Halos of Hope

The Sharing Our Gifts Across America Group on Ravelry is on their 29th State.  The goal of the group is to do some type of charity knitting in each of the 50 United States. 

This month the state is Illinois, and the charity we are helping is called Halos of Hope.  The information on the group's thread for this month reads:

Halos of Hope is 501 c(3) approved charity committed to providing in-need cancer patients with crafted hats donated by caring volunteers.
Hats can be knitted, crocheted, or may be sewn headscarves. As of February, 2012, Halos of Hope supports over 450 cancer centers in the United States. Donations from our group will go to those centers in Illinois.

The call was for knitted and crocheted hats and head scarfs, "chemo caps."  They wanted them to be especially soft.  Also, they need hats for women, men and kids.

I decided to make a man's hat.  I can't believe I'm saying this, but I didn't have any suitable yarn.  I didn't want to use wool, although wool can be super soft, just in case someone was allergic.  I thought a yarn for baby clothes would be soft enough.  I found some nice brown yarn by Plymouth Yarn, Dream Baby DK, at The Knittery, in Renton, WA.  It is 50% acrylic microfiber and 50% nylon.

The brown in the above photo is pretty close to the color in real life.

The pattern I used is Brennius Hat by Orna Ferenz.  It is a free pattern on Ravelry.  It is very simple, easy to remember, and quick to knit.  I like that it is not fussy, but has a bit of a texture to it.  I also like the slight slouch to it.

I didn't have any needles with a 15" cord, so I  bought a pair of those as well, in size 4 US (3.5 mm).  They felt a bit awkward to use at first, since the needles are so small in the hand, but as I had at first thought to use magic loop, they were a great improvement.

The yarn did feel super soft.  I used most of one skein.  My son, Pookie, who is my model, really liked the finished hat.  He especially liked how the top made a square.  It was just a bit different .  Just different enough.

I hope that whoever gets the hat likes it.  I hope that it gives some comfort.  I hope that this hat lets someone know that people far away are thinking about, hoping and pulling for him.

I want this hat to be a halo of hope.

Yours,
f1bercat
shaping the planet one hat at a time