Benjamin Mollett loved the bright novelty prints he selected for the quilts and pillows his mother, Vicki, made for him.

Tragically, the day before Thanksgiving, 1999, Vicki and Arnold Mollett lost their six-year old son, Benjamin, to lung cancer.

During Benjamin’s traumatic year of chemotherapy and hospitalization, sewing became a big part of Vicki’s life—and therapy.

“When he was sick, I did a lot of sewing. I made Benjamin a quilt and a pillow. He loved fun, funky fabrics. Then he had me make more pillows for his friends. A small pillow—something to hold on to—but capable of many washings, is a great gift for a sick child.”

L-R, front: Arnold, Vickie, back: Arnie, Luke and Benjamin Mollett in 1999. (The family also includes older siblings: four sisters and one brother.)

Knowing the joy and comfort a small pillow could bring to other pediatric patients, Vicki designed “Benjamin Smiles Pillowcases,” to cover a kid-sized travel pillow.

A “Benjamin Smiles Pillowcase,” designed by Vicki Mollett in memory of her son, and now available online. The labels are available by request, free of charge.

“What I remember most about Benjamin is his smile, said Vicki, “and I knew I had to do something to pass his smiles along.” When exhibiting at sewing shows as representatives for Handi-Quilter frames, the Molletts recruit other enthusiasts eager to “sew Benjamin’s Smiles.”

Vicki’s mom’s quilt guild in Chariton, IA, has also adopted the project, and regularly delivers dozens of pillows to the Iowa City and Des Moines Ronald McDonald Houses.

Reaching out to other hospitalized children has helped the Molletts cope with their devastating loss and memorialize their son’s bright spirit. As Vicki writes in the pattern dedication: “This pattern was created in memory of Benjamin James Mollett by his mom. May your smiles go on forever…”

How you can help: Sew “Benjamin Smiles Pillowcases” for hospital pediatric-oncology wards or Ronald McDonald Houses in your area. To download the pattern, go to Creative Kindness Projects, on this website: “Benjamin Smiles Pillowcase”. For labels, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Benjamin Smiles, 94 Bennett Creek Rd., Powell, WY 82435, attn. Vicki, (307) 645-3290, vickimollett@netscape.net.  Please include the “Benjamin Smiles” story, featured with the pattern on this web site, with any pillows donated. The Molletts also give away printed patterns and labels at consumer sewing shows, and will gladly distribute any cases sent to them.

Do you have a Creative Kindness story to share? We would like to hear about your individual or group charity efforts. Please fill out the on-line questionnaire; your information will be forwarded to Gail Brown (gailbrown.com). Although we cannot guarantee publication, all submissions will be carefully reviewed. Thank you!

©2003 Gail Brown and Nancy Zieman. For personal use only. Republication of any kind by permission only. Thank you.

Dedication: Celebrating the generous spirit of Jean Ann Harding (11/5/21 – 7/17/96), who always made time to help others.

Losing your hair doesn’t have to mean losing hope—or dignity. But Nancy and I soon discovered that comfortable, fashionable head coverings are in short supply. Basic sewing skills and a willing heart can help fill this growing need. In addition to the wig alternatives featured in our book, Creative Kindness, we are offering this new beret style.

The Creative Kindness Beret is not only easy to wear, it is easy to make. There are only four simple steps from start to finish. Vary the fabric, color, accents, or crown size, and this stylish cap can take on an amazing range of personalities.

Note from Nancy
Gail designed this beret for cancer patients but my staff and I realized that this is also a terrific project for nursing home residents, as well as the needy and homeless. Leave it to Gail to come up with such a versatile design. She also wears the beret herself and recommends it as a fashion-right accessory or bad-hair day camouflage. This is a great project for beginners, too, particularly when made of fleece, a fabric that “forgives” stitching and fitting inaccuracies.

Supplies Needed for Two Creative Kindness Berets

• 5/8 yard of 60″ (or wider) soft, comfortable knit fabric, such as medium to lightweight fleece, cotton or cotton blend interlocks and stretch knits.
• Matching all-purpose thread
• Note: All seam allowances are 1/4″

Step 1: Cut out the fabric pieces.

