Kindness Hearts started out as a way for me to share a moment of kindness that could leave a lasting impression.
At first, I wanted to give a gift to the people who came to the very first MedKNITation lecture at Vogue Knitting Live in January 2020. I also wanted to yarnbomb the site of the event, New York’s Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. But what could I give the lecture attendees, and what kind of fiber installation would be allowed at the hotel?
The answer came when I asked myself what I was really trying to do here. What was my intention? Kindness; I wanted to share kindness with people. Kindness is thinking and acting with your heart. Okay, then let me make hearts.
I found this tutorial, with a super-simple crochet formula for tiny hearts, on YouTube. (Click here for a knit pattern.) I ordered some very inexpensive yarn. The hearts were so easy to make, and they’re a meditation on their own, once you get the hang of them. They said enough by themselves, but I wanted to add messages, mantras, affirmations, positive vibrations. I got small craft paper tags, wrote messages of kindness on them, and attached them to each heart.
At that VKL event, I handed out over 400 handmade Kindness Hearts, each with a handwritten message of kindness, and I handed them out to people—strangers, friends, strangers who became friends. I also left them in random places for people to find.
That was just the beginning. Word got around, and soon people were making Kindness Hearts in the UK and Australia, and all over America. I connected with Knit the Rainbow and made over 800 Kindness Hearts with messages that they could attach to the garments they give out to homeless LGBTQ+ teenagers. I made another 100 or so for Soap SACKs, my friend Stacy Weiner’s charitable organization. Project Knitwell made a bunch to hand out to hospital workers and patients.
Kindness Hearts are a wonderful way to tell someone they’re loved and valued, even if you never meet them face to face. They take two minutes to make (the crocheted version, anyway), but their effects can last a lifetime. Make some today, and make someone’s day!
