On Wednesday night, Gemma McCaw, a former Black Sticks player, posted on Instagram a photo of her and husband Richie McCaw, a former All Blacks captain, knitting small hats to give to Dunedin Hospital’s Queen Mary Maternity Ward and to Christchurch Women’s Hospital.
The pair had never knitted before, but decided to give it a go, Mrs McCaw said in the post.
"We thought we should step outside our comfort zone so we’ve decided to each knit a woollen hat."
She encouraged others to take up their knitting needles and do the same.
The Southern District Health Board put out a call for knitted beanies last month after running out of the items, and received many donations.
An SDHB spokeswoman said if knitters were keen for more projects, it was also short of knitted "twiddle muffs".
Twiddle muffs are knitted muffs with items attached to help keep patients’ hands active.
People with a dementia or delirium often had restless hands and twiddle muffs provided a source of visual, tactile, and sensory stimulation, while keeping hands snug and warm, she said.
Queen Mary charge midwife manager Adele McBride said the midwives and new mums were "so grateful" for all the support from the local community and people beyond, and had a good supply of woollen wear to keep the ward going, but it was still lovely to have the support of the McCaws.
