for 2017.

Half-way through Advent ... and a baby

I made this year's Christmas cake at the start of November. But the sun was still shining, and there was no urgency to do anything else related to Christmas. I still have quite a large tub of mincemeat which I made last year, and one remaining Christmas pudding, both in the fridge. Since most of the family won't be coming here for Christmas this year, we won't need more than that.

I decided that Thursday would be the day for putting up our tree.  My small friends were here for the morning, so they enthusiastically sorted and placed the branches. I roughly strung the lights, and then the children hung up as many decorations as they could.

I'm not at all obsessive or perfectionist about the tree, and thought the final result looked pretty good:

Alex, however, had other ideas:

I had to pick up a prone tree twice during that afternoon, resulting in it now looking like this:

So long as the decorations are on the floor, the cats leave the tree alone. I may try to put them back again when they're not looking.

The girls were also quite excited about setting out my knitted nativity figures. They thought the coffee table would work well:

The wise men (or magi or kings) shouldn't really appear in the same tableau, but I didn't really want to put them somewhere else in the room, so we put them on the far edge of the table:

Oddly enough, other than a brief investigation, the cats haven't taken any notice of this. Here's the whole thing, in a little patch of starlight. Well, it's really sunlight, but the sun is, after all, a star.

Christmas is, of course, about the birth of the most important Baby who ever lived. But in our family, we have also been looking forward to the birth of our first granddaughter, who was due on Christmas Eve. She's the reason that her parents and brother are not coming to Cyprus for Christmas this year.

However she decided to put in an appearance a couple of weeks early, so that when we woke up on Friday morning, we had the exciting news of Esther's arrival. Here's a photo taken today of the four of them:

Although she doesn't have jaundice, she has tested positive for a Strep-B infection, which can be quite dangerous in newborns, so she and Becky have to stay in hospital for another few days. Prayers are welcome.

Three weeks out of Cyprus

On August 20th, I flew to the UK for a three-week visit to family and friends. This was partly prompted by the need to get out of Cyprus for a few weeks in the hottest part of the year, partly by a wish to see the family again, and partly so that I could deposit a cheque in our UK bank account which, if successful, would actually pay for the flights! (see note at the end for explanation)*

The flight took me to Gatwick arriving around 10.30pm so I had checked into a Travelodge nearby, which I reached via the useful shuttle bus. I slept well, had a good breakfast, and then returned, also by shuttle bus, to the airport. That's because the next part of my journey was by train. While I am very comfortable with buses, and reasonably so with aeroplanes, I didn't grow up using trains, and find them a little nerve-wracking, at least until I'm safely seated and have had ample confirmation that I'm on the right one.

The train was on time, and I even thought to take a photo of a station that we passed through; living in Cyprus for so long, even railways stations strike me as interesting:

Tim met me in Surrey, where he's now living and working, and I checked in at a very nice 'airb&b' place about a mile and a half from where he is now staying. We had lunch out, and during the course of the day did rather a lot of walking - seven miles in all, he calculated - which unfortunately left my knees very painful for a while. Perhaps middle age is finally hitting me; arthritis is on both sides of the family.

So when it was time for me to return to my b&b, he introduced me to 'Uber taxis', which he booked and even paid for via his phone. Inexpensive, efficient, and quick. Technology is sometimes a good thing.

On Monday we caught a local train into Epsom, so I could bank my cheque. And while I'm not a great fan of shopping in general, I do like the variety of big UK stores, so I popped into several, becoming gradually aware that Tim was hustling me on.  I then discovered that he had a terrific surprise awaiting me:

Yes!  A Lakeland shop waiting to be browsed!  I was so pleased.  Not that I bought anything, since I recently had a delivery to Cyprus from their website, but I do like looking around.  Other than bookshops, Lakeland is probably my favourite of all UK shops.

By using trains and another Uber taxi, my knees were fine by the end of the day. But we were both tired, so we decided to spend Tuesday in a large park about mid-way between where we were both staying. The weather was warm, the benches inviting, and we both had our Kindles.  There's a small library in the park so Tim joined it and took out his first book.

We had lunch at a nice little cafe set around the back of the library, and in the afternoon I was able to meet up with a university friend who lives just a few miles away, and whom I had not seen for 34 years. It was very good to catch up.

On Wednesday we caught more trains to go and visit my mother-in-law who lives about an hour's journey away, and on Thursday we decided to hang out in the park again and have another quiet day. We watched the birds on the lake:

... and I had a sudden craving for ice cream. Joy of joys, the little cafe sold Magnums:

Tim, being dairy-free, had to have a Calippo, and we were a little startled to notice that one of the three languages on the side was Greek:

We had dinner out, in the evening, with my aunt and uncle who are also about an hour's journey away, and then on the Friday I got on another train to travel to the Midlands. Actually it was four trains in all: three normal ones, and one London Underground. I was particularly nervous about the Underground as I'm not at all familiar with it, but was reassured to learn that it was a fifteen-minute journey, and I had an hour between my two trains.

