After my son was stillborn in October, it was so sudden and unexpected that I had no clothes or anything to put him in. And to be fair, even if I had had, he was way too tiny to wear anything at all. The hospital were kind enough to provide some items that had been knitted by local volunteers, but even they were too big. Distressed at seeing him in ill-fitting clothes, and upset that my son was to be the only baby in the family that didn't have a blanket made by myself, I set to crocheting him a little hat and sleeping cosy, and a blanket which we delivered to him at the chapel of rest a couple of days later. They fit him perfectly which made me feel much more comfortable, and I didn't feel like he was being left out.
In the days that followed, I thought about how crocheting those items had helped me process what was happening, and how nice it would be to be able to provide other parents with something similar. Nobody can take away what you are feeling at that time - nothing can make it better or stop it hurting. But seeing your baby in clothes that actually fit gives a sense of dignity to the baby. It really does help, in its own way.
So in the months leading up to Christmas I crocheted my backside off! I scoured the internet for 'preemie' clothes that I thought were tasteful, and made them to a smaller scale. I can't remember the patterns that I used now, as I memorised the process of making them, but I made many little hat, cosy and blanket sets for the hospital. I also made dozens of slightly larger hats.
These little hats and cosies don't take up much yarn, and they are a great way to use up the ends of balls from other projects. For blankets I just did large granny squares. Where I didn't have a lot of one colour, I did randomised stripes of similar colours. A solid granny square works very well for larger or ICU babies that require fewer holes, and I made a few of these also:
I haven't made any of these blankets recently as I have a lot of other projects going on, but I intend to continue making them once my crochet calendar cools down a little bit! If you have some spare time and a bit of spare yarn, I can highly recommend making some blankets or little hats like the ones here. Maternity wards are crying out for donations such as these because many families take their clothes and blankets home and don't return with them or, as in the case of my son, the clothes and blanket are cremated with the baby. They are not re-used.
Stash busting, and doing a good deed at the same time. What could make you feel better?
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