Christine Naugle from Sweet Potato 3 hosted 2023 Crochet Cancer Challenge this October. It was my first time participating and it was such an interesting as well as rewarding event, I was very happy to come across it.
Each weekday, one hat design will be featured for free for 24 hours. If you download that crochet pattern, you are taking a pledge to make a hat to donate. Each weekend, there will be two designs available for 48 hours only. Same pledge! If you download, you are promising to crochet a hat and donate it from the pattern. It’s so easy, so fun, so rewarding and even more important, you are making a difference to someone going through a very difficult time. I consider this a crochet charity event that has touched so many of us personally. It is personal for you crocheters as well as us crochet designers. The hat designs are not just cute, but there is a meaning behind each one of them. When a crochet designer signs up to participate, they are asked to design a hat with a specific cancer type in mind or in honor of someone who they know who has battled cancer. Many of them are very touching and explain why they designed their hat.
https://sweetpotato3.com/2023-crochet-cancer-challenge/
Three designs caught my eye and I made total of 11 hats from these patterns:
I found this pattern very interesting allowing me to create vertical stripes while crocheting in rounds. I also really loved the scalloped edge and the technique to create it was totally new to me. There is something to learn with each pattern!
2. Soulmate Beanie by Ambassador Crochet
Beautiful stitch on this design got me hooked as soon as I saw it, making me want to crochet the beanie with different types of my leftover yarn. I think it looks great both in solid and variegated colors.
3. Comfort Beanie by Through the Loop Yarn Craft
This is the softest texture I have ever made with crochet. I also learned Herringbone stitch with this pattern, and it can be a little tricky, but the outcome was so worth it!
I donated all my hats to Knots Of Love:
Our Process
Send us your handmade creations — and we will make sure they arrive safe and sound in the hands of someone in need of some love! You put your heart into knit or crochet creations using your own pattern or choose from our wide variety of free hat / chemo cap patterns and free NICU blanket patterns.
https://www.knotsoflove.org/how-to-donate-caps-or-nicu-blankets
Then send us your lovingly handmade creations. Once your creations arrive at Knots of Love, your creations are carefully checked in, inspected, sorted, tagged, placed in pretty bags decorated with a red bow (or with a flag for veterans) boxed, labeled, and shipped to the 580+ locations across the USA that we serve (at zero cost to those in need who receive the beanies or blankets!).
Lastly — we will reach out to tell you exactly where each one of your hats and/or blankets were sent and you will know that your work will be out in the world, spreading love and making a difference!
If this is inspiring to you, check out all my volunteer projects to hopefully find one that you would like to take part in.