I was met at Stratford by my father and his wife, in good spirits and, happily, good health, and after we arrived at their house my sister and niece arrived for the day.

We had a delicious lunch, which included this wonderful looking (and even better tasting) cheesecake:

On Saturday we spent most of the day with some step-relatives, on Sunday we went to the local church and had a peaceful afternoon. On Monday, which was a public holiday in the UK, my two brothers and their wives came for lunch and the afternoon, and when we went for a walk we took some carrier bags so that we could collect some local blackberries:

The following day we drove into Stratford so my father could buy a reconditioned laptop, and it was a beautiful day:

Among other things we popped into the Stratford Lakeland - not a surprise this time, as I knew it was there, but still interesting to see:

And here's the obligatory photo of Shakespeare's birthplace:

The rest of the week passed peacefully with local walks:

I was very interested to see this telephone box. It's not exactly a tardis but nonetheless a great deal bigger on the inside than it appears, since it functions as a local free library/book exchange:

The week passed happily, doing a bit of gardening, and on Friday I caught another train, this time to Birmingham. I was met by one of my closest and longest-standing friends who treated me to lunch in the Art Gallery, and we then looked at some of the painted benches that have been part of a schools 'book' project. I particularly liked this one portraying Alice in Wonderland:

Outside, Birmingham seems to have endless construction work; it's different every time I visit (which, admittedly, isn't all that often!)

I stayed for the weekend, spending lots of time catching up on our lives and families, and also meeting my friend's new grandson - the son of my goddaughter - who is delightful.

And then, at last, another train, up to Carlisle to see Daniel, Becky, and my wonderful grandson David who has just turned two-and-a-quarter:

The weather wasn't nearly so good as it had been further south; but then September had started.

David is very lively so we went on lots of walks:

He's interested in everything, but most of all anything technical or mechanical. Here he is, pausing to look at some diggers...

The time went all too quickly, and on Saturday I caught yet another train to Manchester Airport, and flew back to Cyprus. I wasn't prepared for the humidity, but at least it's a few degrees cooler than it was when I departed three weeks earlier.


*I mentioned back in April that my flight to the UK then was delayed by 24 hours. We put in a claim, and within a few weeks of my return I was sent a cheque for 400 euros. I was surprised at how easy it seemed to be, from a budget airline that isn't renowned for paying out compensation claims quickly.

The first problem arose when I tried to deposit it in our Cyprus bank account. At the bottom was a note saying that the cheque could only be deposited in the UK. Bizarre, I thought, since it was a euro cheque, but Tim was flying to the UK in May, so I signed the back and made sure he had our UK bank account details, and passed it to him. When he tried to deposit it, he was told that I would have to authorise the commission charges and exchange rate, so it could only be deposited by me.

Since the cheque was going to expire within six months of issue, it was the final push I needed to check details and arrange to visit various family members for three weeks in August.

2014 draws to a close

Time races by faster and faster as we get older. It feels as if I've just got used to writing 2014 and in a couple of days it will be 2015. It's been an amazing year, the one in which we became grandparents for the first time, and we're thrilled to have had the family together for most of the last couple of weeks of this year and the first couple of weeks of next year.

On Christmas Eve we took a walk into the town after dark with David in his buggy, to check the PO Box one more time, and to see some of the lights:

On Christmas morning I par-boiled potatoes, cut up carrots and set the Christmas puddings steaming first thing. Most of us went to a church service at 10.00 then it was back home to open some presents: 

David quickly got used to the idea of opening parcels - most of his presents are in the UK to enjoy when he gets home again, but he seemed to appreciate the ones he had here: 

Then around noon we put the carved turkey, potatoes, sausages (etc) in the oven and prepared the tables for fifteen: 

In the event, David slept for two hours, meaning that Daniel and Becky could enjoy their lunch and chat with our friends before he needed attention.

We played some games in the afternoon, though I didn't remember to take any photos. We ate more food, and cut the Christmas cake, then when our friends left we watched a silly Christmas film.

On Boxing Day we ate leftovers, and played a game of Seafarers, during which one of David's primo 'people' took over as the robber:

Tim went to the UK on Boxing Day, as flights are good value on a day when most people don't want to fly; he was able to get to my family's annual get-together yesterday, and is attending a friend's wedding in Scotland on Saturday. Apparently there's snow in the UK now so we hope it mostly holds off for another week.  

Meanwhile, the weather remains sunny and not too chilly in Cyprus. Two more parcels were in our PO Box today and there are still some to come. It's quite fun having an extended Christmas. 

I doubt if I'll write anything tomorrow, so let me take this opportunity of wishing everyone:

Happy New Year!