I’m clicking for babies today.

At my Wednesday night knitting group/class, Betty shared this community service project with us and I decided to participate because I can empathize with tired, stressed new parents who have a baby that won’t quit screaming!

I’ve often shared my story about one particular night when I was a new mother and my daughter woke up in the middle of the night (as newborns do!) and I changed her, nursed her, put her back to bed and she would not sleep. She just screamed. I tried everything that I knew to do – changed her again, nursed her again, rocked her … although by that time I was so stressed, I’m sure she sensed it in me. And then she pooped and it dripped out of her diaper, down my nightgown, down my leg, on the rocking chair cushion and onto the carpeted floor. Yup! I lost it … and thank God her father was snoring in the other room and I could yell for him and he came to take over so I could get cleaned up or I may have jettisoned her out the second story window like a football!

I was never told about a period of purple crying as a natural developmental stage of all infants. Here’s some information for new parents (or grandparents) that shares what this is all about …

Click here to watch a video by child crying expert, Dr. Ronald Barr.

So, today I’m knitting a purple hat. In Maine, as I understand it, the hats will be distributed to all parents of newborns in November (?) and will be accompanied by literature about babies’ purple crying (purple is an acronym and stands for something!)

Click on the link at the top of this post, share the site with knitting or crocheting friends and join me in clicking for babies! I’m even giving you my free pattern! There is another pattern (also free) on the clickforbabies.org website!

Gone knitting!

Purple for Crying Baby Hat

Size 6 and 8 knitting needles

1 stitch marker

purple yarn in a DK or light worsted weight

With smaller needles, cast on 61 stitches

K2, P2 across the first row ending with a K stitch

P1, and then K2, P2 to the end of row

Repeat these two rows for three inches

Change to larger needles and on wrong side, knit across the row

Continue in stockinette stitch (knit one row, purl one row) for three inches more (hat measures six inches from cast on edge… if you’d like to knit stripes, go wild! The only requirement is that the hat must be more than 50% purple.)

Begin decreases:

[K2tog, knit 11 stitches, sl1, K1, psso, place marker] 4 times, K1

next row – purl all stitches

[K2tog, knit to 2 sts before marker, sl1, K1, psso] 4 times, K1

purl 1 row

repeat the last two rows until there are 13 sts left on the needle

break a long piece of yarn, with a needle pull yarn through all stitches remaining and sew the seam – make sure to switch to the other side half way down the ribbed (cuff) section.

Weave in ends.