Julie Finn
Make your next hat for Halos of Hope, an organization that puts handmade hats on the heads of cancer patients. They need hats year-round.
If you knit or crochet or even sew, you’ve likely discovered, by now, how satisfying it is to create a warm hat. Compared to a dress or a sweater, a hat is a quick project, but there are so many different patterns and styles, and so many ways to make it beautiful, that it’s hard to get bored.
Your friends and family have enough hats by now. Make your next one for Halos of Hope, an organization that puts handmade hats on the heads of cancer patients.
Halos of Hope needs hats year-round, to distribute to over 450 cancer centers across the country. Their handmade hats protect the heads of everyone from babies to adult men, throughout the entire size range, so that whenever you knit or sew a hat for your own loved one, you can simply sew a second one to donate. The main criteria is that the hat be made from very soft fibers–cheap acrylics or novelty mohair would just irritate tender scalps. You can find the specific yarn recommendations here.
For pattern ideas, check out the pattern page on Halos of Hope, or the Halos of Hope Facebook page, where they often recommend additional patterns found on Ravelry and other sites. There are a variety of styles to choose from, including some to challenge advanced knitters and some that would work well for beginners or as a club or group project. This shark hat, in particular, is my new favorite thing ever, and I may have to spend 2017 upping my crochet game solely so that I can make it.
To donate your handmade hats or the funds and supplies to enable others to make hats, look for a local ambassador group (or start your own!) or use the contact information for the Halos of Hope national headquarters.
Image Credit: winter hats image via Bigstock
