The Yarny Army provides 'woolly hugs' for Hawke's Bay kids in need

L-R Yarny Army co-founder Sandra McNair, Will McNair, 4, and attends Heretaunga Kindergarten, co-founder Sue Stow founders along with fellow yarners at Zeppelin Cafe, Clive. Photo/ Warren Buckland

Seventy per cent of babies in Hawke's Bay don't have enough woollen clothing to keep them warm throughout winter, a Hawke's Bay knitting initiative says.

In a bid to combat this the Yarny Army as they call themselves have put their knitting needles together to provide a knitted beanie and a pair of slippers for the little ones at the Heretaunga Kindergarten Association.

The Yarny Army are a group of knitters and crochet lovers making warm woollen clothing for Hawke's Bay's "wee ones in need", says co-founder and co-ordinator Sandra McNair.

"The Yarny Army was formed in 2017 because of the growing number of newborns leaving the hospital without warm woollen clothing within the Hawke's Bay region.

"The founders of Yarny Army tapped into local knitting groups asking these talented ladies to knit hats, vests and booties, and distributed these mostly via Hawke's Bay's midwives.

"This army of knitters grew with the advent of the Yarny Army Facebook page, allowing others with a passion for knitting to join in this initiative from around New Zealand."

It was estimated that 60-70 per cent of newborns in Hawke's Bay did not have access to enough woollen clothing and live in homes that are cold or poorly insulated, she said.

"In 2019 we teamed up with the Heretaunga Kindergarten Association to provide slippers and beanies to keep children within their community warm.

"We were able to provide over 495 hats, 665 slippers for the association to distribute. Each set takes around 8 hours to produce, and 'we like to think of them as woolly hugs'."

The army also created 20 blankets which were given to families, ensuring they had a warm winter, she says.

"We continue to work directly with midwives providing packs which include a pure wool hat, booties and a vest or cardigan for families of newborns.

"We also provide woollen clothing to Plunket, Well Child Tamariki Ora, Wairoa and Dannevirke DHB, SCBU and Pediatrics at Hawkes Bay Hospital, Oranga Tamariki Foster Parents and HB health nurses."

This year they have gifted $15,129 worth of woollens, and in 2018 they gifted $25,000 worth of woollen clothing to families within the community.

"We have also given clothing to groups within Hawke's Bay such as Plunket, the Family Start programme provided by Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga, Te Tipu Whenua o Pa [Flaxmere Teen parent unit] and the 'Our Babies' programme based out of Hawke's Bay Hospital."

To enable them to continue knitting they rely "heavily" on donations of wool and fundraisers.

The Yarny Army is currently working towards applying for charity status.

* You can get a Yarny Army pack (packs of wool and patterns for people wanting to knit) at-Skeinz in Napier, Counting Stitches in Hastings and The Print House in Havelock North.