Blanket Construction and Mailing

This was taken off the Hamlin Fistula Website for your convenience:

A good finished blanket will measure 40 inches x 70 inches (102cm x 178cm). The blankets can be knitted, machine knitted, crocheted or quilted. Ambitious knitters can knit up to 180cm x 200cm. Please be mindful of the sizing – blankets which are too small to use as a wrap for a patient may not be sent to the hospital.

To knit a blanket:

• The blankets are made up of 28 squares – 4 squares across, 7 squares down.
• Instead of individual squares, you may like to knit 4 strips. Each strip comprising 7 squares. This reduces the number of ends which can come undone.
• Please keep joins on the same side and flat and please – no knots – they can unravel leaving an ugly hole in the rug.
• Only completed blankets can be accepted.
• Baby blankets 90cm x 60cm are also welcomed and used by the midwives.

A square:

• Knitted and crocheted squares for blankets should measure 10 inches x 10 inches (25cm x 25cm).
• Use size 8 (4mm) needles and 8 ply acrylic yarn.
• Acrylic yarn is needed so that the blankets can be frequently washed.
• Cast on 50-55 stitches, depending on your tension, and knit each row plain (i.e. garter stitch)
• Squares can be knitted separately or in strips of 7 like a scarf.

The fistula patients love colour, so don’t be afraid to use strong colours – the brighter the better! Why not get a group of friends together and enjoy knitting for Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia? You can enjoy a cup of tea and a chat while knitting for the fistula patients.

Getting your blanket to Ethiopia:

Please send your finished blankets to PO Box 5066 Turramurra NSW 2074 and include your contact details. We have two major consignments from Australia to Ethiopia each year – one in January and one in June. Please only send your completed blankets in to us during the months of January or June as we do not have the storage space for several hundred blankets as they build up during the year.

We appreciate any financial contribution that you can make towards the cost of freighting your blanket to the hospital. Please make cheques payable to Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia (Australia) and include with your blanket when you mail it to our Sydney HQ. Thank you!