These hats are quite the catch.
Members of a yarn craft group at an Upper West Side senior residence are making hats in the shape of Pikachu and other animated creatures from the widely popular smartphone game Pokémon Go for children hospitalized with cancer at Mount Sinai West in Hell's Kitchen.
"The Pokémon we just started as of late, because of the Pokémon fad," said Edna Benyacar, a member of the "Knitting for a Cause" club that meets twice a week at Atria West 86, located at 333 W. 86th St. and Riverside Drive, to chat and knit and crochet crafts for donation.
Their mission began three years ago, with lap blankets for veterans in wheelchairs at the VA Medical Center New York in Kips Bay, and hats for infants and children receiving chemotherapy at Sloan Kettering Cancer Centers in the Upper East Side.
“They were very appreciative because the hats that we were making were very, very fashionable," Benyacar said. "We try to keep the yarn soft, because of the situation."
"It’s handmade, it’s made with love, it’s very touching," Atria activities director Stefanie Shulman said of the knitters' work. "People are thrilled."
For a while, the knitting klatch churned out Peter Pan-style caps in bright colors, each with a peak in the back.
"Unfortunately, many of us do have problems with our hands," Benyacar said, "so we try to change the style — whichever the ladies feel the most comfortable with, that's what the ladies do."
At the suggestion of the club's staff coordinator, members found new design inspiration in Pokémon Go and the "Despicable Me" movie franchise.
Atria residents Caterina Ferrante and Shirely LaTessa show off a few items, including a Pikachu hat and a Minion one, created by the "Knitting for a Cause" club (Photo Credit: Atria Senior Living)
Benyacar thinks the Pikachus and Minions the club is knitting for delivery to Mount Sinai this fall are "very, very cute," but she predicts they won't be in demand for too long.
"This is only a fad," she said. "This, too, shall pass."
