This year I have taken part in the Innocent Smoothie Drink Big Knit campaign. Innocent drinks wear these little knitted hats for a few weeks of the year and the drinks company donates 25p to Age UK for every bottle bought. Age UK provides advice and help to the older generation in the UK.
The hats are very easy to knit. There are patterns here ranging from beginner to expert. Some of the expert patterns are very clever. But I had lots of other things to do this summer, so I concentrated on the beginner pattern. All the hats in the photo follow the beginner pattern . I had a bit of creative fun making the teddy face in the centre of the photo with buttons and embroidery. At the front of the picture is a dark red hat with a little green stalk. It doesn't show up well in the photo but I was aiming for a "red fruit" look.
The other hats are just wearing homemade pom poms. I wanted to make my own rather than use the little pom poms that can be bought in craft shops.. I found a great tutorial on the Eskimimi Makes blog. It describes how to use a kitchen fork to make a pom pom. I found that this method produced a pom pom that would be perfect for a baby's hat but was a bit on the large side for these tiny hats. You can just about see this larger one on the left hand end of the back row. I adapted the tutorial and wrapped the wool around the handle of the fork rather than around the prongs. This produced exactly what I wanted. They don't look as perfect as shop-bought pom poms, but I learned a new skill and I'm hoping they have a charm of their own.
These hats really are quick to make and are a great way to use up scraps of yarn. The deadline for sending them in is October 1st. I think they appear in the shops a few weeks after that so I will be looking out for them. Why not knit a few of these for this good cause?
Hi Una .. Given you and your lovely hats a mention over at Chalkys
ReplyDeleteThey are all so cute Una, you know I never seem to have time for these but next year I will be making some, maybe it's a case of doing some now and then throughout the year so that in the end you will have quite a few to send in. Thank you for the pom pom link that's a great idea, I have a pom pom maker but I hate it this will be much easier, I don't know why I never thought of it myself, I have used a ruler and that's ok too. :)
ReplyDeleteLove the knitted work. Now do you think there would be an opportunity to get your knitted work to go as some sort of gift supplement with out flowers?
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good idea. I think knitting and flowers would go together very well.
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DeleteI like this idea but I often wonder what people do with the hats after they've finished the smoothie. I hope they get recycled!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Hopefully they will fit little dolls somewhere. I'm afraid if I bought one of these I wouldn't know what to do with it. But it's raising money for Age UK so that's good. There's an advert coming out next month and I was one of the knitting extras which is why I thought I should show some support this year.
DeleteYou've been so productive, Una! Good work. I am sure all of your work will be much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteYour little hats are really cute, I like the teddy one especially. I have been busy knitting these too, I find them good fun and a great stash buster too!
ReplyDeleteM x
Great cause! And the little hats are so cute. Thanks for the pompom link! :)
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