Knitting and Crocheting

I’ll be honest. If it is a choice between making blankets and beanies or posting to a blog, the blankets and beanies win! Over the few of months my efforts have been on producing the needful items – not updating the blog.

So what is new? Based on requests of individuals wanting to get involved,a couple of resource links have been added to our web site http://www.sewknotcreative.org. Both deal with the items made with yarn not cloth.
One is on basic knitting. The other is for basic crocheting. For the links go to

http://www.sewknotcreative.org/knit/knit.html.

In addition to the ‘how to’ instructions we will be adding knitting and crochet patterns we have found to be useful in the hospitals where the beanie’s and booties are used.

These sets of instructional information are from the web pages of Lion Brand Yarns. These we found to be well organized and understandable. We are sure that there are hundreds of similar links on the web and suggest searching around for ones that make common sense to you.

A kind word

We were surprised by a comment from a relative who worked as a coroner and licensed mortician. These kind words just brought realization about how this affects all who are involved.

 “This is so caring, and needed. When I would go to hospitals to pick-up preemies, many times the parents were in the room holding the baby. I would have to come in with a sheet, and a receptacle to put the preemie in. It left you, and the parents, with a cold, non caring feeling. The parents are experiencing enough emotions. Just having the preemie wrapped in something like this eases a horribly bad thing.”

Three Quilt Patterns and Top Assembly Diagrams

We have drafted three quilt top assembly diagrams on variations using the half-square triangles. All of the used the same basic fabric for the squares and then where finished off with border variants. These are posted to help generate ideas of how you might use up those scraps of fabric laying around the house.

You can download and print copies for your personal use or for projects you are going to donate.  Please see our ‘terms of use’ at SEWKNOTCREATIVE.ORG before you utilize the layouts. Each diagram and its assembly notes will print on an 8 ½ x 11 page. The photo colors are a little stronger than the actual materials used.

We have found the softer pastel colors to be very acceptable for the use these blankets and quilts are intended.

Let us know if these are a help in your own projects. We always value your input.



Around Rectangle Quilt



Chevron Quilt

Striped Quilt

Half Square Triangle Around Rectangle Quilt  (HST_AR_135x18_Around_175x218.jpg)

Half Square Triangle Chevron Quilt (HST_CQ_165x18_Chevron_173x195.jpg)

Half Square Triangle Striped Quilt (HST_SQ_10x12_HalfSQ_175x204.jpg)





2nd Chance Quilts

I have been working on my second chance quilts this past week or so. I call these quilts my second chance quilts because I am using the left over scraps from quilts I have done for friends new babies.  By using different triangles and combining them I can make squares for a top, the fun thing about these quilts is that the fabric doesn’t seem to be going away. (I think it is hiding with the hangers in the closet and multiplying when I am not looking!)  I have more triangles and small scraps and lots of hangers. 

I was reading the Costco magazine today and there was an article about the resurgence of interest in sewing by all ages of younger people. I think that is very encouraging, I hope both young and older will be interested in sewing little blankets for your local hospital for these tiny babies who need some love.

I was talking to my friend, the nurse, who I give my completed beanies and booties to at church on Sunday and she related a heartwarming story to me about how they had had a 22 week baby born that didn’t survive and she had remembered some of the little beanies and bootie sets that I had given her that she was able to bring in and dress that precious baby, my friend said the mom had tears in her eyes when she gave her the baby to say good bye to.  That brought tears to my eyes also and really confirms to me that this is what Heavenly Father wants me to be doing.

Photo of booties and beanies

I have posted a photo of a few of the beanies and booties I have knitted. These were made from the Jordan’s tiny bootie pattern (use policy) with size 2 and 3 needles.  The booties take ½ hour each to knit and the hat is a couple of hour’s total. They are really fun to do and very portable to take with you to appointments where you may have to wait.





So Small!



Sew Knot Creative - The Adventure Begins

I started Sew Knot Creative when I had a conversation with a friend who is a nurse at a local hospital. She asked if I could make some small blankets to wrap premature fetuses in which didn’t survive for the parents to say good bye, she had told me about how once they didn’t have anything to wrap the baby in. That touched my heart so much because I knew this was something simple for me to do something about, I wanted all these babies to be wrapped up so the grieving parents that someone else was also thinking of the  and trying to offer a little comfort. 

I have been making knitted beanies and little booties for these little ones and also started crocheting a trim around the blankets to make them a little special.  I am not so creative that I can develop my own designs for the beanies or booties; there are a lot of directions on the internet so I utilized these.  The very small booties and beanie pattern I have been using is one called “Jordan’s tiny bootie pattern” and “Jordan’s tiny hat pattern” these are very tiny. The slightly larger pattern I also use is from the Care Wear web site (http:/www.carewear.org/) I found really easy bootie and beanie patterns there, the booties only take me ½ hour each to knit and stitch together and the beanie I can knit in an evening while I watch TV.

The little blankets that I started doing are mostly 2 rectangles of flannel sewn together, right sides together and then turned right sides out.  I then will sew closed the opening and depending on how I feel I will leave the blanket plain or use my decorative stitches and add a little trim to the border.

I have been sewing for many, many years; my mother taught me how to sew by turning sheets on a treadle sewing machine.  If any of you know what it means to turn a sheet you have an idea of how long I have been sewing. I then progressed to hand sewing doll clothes and since Mother didn’t really know how to sew so she gave me sewing lessons and I eventually started making my own clothes.  Mother also taught me to never throw away any of my scraps (never used them for the longest time so I have a lot of scraps)

 I like to quilt and have a ton of left over scraps from other projects and recently started making scrap quilts/lap rugs for convalescent homes and that was a natural progression to the little blankets for the premature babies.  I have been amazed at how much I can use the smallest scrap for these little blankets, I just keep sewing smaller and smaller scraps into squares and half square triangles and then have fun arranging them.

I see such a need for these items for all our local hospitals and I am looking for others who would like to be part of this effort.  I know there are a lot of compassionate sewers out there with large stashes of scraps of fabric needing to be used up. 

Please contact me if you have a desire to help and also let me know if you have any patterns that you would like to share.  I chose the name, Sew Knot Creative, because I am so not creative so I need your help.  Although I will accept fabric donations, I really envision others making needed items and donating them to your local hospitals.  How wonderful it would be if we could spread the joy of comfort to those parents at a time of need with a little blanket or beanie and bootie set to remember their lost child.