86-Year-Old Makes 300 Tiny Hats For Preemies After Teaching Himself How To Knit

86-year-old Ed Moseley taught himself how to knit to make hats for babies in the NICU

Ed Moseley is living proof that you’re never too old to learn something new or make the world a kinder place. When the 86-year-old heard that his assisted living facility was starting an initiative to knit teeny hats for premature babies, the former engineer knew he wanted in.

There was just one small problem. Moseley didn’t know the first thing about knitting. “I’ve never knitted in my life,” Moseley told Inside Edition. “Corporate said it’s a nice project for keeping the old people out of trouble,” he joked.

He enlisted the help of his daughter, who went to the fabric store and stocked up on supplies. Armed with an instruction book, a loom and yarn, Moseley set about making his first hat.

It took him three hours spread out over four days to complete his first knitted cap, not including the redo that happened when he realized he dropped a bunch of stitches and had to start over (a rookie mistake that happens to all of us, even after years of experience). Soon he was zipping through hats at a rate of one in an hour and a half. He’s gotten so good at it that he doesn’t even have to focus that hard anymore. “I could watch TV at the same time and knit,” he said.

Moseley’s original goal was to make 150 hats by himself, but word of his new hobby soon spread among the other residents. They even started pitching in supplies. “Everybody’s got yarn!” he said. “These ladies must have inherited yarn.” Within a few weeks of knitting his very first hat, Moseley had made 55 all on his own. His fellow residents created 300 more until his couch was covered in tiny baby caps. Together they delivered the hats to the Georgia Northside hospital, just in time for National Prematurity Awareness day.

Moseley says he knows there’s an ongoing need for the hats, and so he hopes to continue to make 30 per month to send to the hospital. “It’s kind of nice to get into, knowing what you’re doing is helping somebody.”