NaBloPoMo: Preemie Hat Pattern for Charity

For a few years now, I have been making preemie hats for the local hospitals. They work up about as quickly as a washcloth. I use acrylic, worsted weight yarn and a size 'h' hook. I don't knit them because I'm terrible at knitting in the round on double pointed needles. I am a slow knitter as well, which makes the project a source of frustration. 

Acrylic yarn is hypoallergenic, which is super important for preemies because their immature immune system. You don't want to use fuzzy or extra fluffy baby yarn for these hats. The basic yarn is what you want because the other yarns are overstimulating for their still developing nervous system. I don't use baby yarn because the holes in the hat are bigger given that the yarn is thinner than the sport/worsted weight yarn. We want to have the holes small to help the babies keep their heads warm. While you could use a smaller hook to make the hat with the thinner yarn, it makes the project just as annoying as knitting it for me.

Starting chain: Chain 30 stitches plus 1 to turn.

Rows 1-60: Work single crochet into every stitch.
Bind off at end of row 60 with a long tail.

Fold hat in half and whip stitch to the corner where the fold is. Bind off and break yarn.
With another length of yarn, whip stitch from where the end of row 60 and starting chain meet to the corner where the fold is. Bind off and break yarn.

This size hat will fit a 3 - 5 lb preemie. You want your hat long enough to cover the preemie's eyes when they're under the bilirubin lights in their incubator. This will protect their vision from the effects of the lights.