After six months of dedicated knitting by people from all over the world, midwives at Bath’s RUH are calling time for now on their incredibly successful baby bobble hat appeal.

Rachel Coleman, Practice Development Sister, said: “We’re really grateful to all of the hard-working knitters and crocheters who have been so very generous with their time, skill and wool. Thank you to everyone who was part of this wonderful response – we’re stunned at the number of hats that have arrived.”

The Bath Birthing Centre originally asked for around 5,000 hats to help ensure that babies receive the individual care they need. Their social media appeal went viral, with knitters aged from nine to 94 involved, sending hats from 160 different locations and from countries including the UK, USA, Portugal, Spain and Ireland.

The white hats, with red, amber or green bobbles, give a traffic-light indication to midwifery staff about a baby’s care. A green bobble means a baby is term, warm and feeding well. Amber indicates a baby needs a little more help with feeding and keeping warm. Red shows a baby will have regular observations by a nurse or midwife.

Rachel continued: “Babies still receive traditional midwifery care, but this is an extra visual aid. The hats make a real difference in further improving the quality of care we provide and we are extremely grateful for every hat donated.

“Our appeal really caught the imagination of knitters across the world. We now have enough hats for our babies for a while to come, and we are running out of space to store them! The hats are in use at the RUH and some will be sent to Gambia later this year.

“Thank you to everyone who supported this appeal – if more hats are required, we won’t hesitate to ask.”