1. The Kellie Beanie

Good morning all and welcome to the 2016 Itty Bitty Giant Hat Drive!

For all of you who are new itty bitty creators this year, please take a moment to check out the website here.

Today marks the start of the 4th annual IBGHD, and I am so pleased to say that not only am I back for another year but I come with gifts! That is, 30 more hat patterns! They range from fingertip sized through to full term. We have a few changes this year though. I've decided to split the 30 days and do half hats, half bonnets, just to shake things up a bit.

The other change is to the posting form. We've done away with that this year. If you want your hats to count on the WORLD MAP this year, you can use the websites Contact Form to do so.

Please remember that ONLY hats posted to Chances Clothes Project can be added to the map, after all, this event is to benefit them.

Let's do a little re-cap for those of you who are new.

In September 2013, after supporting the preemie and baby loss community for a few years, I found myself joining a club that no-one wants to join, and no-one can leave once they do join it. I found myself a member of the baby loss club. I found myself walking away from the local hospital empty handed and and with a broken heart. If you would like to, you can read the rest of my story here

The Itty Bitty Giant Hat Drive was created in memory of Frankie, and of all our babies that we never got to hold, that we never got to take home, or that left us shortly after going home.

For the month of September, I'll be releasing a pattern a day. Each one named by my friends, after people that inspire them. We all spend the month working on tiny hats, all sorts of hats, in many colours, styles and patterns.  On October 15th, which is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, everyone posts their parcels to Chance's Clothes Project (CCP), in memory of all babies and infants that never got to stay on this earth.

So, let's create this September, in the memory of our loved little ones, and support a fantastic organisation while we're at it. <3

If you are uploading to Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, please include the hashtag #ibghd2016 to your post. On my Facebook Page there are some free profile images you can use if you like as well. Let's see if we can share this far and wide, and  smash last years hat tally!

Remember, you don't have to commit to a number of hats. You can send 1 hat or 100. The choice is yours. I'd love to see some more international towns on that map!

The Kellie Beanie

Sized to fit:
20-22 weeks gestation

You will need:
4ply/Fingering weight yarn
3.50mm crochet hook

All stitches are in American terms.

Starting chain counts in the stitch count for rounds 3-7 only.

1. Into a magic ring, ch2, hdc 8 times, join to the first hdc. - 8

2. Ch2, 2hdc in each stitch around, join. - 16 (3.5cm across/1.5")

3. Ch6, skip 1 stitch, dc in the next stitch, *ch3, skip one stitch, dc in the next stitch*, repeat around, ending with a ch3, join to the 3rd chain of the starting ch6. - 8dc's (5.5cm/2.1" across)

4. Ch3, dc twice in the first ch3 space, *ch2, 3dc in the next ch3 space*, repeat around, ending with a ch2, join to the 3rd chain on the starting ch3. - 24dc's

5. Ch3, dc in the next 2 dc's, ch3, *dc in the next 3 dc’s, ch3*, repeat around, join to the ch3 - 24dc's, 24chs

6-7. Repeat round 5.

8. Ch1, sc in the same stitch, sc in the next 2 stitches, *2sc in the ch3 space, sc in the next 3 stitches*, repeat around, join to first sc. - 40.

9-10. Ch1, sc in the same stitch, sc in each stitch around, join to first sc. - 40

Finished measurements: Total height, 8cm (3.1 inches) and width across brim 11.5cm (4.5 inches)