Make a Quick and Easy Newborn Hat

comments (9) June 5th, 2008

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Tina Hilton, contributor

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Caps for little ones are quick and easy to make. The ones pictured here feature a ribbed stitch. The posted pattern is for a warm stockinette snuggler. Baby caps are also a great way to use up the odds and ends of your yarn stash.

Check out the cute hat on this handsome baby boy born on March 5, 2008.

Caps for little ones are quick and easy to make. The ones pictured here feature a ribbed stitch. The posted pattern is for a warm stockinette snuggler. Baby caps are also a great way to use up the odds and ends of your yarn stash.

Photo: Tina Hilton

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Chances are, your local hospital provides hats for all of the babies born there not just because they are so darn cute but also for health reasons. Studies have shown that in newborns, the head is an important area for heat exchange with the environment. Their noggin represents a remarkable quarter of their total skin surface area, and the newborn brain is responsible for 44 percent of total metabolic heat production. Hats decrease body heat loss in a newborn by 20 percent thus keeping the little one comfortably warm and healthy.

My local hospital, Watauga Medical Center, had been providing commercially made caps for many years. Three years ago, the Director of Volunteers, Phyllis Greene, decided to reach out to the community and create a program to involve local knitters to create hand-made caps for newborns. The hospital donates the yarn and a local yarn shop welcomes the volunteer knitters to congregate once a week to select yarn for their caps and to sit and knit. Last year, 637 newborns were presented with lovingly crafted hats. The babies were comforted, and the parents appreciated the kind gesture.

Utilize your talents and get involved! Contact your local hospital to learn about their newborn cap program.

QUICK & EASY NEWBORN CAP

Choose a Yarn

Fingering to double-knit yarn:

SRK Angel Baby, Plymouth Dreambaby, and Wendy/Peter Pan are good choices.

Equipment

Size 3 needles

Step-by-Step

Cast on 36 stitches loosely (leave an 8-inch length of yarn end to sew seam up with).
Row 1 knit.
Row 2 purl.
Repeat rows 1 and 2 until work measures approx 12 inches.
There should be 16 purl ridges on each side of the work.

Finishing

Bind off loosely
Draw up one side to form a crown.
Sew up side seam.

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posted in: preemie cap program, quick and easy newborn hat

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Comments (9)

foxy56hope writes: hi, i luv the newborn hat but cannot figure out how to finish it off either; HELP lol. Thank you. Marcia
Posted: 5:25 pm on February 16th

louie369 writes: I also need some help on how to finish the cap - how do you form the crown?
Posted: 7:39 pm on October 10th

5blessings writes: Tina, this seems to be a wonderful project. I enjoyed knitting the 12 inches, but I just can't figure out how to finish it. Can you suggest or post pictures on how to draw up the side to form a crown and sew up the side? I couldn't find any info online that helped and I would really like to finish this hat before our baby is born in about 4 weeks. This is my 1st project :)
Posted: 10:25 pm on September 14th

AngelaLevy writes: Dear Tina

Thanks for your Newborn Hat pattern you have so beautifully created and shared. I’ve included a link to it in my blog post today in order to share it just a little bit further. You can check it out on my blog www.LoveAngelaHandmade.blogspot.com.

Thanks again!
Angela
Posted: 8:05 pm on February 5th

kids_clothes writes: it is really very great idea to do something like this. it is true social service. but i am confuse i thought not every local hospital provide this. i think with cap hospital provide complete worm dress http://find.com/shopping/kids_clothes
Posted: 3:21 am on February 4th

aprilbenham writes: i love making these hats they dont take very long to make .but instead of useing two neddles and sewing up a seam i use four i find that works better.what do you wach them in before you give them to th hospital
Posted: 9:47 am on January 30th

MichaelaMurphy writes: Hi Jen1964, I knit on airplanes all of the time and I have never had a problem with security, or from having to abandon a project. For me, knitting is the perfect air travel activity and I get in a lot of uninterrupted knitting time--because of knitting I sometimes look forward to those long flights.

Posted: 5:46 pm on October 25th

Jen1964 writes: I know this is a delayed comment, but when my first child was born, in 1987, I was absolutely thrilled with the little cap the hospital gave him. You can only guess! I've been knitting caps & mittens ever since, but never knew how to get involved with the "newborns" needs.
One random question, I like to knit whenever I travel, and although some object to knitting in the car, I was wondering, do airlines object to knitting projects onboard? And would security give a person a problem with it? I'd hate to lose a project to that, so haven't tried bringing it - or else put it in suitcase, but then time is precious on vacation, and it's hard to get to it much OFF the plane?
Posted: 4:54 pm on October 25th

Knitit writes: I'm confused about your directions for the stockinette stitch premie cap pattern: The directions say to knit until there are 16 purl rows on each side of the fabric. Will I encounter purl rows on the knit side of stockinette stitch fabric? Do you mean to knit the cap in K1, P1 ribbing?
Posted: 7:37 pm on June 22nd

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