Recently, a mom from Efrat whose family made aliya a few years ago asked me if I could provide some hats for her son's unit, which I happily gave her. Last week she sent me this video from the boys. She (and her son) were excited to see that the hats were made by a group called The Knitting Needles, based in the JCC of Tenafly, New Jersey. Why? Because when this young man was 3 years old, he was a member of that JCC! How wild is that? Go, NJ!
And here are a photo and a video taken by Rafi of "Hachi Achi", who drives around the southern Hebron hills visiting soldiers in remote and cold outposts. He brings them warm drinks, treats...and of course, handknit hats for soldiers. They are so grateful.
Thank you, kind knitters -- I hope these images give you a sense of all the amazing good you're doing out of there, and a feeling of pride and satisfaction. You deserve it!
This is so inspiring. My most favorite thing to knit is hats and I would love to knit hats for Israeli soldiers. As soon as I make some in black I will send them.
**Can I crochet a hat?**
Sorry, not for this project. Many crochet patterns have been tried but due to the nature of crochet the end result is always a hat that’s much bulkier, heavier and less stretchy than a knit hat. Also, the commanders prefer that their soldiers all get the same thing. So knit hats only please.
**Can I knit in a green yarn?**
I would strongly discourage you from doing so. Only a very specific shade of khaki is allowed, and only in some units, so you will probably be wasting a lot of time and effort. Please knit black hats, which all the troops are allowed to wear. Thank you!
**Is acrylic yarn allowed?**
As far as I know, yes. I know the U.S. army prefers all-wool, the IDF doesn’t seem to have a thing about that. Superwash naturally has the advantage of being less likely to melt, as well as being softer so if you can afford it and/or have some on hand that might be preferable but my understanding is that man-made materials are acceptable as well.
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As the mother of an Israeli soldier and the organizer of a local group of handcrafters called "Chicks with Sticks", I began a small grass roots initiative to knit hats for soldiers...and it grew...and grew...and grew. This small, concrete way to send a soldier a little warmth struck a chord with knitters around the world. Thousands of their handmade hats are already in use by combat soldiers on Israel's front lines. Read more about it on these pages.
Write to me at kovakoppel@gmail.com
3 comments:
This is so inspiring. My most favorite thing to knit is hats and I would love to knit hats for Israeli soldiers. As soon as I make some in black I will send them.
Shana Tova! Are the hats still needed for 5781? Please let me know!
yes, please!
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