One of the leading questions we are asked by almost anyone who wants to donate hats is "what yarn should I use?"  Seemingly, this should be an easy question to answer, but it's not.  There are yarns that I absolutely love, but may not be available in certain areas of the country or internationally.  There are yarns I would enjoy using, and can't get, unless I order them, visit a yarn shop during my travels or they're available at a fiber show.  There are so many, many yarns out there that make nice hats!  We also have to consider that this is charity knitting. Cost is usually a factor.  Someone knitting and crocheting for charity may want to use something from their stash, leftovers from another project, or something they can pick up easily from their local retailer.

So our response usually goes like this:  SOFT, preferably washable, and if it has any wool content, please tag the cap, so we can ensure that if someone has or develops wool sensitivity, they don't select that one.   The typical question back is, 'but isn't wool scratchy?' We call this the old-school-wool-myth. Not all wool scratches.  There are many nice washable merinos and sock yarns available, and these can make nice hats. The key with wool is patient sensitivity, which may be heightened thanks to the chemo drugs.

This year, the Valerie Fund and Camp Happy Times are celebrating their 30th birthday. We want to get them birthday hats to celebrate!

April 20, 2012 – Halos of Hope, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing chemotherapy patients with volunteer-created hats, today announced the winners of its 2011 Halo Awards. Halo Awards, at a Gold and Silver level, are presented annually to groups that donated the most caps to the efforts of the organization.

One of the things I enjoy most is the creativity we get to see in the hats that are donated at the various shows we do around the country.  We try to feature those hats when and where we can, even if it's just for the duration of the show.

Recently, at Stitches South in Atlanta, one of the crocheters from a group in Cartersville, Georgia, brought a bag of hats creatively crafted by their knitters and crocheters.  As she was sharing the hats donated, she pulled out an adorable child's crocheted hat with a special post-cancer treatment purpose that I don't think any of us would have realized had she not pointed it out.