For three women at the Village Green retirement campus in Federal Way, knitting caps for newborns at St. Francis Hospital is gratifying.

Pat Notson, Edith Mahn and Destinee Hewson Stavano love babies and the feeling that comes with each completed hat.

“I always say a little prayer for the baby and the family as I’m knitting,” said Hewson Stavano. “I wish them good health, a good life, and to know they are loved.”

Each hat takes five to eight hours to make. The trio of knitters prefer acrylic yarn for making different sizes and colors for premature and  full-term babies.

Parents at St. Francis get to sort through the caps for the one that best fits their newborn.

Residents at Village Green have been donating the hats to St. Francis for eight years, and this year they expect to knit more than 200.

“I thought it would be fun to do something for babies,” said Notson, who makes 12 caps a month.