5,000 Baby Hats and Counting for Madhatter Knits
In 2020, looking for a creative outlet and a way to make a difference, high school students Aditi Bang, Sonika Tatipalli, and Rasagna Vuppala formed the Georgia chapter of the Madhatter Knits. Five years later, the chapter co-founders are Tech students, and the club is a Georgia Tech student organization that has donated more than 5,000 handmade hats for premature babies in Georgia hospitals.
Premature babies often struggle to regulate their body temperature — a goal they must meet before being discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Because heat escapes through exposed skin, the baby’s head can be a site of significant heat loss. So, the hats knitted by the club at Georgia Tech provide both a functional benefit and a sense of comfort.
“We know that heat is lost from the head and that our hats provide that physical comfort, but even more than that, we want the hats to help these families understand that, even beyond this hospital system and the doctors and nurses working 24/7 to provide the care they need, there are people out there who care for them,” Bang said.
Madhatter Knits typically hosts three monthly events, during which members and newcomers can knit hats that will end up in Georgia NICUs.
When the chapter co-founders started the club, they had no knitting experience. While they were elated to find an extensive knitting community at Georgia Tech, they stress that no prior experience is necessary to join.
Club members can teach inexperienced knitters to use the loom, allowing everyone to connect with their cause.
“My twin sister and I were preemie babies, so I was in the NICU,” electrical engineering student Carl Court said during a recent knitting event. “There’s a story I’ve always heard that I was losing a lot of heat from my head and crying all day. My dad didn’t know what was wrong until they finally figured out I needed a hat, so I feel connected to this organization and its work,.”
After knitting events, the hats are packed and driven to hospitals across Georgia. As the hub of the Georgia chapter, the club’s membership is primarily Tech students. It numbers more than 200 participants, and high school students also contribute in their respective hometowns.
Each of the founders at Georgia Tech is a biomedical engineering student on the pre-med track. Since founding the club, Bang and her childhood friends have volunteered in NICUs, which she says offers a new perspective on where their hats end up.
“Until I volunteered during my first year, it was hard to comprehend how these small hats were able to fit a baby. But even though the babies are so small, they’re incredibly strong, and it’s inspiring to be around them,” she said.
In addition to knitting hats for premature babies, the club raises awareness about global health issues, creates care packages for nurses and hospital staff, and hosts events focused on healthcare.