Steamboat Springs — Gayle Dudley can crank one out in an hour. Barb Tuchlinsky keeps yarn secreted away behind her desk. And newcomer Nicole DeCrette is making “one-of-a-kind” creations.

These Steamboat Springs High School staff members have banded together to knit about 30 tiny hats for infants to be sent with care packages to new mothers in impoverished countries.

Dudley, college counselor at the high school, organized the group of five or six teachers and a couple of students who meet during lunch Thursdays. There they swap tips and tricks – Dudley is a former Home Economics teacher – for knitting the beanies. Working as a part of the Knit One, Save One initiative, the knitters will send the hats to the national Warm Up America Foundation by Dec. 19. That organization will distribute the hats across the globe.

“It hit my fancy,” Dudley said. “It’s just kind of fun to see the different yarn.”

Blue, yellow, green and pink hats adorn the display case outside the high school library as the knitters continue to add to the project.

Media specialist Tuchlinsky is working on her seventh hat for the project.

“This has been keeping my hands busy. I knit when I was younger, and it’s something that I’ve picked back up recently,” she said.

The group also welcomes newcomers such as DeCrette, who has knit two hats so far.

“This is my second-ever hat,” she said as she held up a slightly squared cap. “It’s a one-of-a-kind creation. My first one looks like a beret.”

No matter what the style, the caps will benefit children in Third World countries who are at risk of a young death.

The caps will be paired with a newborn care kit created by the Save the Children Foundation.

According to the Warm Up America Web site, those kits include “antibiotics to fight infections, immunizations against tetanus, training for skilled birth attendants, education on breastfeeding and basic care such as keeping a baby – even those born in hot climates – warm with a knit cap.”