A KIND-HEARTED knitter has created hundreds of hats for premature babies “as a way to give something back” .
Jill Harrison, from Barnard Castle, has spent the winter evenings knitting colourful, petite head coverings after spotting an appeal on social media by an NHS trust for “traffic light” hats for new-born babies.
Mrs Harrison said: “I’m always doing something. Whether it’s making rock and roll dresses, knitting and such like. I just like to keep busy, especially on the dark nights.”
The tiny hats, which help keep new-borns warm, provide a visual aid for midwives and neonatal teams to easily identify babies that may need a little more help or care within their first hours. She added: “I had lots of wool left over from other projects and I read up on what was needed and decided to give something back because we were given a lot of help when my husband, Neil, had his kidney transplant six years ago.”
In just a short period of time Mrs Harrison managed to whip up 200 hats, averaging one or two each evening.
“Each of the hats has to have a coloured pom-pom,” she said. “A red one is for babies who are more at risk. An amber is for premature ones and green means they are good to go.
“I’ve got 200 for Darlington Memorial Hospital plus an extra six that a lady who used to knit for the Warm Age Knitters made as well.
“My nanna taught me to knit and I’ve been knitting for about 50 years. Hopefully I have passed on some skills to my daughter as she has been doing some knitting with her family during lockdowns.
“But it’s nice to have something to do rather than just watching the TV. I’m going to be making some little jackets and blankets as well.”
The hats will go into quarantine for 72 hours when they are delivered to the hospital.