• Cut one band piece 22″ x 4″ (small), 23″ x 4″ (medium), or 24″ x 4″ (large). For optimum comfort and fit, the longer length of the band should be parallel to the stretchiest (crosswise) grain.
• Cut out two 13″ circles* for the crown of each beret. One circle will be the upper crown and one will be the lower crown. Quarter fold each crown circle, clipping the outer edge at the quartermarks.
• On the lower crown piece, cut a 6″ circle* out of the center. Save the 6″ circle for an optional rose accent (see Style Variations below). Quarter fold and clip the inner edge of “donut”.

  *For the fastest, most accurate circle pattern cutting, try the Yardstick Compass.

Step 2: Create the band.
Note: If possible, fit the band to the wearer’s head before final stitching of the band seam. Because of the forgiving nature of most knits, size alterations of the band won’t require any alterations of the lower crown.

• Stitch the short ends of the band, right sides together. Finger press the seam open. If using heavier fabrics such as fleece, layer the seam allowance widths to minimize bulk.
• Fold the band in half, enclosing the seam. Align the raw edges and quarterfold, clipping at the quartermarks.

Step 3: Stitch the band to the crown.

• Matching the quartermarks, pin the band to the inner edge of the lower crown, right sides together.
  
• Stitch the band to the lower crown. Stitch the allowances together, 1/4″ from seamline. Trim to the stitching.**

Step 4: Stitch lower crown to upper crown.

• Matching the quartermarks, pin the lower and upper crown pieces, right sides together.
  
• Stitch the crowns together. Stitch the allowances together, 1/4″ from the seamline. Trim to the stitching.**

** If available, substitute serged seaming, stitching and trimming in one step.

Style Variations

• Add a rosette to the beret band.
  • Use the 6″ circle cut from the lower crown piece (see Step 1); quarterfold and cut out a 2″ (or so) center.
  • Finish the outer edge of the rosette. For a no-sew finish, cut decoratively with a rotary cutter using a pinking or waved blade. For a sewn finish, serge with a rolled edge or turn under 1/4″ and zigzag. Optional: Make a “lettuced” look on the edge by shortening the stitch length and stretching as you serge or sew.
  • Machine baste 1/4″ from the edge of the inside opening, securing one end. Gather the opening closed.

    With the gathering thread, hand baste to the cap band, half way between the center front and center back of one side (or as desired). Optional: For a color accent, sew a button in the center of the rosette.

• For less fullness, decrease the crown diameter to 12″; for more fullness, increase the crown diameter to 14″ (Step 1).
  
• For a two-tone beret, cut the lower crown, band, or rosette from a contrasting fabric.
  
• Vary the depth of the beret band to better suit the wearer’s style and fit preferences.

Children’s sizes
Note: If possible, because of the range of juvenile head sizes, fit the band to the child, making any alterations necessary. For most teenagers, we recommend adult sizing. All sewing instructions are the same as for the adult version, with the exception of the following measurements changes (Step 1).

• Cut one band piece 22″ x 4″ (large), 21″ x 4″ (medium), 20″ x 4″ (small), or 19″ x 4″ (extra small). For optimum comfort and fit, the longer length of the band should be parallel to the stretchiest (crosswise) grain.
• Cut out two 12″ circles for the crown of each beret. One will be the upper crown and one will be the lower crown. For more or less fullness decrease (to 10-12″) or increase (to 13″) the crown diameter.
• On the lower crown piece, cut a 5-1/2″ circle out of the center. Quarter fold and clip the inner edge at the quartermarks. Save the 5-1/2″ circle for an optional rose accent.

More Beret and Cap Making Tips

• If you or your group are making several berets in different sizes and styles, and you have more fabric than time, cut out the large size crown circle and band for all berets. Then restyle or resize by deepening the seam allowances.
  
• For a lighter weight scarf, make a bandanna.
  
• Show your support of and solidarity with a friend suffering from hair loss by making a habit of wearing caps and hats yourself. The person camouflaging hair loss won’t look or feel so obviously different.

Please tell us how you or your group shared Creative Kindness through making and donating this beret. We welcome your feedback. If you have comments about this pattern, or suggestions for other head covering styles, please email Gail Brown or visit her website.

