Dear Sister Needlecrafters,

Last year, Mrs. Channah Koppel asked Livyah Yarn to bring black superwash wool yarn to Israel so knitters could make hats for the IDF. We started importing Brown Sheep 100% superwash wool which is washable, and because it’s 100% wool, is “breathable” (air circulates) and repels water (although some will leak through in a drenching rain.)

Women in Israel were not the only knitters who joined in the effort. In my hometown of Potomac, Maryland, a lot of women knit hats which we have delivered to Hats for the IDF.  A friend, Rina, was so excited to help out, that she volunteered to organize a group of women if I would teach them how to knit. 

I don’t know how many of you used the "Soldier Hat" knitting pattern, but it is not the easiest pattern to teach new knitters. Okay, let’s be honest. It’s actually a difficult pattern for beginners.   Even some of us experienced knitters had problems with the black yarn because it is so dark, it hides the stitches.  (Light doesn’t bounce off black yarn easily, so it was harder for some of us to see the stitches.)  But Rina’s friends were so committed they insisted that I teach them the pattern. First thing first…I said that they had to learn to knit.

Rina organized a group to meet at her home. I called before going over and asked, “So how many women are coming?” She said, “About 15 to 18.” I gulped. Anyone who has taught a beginning knitting class knows that about 6 or 7 women is the maximum number you can teach at one time.  I had forgotten to tell Rina that we should have only 7 beginners at a time.

“Uh, are they all beginners?” I asked.

“Most of them, I think” said Rina. “They really want to knit the hats.”

I grabbed about 15 skeins of 100% acrylic for beginners, not wanting to waste the valuable 100% superwash wool for practice knitting. Remember when you learned to knit, how many times you ripped stitches until you felt good about your knitting?

So, how did it go? Some women learned more easily than others. Some had learned when they were children, and some crocheted and picked up knitting more easily. Some asked if we couldn’t use a different color so it would be easier to see. I explained that we had to use the pattern approved by the IDF, and in black yarn for nighttime camouflage.

Well, of the 18 women who showed up, 2 have become dedicated knitters.  Did they knit the hats? They tried. We ended up ripping their hats, and re-using the yarn. Since then, more and more women in our community have become actively involved in knitting Soldier Hats.

After creating some soldier hats we realized that the pattern is great. So many people—husbands, children and friends—wanted one of the hats, that we made gifts in different colors. We gladly made them in stripes and in variegated yarns.  See my husband’s hat in Wool-Ease Sage and Mushroom? 

One of the new knitters made hats for her children using a bright, multicolored variegated yarn.  She brought the hats to a recent knitting group.  They look wonderful. She was proud of her handiwork, and rightfully so.  “See,” she said. “This is camouflage….If you work in a jelly bean store.”

Kol tuv,

Ellen