Practical Support During Your Child’s Journey
Dreams & Courage
Collection
Helping children rediscover confidence, imagination and joy.
Hair loss can be one of the most visible and emotional parts of treatment for many children.
The Dreams & Courage Collection was created to help children feel confident, special and beautifully themselves during an incredibly difficult time.
Lovingly handcrafted by our volunteers, each hat is designed to bring smiles, spark imagination and remind every child that courage can look different every day.
Sometimes it’s the smallest things that make the biggest difference.
A favourite hat can become a source of comfort through treatment, something exciting to wear to hospital or simply a reminder that they’re still the same wonderful child underneath it all.
Every Dreams & Courage princess hat, character hat, knight helmet or hooded blanket is made with kindness and carefully crafted by volunteers who want every child to feel like a confident, comfortable and beautifully themselves again.
More than just a hat…
Explore the collection
From princess hats and favourite characters to dragons, knights and cosy hooded blankets, every Dreams & Courage item is lovingly handmade by a Ripples volunteer.
Download our brochure to explore the current collection with your child. It includes photographs of the available designs, guidance on choosing the right size and information about the colours and details we may be able to personalise.
Once your child has chosen, return to this page and complete our request form. If they cannot decide, that is not a problem—we can help you choose.
Finding the right size
A comfortable fit starts with one simple measurement
A head measurement helps our volunteers choose or make a hat that feels comfortable and fits your child well.
Using a soft measuring tape, measure around the widest part of your child’s head. The tape should sit:
across the middle of their forehead
just above their eyebrows and ears
around the fullest part at the back of their head
Keep the tape level and comfortably snug without pulling it tightly. Record the measurement in centimetres and, if possible, measure twice to check it.
Please measure your child’s head as it will be when they wear the hat. If it will be worn over a medical dressing, cap or other head covering, include this when measuring and tell us on the request form.
If you cannot take a measurement, please give us your child’s usual clothing age or size. We will use this alongside their age to choose the closest fit.
Would you like to make your own?
Create a little courage of your own
Some parents, relatives and friends may prefer to make a Dreams & Courage hat themselves.
Please contact us and tell us which design you are interested in. We can let you know whether Ripples is able to share the pattern or direct you to the original designer’s website, where it can be downloaded or purchased.
Some patterns have been donated specifically for our registered volunteers and cannot be redistributed. We are very grateful to the designers for allowing us to use their work and ask families to respect their copyright.
If making one hat inspires you to make more, we would also be delighted to tell you about joining our volunteer crocheters. Complete the form and let us know you are interested in “Creative or Craft Activities”.
Help another child feel courageous
Could you crochet a little courage?
Our Dreams & Courage hats are lovingly handmade by volunteers and given free of charge to children experiencing hair loss during treatment.
Whether you make one hat or several, your time, care and creativity could help a child feel confident, special and beautifully themselves during an incredibly difficult time.
We provide access to approved patterns and clear guidance about yarn, sizing, finishing, safety, packaging and where to send completed items. You can crochet from home and contribute as much or as little as your time allows.
Visit our volunteering pages to learn more about becoming a Ripples creative volunteer.
“She is over the moon with her Princess Hat. Thank you again so much!”
— Parent
How to request support
Help another child feel courageous
Send a little imagination
A donation of £10 can help us prepare and send one of our amazing hats to children going through treatment.
Every child’s journey is different
❤️
If you think a Dreams & Courage hat or hooded blanket could help your child feel a little more confident, comfortable or beautifully themselves, we would love to hear from you.
With heartfelt thanks
Patterns shared with kindness
The Dreams & Courage Collection would not be possible without the generosity of the talented designers who allow our volunteers to use their beautiful crochet patterns.
We would particularly like to thank Briabby and Evermicha Crochet, who have donated patterns free of charge for our registered volunteers to use when creating hats for the children we support.
Their kindness has enabled us to offer children a much wider choice of imaginative designs, bringing colour, confidence and a little fun during an incredibly difficult time.
Please visit their websites to discover more of their wonderful crochet designs and support their work.
Briabby: VISIT BRIABBY
Evermicha Crochet: VISIT EVERMICHA CROCHET
All patterns remain the intellectual property of their respective designers and are used by Ripples of Compassion with permission.