What colors for premmie hats do you use?

[CLLinda]

I started making hats for premature babies. I am finishing up the orange/white cooridinates Sweet Stripes and was wondering what other colors do you make for donations to hospitals?

 

The Coordinates is pretty soft. Is there any other brands of yarns that people use for baby hats? I have some simply soft, and some other soft yarns that I want to use up.

 

Do they want pink, blue, yellow, etc.? I have green, purple, pink and some multi.

 

What do you think? Since I am new to donating, I really would like some help on colors and yarns.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

This is my way of helping others. There is a group called Care Wear, that donates many handmade items to hospitals. A friend introduced me to this great organization.

 

[Wendy79]

There may be some hospitals out there that are strictly pink and blue, but in general, they want EVERYTHING! Bright colors, pastels, etc. Make sure you do some hats that are very "boyish"--some parents are picky about not having anything remotely feminine on their boy's head. Whatever....

 

It's the best job in the nursery--choosing the right hat for each baby.

[clocke]

I've sent hats in pinks, greens, yellows, and they've not yet been sent back.

 

In terms of yarn, I go for any type of soft, machine washable yarn. And I try to stick with ones that I know don't fuzz up too much.

 

I like making baby hats. So quick, so cute, and so functional. What a great way of doing some community service, right?

[theworm]

I use any baby color and around Christmas and Valentines day I'll use bright red.

The only thing that I was once told is not to do anything in baby yellow because often the babies are jaundiced and look poorly in yellow. I've made lots of yellow baby gifts - I love the yellow/white combos, but I try to stay away from yellow for the preemies.

[Tapanga]

At our local NICU, we have had lots of requests for "boyish" hats. Camo goes over HUGE here. And some of the darker (not pastel) blues, greens, and purples. Seems that baby girls can get away with wearing all the pastel (save blue) but the boys want more variety.

Making holiday themed hats is also really popular in our hosital. Makes picture time (for those in for extending periods) more exciting. And it helps the parents measure time and brings hope of future holidays. A small pumpkin hat, or a little white one a with pom-pom and yarn spider on top brings smiles.

[luvmnms]

The only thing that I was once told is not to do anything in baby yellow because often the babies are jaundiced and look poorly in yellow.

 

I have crochet for years for various charities, and many have said, "don't use solid yellow", but have never given an explanation as to why not. Thank you so much for clearing this mystery up for me!

[clocke]

On the subject of yellows, I've heard that if you are going to use yellow, then trim it in white; that helps counteract the jaundice look.

[bama_belle]

Hon, most hospitals will take pretty much any color that you bring, except they will request that you don't use yellow because of jaundice.

 

I have found that if I weave a light yellow in with a second color, or yellow stripes or such, as long as the yellow is not directly next to the skin, that's OK.

 

You'll probably find that they like bright colors and unisex colors more than the traditional pastel pink and blue, esp. for the boys.... and if you can get creative and embroider, think about making a green hat and a frog face, or mouse ears, or bunny ears, or a matching pom pom... something that sets the hat apart and makes it unique.. those are always fun for the parents to see.. it cheers up the day!

[bama_belle]

Another idea is to do hats in local sport team colors.

Here in Alabama, for instance, I've done red/white, green/gold, orange/blue for the college football Teams, but I've also done them in local high school colors such as black/gold, red/blue, and those have been a big hit.

 

Here are also some great links.

 

http://skeinattraction.com/TheSkeinAttraction-PreemieCaps.htm

 

http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/preemies.html#p-hats

[CLLinda]

I wondered about the yellows also. I figured they just received too many of the yellow ones and want variety. Now, I know there is a very good reason not to make yellow caps.

 

What yarns are best for these projects?

 

[pixiedust]

I use brights, pastels, and whatever seems to be "in" at stores like Baby Gap & Old Navy, so I'd say pretty much anything goes with color. My absolute favorite yarn for baby hats is Caron Simply Soft, but I also love Read Heart Baby Sport (the solids seem softer than the varigated for some reason) and Red Heart TLC sport. The sport weight seems less heavy, IMO, for the smaller preemie hats. Most hospitals that I've dealt with prefer acrylic yarn over wool or 100% cotton because it washes easier and (in the case of wool) would be less likely to cause skin sensitivity.

[CLLinda]

I've made six hats so far. I love doing charity work.

 

I have 3 orange/white sweet stripes, 2 pink/purple sweet stripes and one done in the Bernat Softee Chunkee in denim/white twisted yarn.

 

I just picked up some more yarn at Wally's today and will be posting pics soon.

 

Thanks for all the help.