Clothing Babies with Stitches from the Heart
Premature babies have enough strikes against them, so Stitches from the Heart does its best to send them home with comfy knitted goodies.
Knitters, here's your next case: Stitches from the Heart. This California-based non-profit distributes tiny knitted blankets and clothing to precious premature infants in hospitals all over the country. Along with their handmade items, they make sure to send along a lot of love, too.
THE SNOWBALL EFFECT
Like most knitting charities, Stitches from the Heart started simply. In the year 2000, Kathy Silverton read an article about needy preemies lacking the basics that they needed to start out in life. Determined to make a difference, Kathy started knitting tiny booties, hats, and blankets in her spare time.
It wasn't long before her friends noticed what she was doing, and started to join in. Other knitters and crocheters got involved as she spread the word in local knitting stores. The real push came when a newspaper published an article about her efforts, and 100 people contacted her about helping.
SIX THOUSAND AND GROWING
By then it was obvious that Kathy was onto a good thing, so she established a 501(c)(3) non-profit and named it Stitches from the Heart. By the end of its first year of existence, the new charity could boast a membership of 585 knitters, who had already delivered 10,000 knitted items to local hospitals.
Six years later, more than 6,000 knitters from all over the country have become involved. So far, they've distributed a whopping 220,000+ items to preemies at more than 432 facilities. Most of the volunteers provide their own time, love, and supplies, but Stitches from the Heart also provides supplies to seniors who can't otherwise afford them.
LET'S GET WITH IT
Despite the unqualified success of Stitches from the Heart, they can never have too many hand-knitted items for all the babies who need them. So let's give them a hand (and I'm not talking about applause here, either). Click here to go to the Stitches from the Heart website.
Stitches from the Heart provides very simple instructions for its preemie items, so you can use any patterns you like, as long as they fit the preemie measurements they provide on the website. Here's the basic info you need to know:
- Use soft, washable yarns and materials.
- Please don't use wool.
- If you wash items before you send them, don't use fabric softeners or perfumes that might irritate delicate skin.
- Consider sewing a yarn or ribbon tie around the ankles of your booties so they'll fit tighter.
- If you attach pompoms, ribbons, or any other decorative elements to an item, fasten them very securely.
However you design or decorate your Stitches from the Heart items, remember -- the most important ingredient is love.
