9 Free Knitting Patterns to Knit Preemie Hats for Charity

You’ll love knitting preemie hats for charity with these 9 adorable patterns

“Every year, an estimated 15 million babies are born preterm (before 37 completed weeks of gestation), and this number is rising. Preterm birth complications are the leading cause of death among children under 5 years of age, responsible for nearly 1 million deaths in 2013.”

That’s a scary-sounding paragraph, isn’t it? Unfortunately it’s not just a scary story. These statistics come directly from the World Health Organization.

Why Knitting Preemie Hats Is So Important

I posted these statistics about prematurity as a reminder.

Yes, knitting for preemies is fun. Projects fly quickly from the needles. You can use the brightest and squishiest yarns. Making such tiny adorable items melts the heart.

But don’t let anyone fool you: this is important work! Preemie hats help keep tiny heads warm and improves these babies’ chances for survival. The fact that preemie hats are so darned cute is just a delightful bonus.

Ready to knit warmth for tiny heads? Check out this collection of 9 free knitting patterns for preemie hats!

For more delightful preemie patterns, check out my Free Preemie Pattern Category Page! 

Free Knitting Patterns for Preemie Hats

Bev Q’s Preemie Hats: Beverly Qualheim has many adorable preemie hat patterns at her Country Cottage site. Check out her Seed Stitch Cap, Baby Ribs Hat, Preemie/Newborn Hat, and/or Bunny Hat.

Cute as a Button Preemie Hat: Knit as written for a beautiful baby girl’s hat, or skip the embroidery and use different colors for an adorable baby boy’s hat!

Preemie Hat in Two Variations: These hats have a cute stem at the top and can be created either in seed or stockinette stitch.

Slip Stitch Preemie Hat & Tiny Toe Up Sockies: This pattern has a couple of benefits: you can use either two straight needles or DPNs, and you can also knit adorable little socks to go with the caps.

NICU-Friendly T-Bonnet: This oh-so-sweet bonnet comes in 3 different sizes, because not all preemies are identically-sized!

Incredible Expanding Gnome Cap: Not only is this hat incredibly cute, but it can actually expand as the baby grows!

With this wonderful selection of free knitting patterns for preemie hats, you can help save lives and have fun knitting all at the same time!