Friday, August 12, 2011

Hats Off to Breastfeeding... Or is That "On"?

Recently some friends of mine and I were participating in The Big Latch On, an event sponsored by La Leche League to promote breastfeeding awareness. The event was scheduled on August 6th the Saturday of  Breastfeeding Awareness Week which is always the first week of August which is also considered National Breastfeeding Month. After the event (an effort to collect as many moms as possible to simultaneously nurse their little ones around the world), we were chatting about the boob beanies that are available for babies. The idea of these little hats are to promote breastfeeding in a non-conventional way by normalizing the sight of a breast. Theoretically, a baby/child would wear this hat that resembles a breast while nursing. Depending on your sense of humor, you'd find it funny or amusing. To some, it might be offensive - likely, those are the people that are not a fan of nursing in public or perhaps breastfeeding in general. One mom mentioned that at one time she had one of those hats but that she had shared it with another mom and was likely not to see it again. Another mom mentioned that she wanted one. I suggested they make them (since we recently attended a crochet class led by none other than my own mom). Sadly, neither mom felt they possessed the skill to make the hat. To which I foolishly responded, "I could probably make one." Me and my big mouth...

My own crochet skill, I felt left much to be desired. I learned the craft when I was a child and would crochet clothing for my dolls. As I got older, I made a bag and several adult sized beanie hats. I used one stitch and didn't get more complicated than that. I hosted crochet classes taught by my mom twice - one about a year ago and one a few months ago. After the second class, I really was starting to understand the basics (which I wasn't patient enough to pay attention to when I was younger and not disciplined enough to practice after the class a year ago). I also became more intrigued by the items that can be made and began perusing patterns. It was actually having a project that got me to practice more and see what I could create.

I found a pattern for the boob beanie and collected my materials - cotton baby soft yarn in the appropriate colors. It certainly was an interesting experiment. While working on the hat, I ripped it out three times because I couldn't get it right. It was rather frustrating. It certainly didn't help that I wanted to change which stitch was used on part of the hat. In the end though, I finished it. I do love how it came out. I found it to be simply adorable.

The pattern labels the hat "newborn" size. It fits my 3 mo old whom I used to model the hat so people can see how it looks on a baby. I look forward to recreating the hat in various color combinations and expanding the sizes that I can make, but for now, it's only available in the one size. I can't wait to see where this takes me!

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