KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Grab your crochet hooks and knitting needles!
East Tennessee Children's Hospital is asking for handmade blankets of all sizes to send home with hospital patients.
Cheryl Allmon, director of Volunteer Services, said the blankets are primarily given to NICU families when babies are discharged.
"We are not able to actually use them in the hospital but parents are always so happy to receive them," she said.
The hospital can accept knitted or crocheted blankets. They can be made with any yarn, as long as it's soft and not rough against a baby's skin. There are no size or pattern requirements for the blankets.
The hospital asks that donations come from smoke-free, pet-free homes for infection control reasons.
To donate the blankets, call the hospital at (865) 541-8745. You can set up a day and time to drop your donations off.
Donors are not able to hand the blankets out themselves, but the hospital said volunteers do give them out on a regular basis.
The hospital is also always looking for handmade costumes for the holidays.
Allmon said the NICU staff loves to dress the babies up for Halloween, Fourth of July, Christmas and other holidays, but the time and cost for staff members to make the costumes restricts what they are able to do.
SLIDESHOW: Woman photographs babies at NICU at East Tennessee Children's Hospital
To share your progress or connect with other people crafting for a good cause, join 10Crafts on Facebook.