Copyright © Nancy’s Notions®
For personal use only.

by Maryen Rogers, Searcy, AR

Here’s a turban so simple to make that 15 members of my sewing club completed 191 of them in a single day. Before gathering at our favorite store, I had cut out most of the turbans from leftover donated fabric pieces and from a bolt of baby-blue knit fabric donated by the dealer. We had a great day knowing that so many people would benefit from our efforts.

Afterwards, I packaged each turban in a plastic bag with a printed note tucked inside that stated the size (small, medium, or large) and that they were “Made for a special person.” I distributed the turbans to radiation treatment centers and oncologists. We suggest that each chemotherapy patient receive three turbans—one to wear, one to wash, and a spare.

There are lots of turban patterns around but our experiments have streamlined this one so that it can be mass-produced. It doesn’t take much fabric or much sewing skill, so encourage everyone you know to join together for this worthy cause.

How-to:

You’ll need 3/8-1/2 yard of 60″ wide fabric for two turbans, depending on the size. Cut according to the chart. Note that all sizes use the same size tab. You must use stretch knit fabric and cut the pieces using the crosswise grain. You can use a sewing machine zigzag stitch but serging is simplest and quickest. The seam allowance is approximately 1/2.”

1. Perpendicular to the back seam allowance fold up and pin three tucks approximately 3/4″ deep. Stitch in the ditch of the seam allowance to secure these tucks. (If the fabric is too thick to stitch on your machine, hand-sew along the seam using a large needle and upholstery or quilting thread.)

1. Fold the tab in half lengthwise, right sides together and serge the seam. Turn the tab right sides out and rotate it so that the seam is centered on the underside. Slip the tab through the opening in the turban seam. Fold up and stack tucks along the front seam from the lower band edge to the opening. (These tucks are similar to those at the back except they’re stacked and not secured with stitching in the ditch.) Wrap the tab around the tucks and sew the tab ends by machine, right sides together. Rotate the tab seam allowance underneath the turban and tack it by machine to the center front seam allowance. This connection will prevent any see-through gap between the tab and the turban.

Note: We make mostly the medium size; the small size would fit a young teen. Vary the style with a contrast color band, especially if you’re short of fabric. The tab is a natural place for embellishment–fabric rose, pin, button, or bow.

SOURCE:  The Creative Machine Newsletter, PO Box 2634–R, Menlo Park CA 94026-2634, (650) 366-4440, fax (650) 366-4455.

Would you or your group like to sew headcovers to help those coping with hair loss? Refer to these projects and stories featured in Creative Kindness: “Gifts of Love, Dignity and Hope” (page 23), “Comfort Cap” (page 27), “Chemotherapy Turban” (page 30), “Rosie’s Calico Cupboard Quilt Shop” (page 82), “Bosom Pals Pillow” (page 84), “Kids’ Kindness Kap” (page 88), and, to comfort those going through chemotherapy, the “Creative Kindness Pillow” (page 91).

Make a Hat…Make a Difference

We can live without our hair.
We can live without our breasts.
But we cannot live without our hope.

…seen on an oncology center bulletin board

During this season of cancer relays and fundraising, why not make headcovers your personal or group project?

Get inspired by the plentiful array of patterns now available, from commercial catalogs or self-published lines. Then finish one or two during your favorite TV show.

Nancy Zieman adds eye protection, dimension and style with this visor-trimmed bandanna variation from her headcover pattern, “Hats for Any Reason—or Season.” The fast-to-make fabric flower and padded crown stylize the traditional babushka look.

Well-known headcover designer Helen Littrell has released two new patterns: the “Day ‘n Night,” a fifteen-minutes-in-the-making cap, and “Wrap ‘n Twist,” a sophisticated hat secured with a twisted tie. Helen’s clever use of darts and drawstrings diversifies fabric choices to include wovens, as well as knits.

Helen’s “The Day ‘n Night,” shown here, is both attractive and comfortable, particularly when sewn in soft cotton flannel. She designed the hat as “the ultimate in sewing simplicity,” fitted entirely with a drawstring at the nape of the neck (see inset).

Even quilt-weight cottons can be ingeniously contoured into chic hats, as shown in “Wrap ‘n Twist,” one of the new designs by Helen Littrell (www.chemohatpatterns.com). The stitched-on ties are wrapped and twisted in place, as the name implies.

