How to Make Hospitals Happier through Knitting

You can donate knitted items to hospitals worldwide through Care Wear, no longer a preemie-only knitting charity

Anyone who has ever wondered how to use knitting to make their world a better place will undoubtedly relate to the story of Bonnie Hagerman and the charity she founded, Care Wear.

The History of Care Wear: from One Knitter Donating Her Creations to Many

In 1991, Bonnie read a magazine article about volunteers making hats and gowns for preemies at a local hospital. Instinctively she knew she’d found the perfect way to help others through her knitting expertise. Bonnie offered her knitted items to Children’s National Medical Center in nearby Washington, D.C.

Have you ever tried knitting a hat for a head the size of a lime? That was Bonnie’s first challenge; at the time, patterns for preemies weren’t as plentiful as they are today.

After a few false starts, she found success. In fact, she found so much success that she needed help to continue! Her preemie items were such a hit that she began to recruit other local knitters for her new charity, Care Wear.

How Care Wear Items Help Preemies (and Their Families)

Many babies are born far too early. Some are too tiny to make it on their own, and have to depend on a tangle of monitors, ventilators and tubes to survive. Sadly, survival is never guaranteed.

So doctors, nurses, and parents — everyone who loves these babies — welcome anything that can help the NICU babies. That’s where knitting for hospital patients can help.

In addition to warming preemies and reducing stress on their fragile circulatory systems, the adorable Care Wear caps soften the sterile hospital environment where these babies have to live. They also bring psychological comfort to worried parents.

How You Can Help Care Wear Donate Knitted Items to Hospitals

Care to try your hand at a teeny preemie hat? How about mittens or booties? Care Wear can use all these, and more. You can get all the info you need, including patterns, at their website. The vast assortment of patterns available is remarkable. You can find hats, booties, blankets, and much more!

Notice that Care Wear now provides a multitude of ways of knitting for hospitals, beyond preemie wear. As their website states:

Although the focus of Care Wear’s efforts has been premature infants, it has been impossible to ignore the pleas for assistance for larger infants, children, and even geriatric patients. There is the most demand for the larger preemie and full-term sizes of hats and booties.”

Care Wear’s website also includes a database of hospitals accepting preemie items. Before you send them a hat, make sure they’re not overwhelmed with them. They may need other articles — such as blankets, booties, or mittens — more.

Find more ways to knit for preemies here!

Guidelines for Knitting for Care Wear

It’s a good idea to take a look at the guidelines for the hospital you want to knit for before you begin. Many hospitals have specific guidelines; many others ask that you contact them first to ascertain their needs.

When knitting for Care Wear, be sure to use soft acrylic, cotton or cotton/acrylic blend yarns that can be easily washed and won’t irritate sensitive skin.

Ask the hospital if you can attach trims, pompoms, ribbons, and the like, if that’s something you enjoy. Some prefer that you don’t; be sure to always follow the given guidelines.

Don’t put powders or fragrances on your Care Wear items; they should especially be free of cigarette smoke odors.

If you live in a home with a smoker, or with cats or dogs, be sure not to knit anything for preemies at home. Keep your preemie knitting in a separate bag and knit only away from home.

Also, be aware that some hospitals won’t accept any knitting from a home with a cat or dog, even if you don’t knit those items at home. Check before you begin!

Deliver your donated items in plastic bags to keep them safe and clean.

You’ll always want to make your preemie items durable. Parents of preemies often keep their Care Wear items as keepsakes, in remembrance of a time when their healthy youngsters weren’t so healthy.

Why not join Bonnie in helping to make the world a better place for people staying in a hospital? Care Wear will help you find the perfect pattern and a local hospital where you can make a difference.