In response to the popularity of her first headcover pattern, Nancy Zieman has also introduced “More Hats for Any Reason, or Season,” which will be available late summer. The “Creative Kindness Cap,” shown here, is just one of the six different styles and dozens of variations offered.

This flattering, easy-fitting cap/scarf combo was once an outdated cashmere cardigan. Nearly every section of the sweater was used to make this new “Creative Kindness Cap” from Nancy Zieman’s “More Hats for Any Reason—or Season” pattern, including the ribbing rosettes.

You have friends and family who need hats now, or in the too-near future. When wearing flattering, comfortable headcovers, they, like other hair-loss sufferers, will say: “I feel and look better. I can cope with what life brings me today—and I have hope for tomorrow.” Undoubtedly, in making a hat, you make a difference.

Hatmaking Hints

• For the most accurate fit, measure the wearer without hair. Generally, small or medium sizes are best, because heads are so much smaller without hair.
• Make a variety of styles, fabrications, and sizes. Give the wearer time and her own space to experiment with hat selection. Alter as necessary.
• Combine headcovers and accessories to add volume, security, texture, and color. Headbands can be worn with nearly any style, as can “underscarves,” tied babushka-style. Or brighten a well-worn cap with a funky pin.
• Sew a scarf or muffler to match, for warmth, color, and dimension around the neckline and shoulders.
• Recycle soft, gently used sweaters, sweatshirts, scarves, and shawls as hat fabric.
• Put your knitting and crocheting skills to work, too. Nancy Zieman’s new pattern includes a crocheted cap and rosette, and you’ll find scads of complimentary designs online.
• Understand that temperature sensitivity is keen during chemotherapy. Most patients complain of being either too hot or too cold. Encourage them to choose different fabrics and styles to cope with these extremes.
• Focus on skin-tone enhancing basics and upbeat color schemes. Avoid greys, yellows, and yellow-greens.
• Spread the news about wig alternatives, keeping in mind that many other diseases and conditions cause full or partial baldness: alopecia, cranial surgery, aging, chronic high blood pressure, scalp inflammation and emotional trauma.

Update 2005: Headcover Links and Information

Note: Do you have additional links or corrections to these links? Please e-mail Gail Brown (gbrown@techline.com). If searching the Internet, try these key words: hat patterns, chemo hat patterns, or hat patterns for hair loss. You’ll discover links to free sewing, knitting, and crocheting patterns.

• Helen Littrell’s headcover designs, go to www.chemohatpatterns.com.
• Nancy Zieman’s “Hats for Any Season—or Reason Pattern,” click here.
• Nancy Zieman’s “More Hats for Any Reason or Season Pattern,” Available late summer 2005; go to www.nancysnotions.com or call 1-800-833-0690 for updated information on the release date.
• Nancy Zieman’s “Creative Kindness Book,” which features volunteers who serve hair-loss sufferers, and includes a quick turban pattern, click here.
• Head Wrap from Perfect Little Stitches, click here. http://www.perfectlittlestitches.com/headwrap.htm
• Gail Brown and Nancy Zieman’s Creative Kindness Beret, click here.
• Gail Brown and Nancy Zieman’s Creative Kindness Headband, click here.
• Innovative Scarf Tying how-tos, click here. http://bcforum.org/scarves.html
• Hancock Home Economists’ Chemo Cap pattern, click here. http://www.headhuggers.org/patterns/spatt01.htm
• Knit and crocheted hat patterns from Head Huggers, plus some sewing patterns and many links to other resources, click here. http://www.headhuggers.org/default.htm
• Brimming with Loves’ many patterns, links, ideas for getting involved in hatmaking, click here. http://www.brimmingwithlove.org/

Do you have a Creative Kindness story to share? We would like to hear about your individual or group charity efforts. To guide you in submitting information, go to our on-line questionnaire. Submit your story by e-mailing it to sewnews@sewnews.com or by sending to “Giving Back,” Sew News, 741 Corporate Circle, Ste. A, Golden, CO 80401. Although we cannot guarantee publication, all submissions will be carefully reviewed. Sorry, photos cannot be returned. Thank you!

©2005 Gail Brown and Nancy Zieman. For personal use only. Republication of any kind by permission only. Thank you.