New York
The caps are at the center of the Pussyhat Project, thought up by Los Angeles friends and knitters Jayna Zweiman and Krista Suh in the aftermath of the November election.
The two, with help from their knitting instructor, came up with the DIY project and swept social media with a call for knitters, crocheters and sewers to get busy and donate their creations to crowds expected at the Women’s March in Washington next Saturday, the day after President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Some members of the Upper Valley Knitting Guild have created versions of the hat, and scores of Upper Valley residents are planning to attend protests in Washington or other cities, including Montpelier, Concord, Boston and New York.
So far, nationally, the project has taken in more than 60,000 handmade hats, with many more created by rogues doling them out to friends and family or planning to keep their own heads warm on the National Mall and more than 200 sister demonstrations.
“We’ve been selling pink yarn like crazy,” said Angie Paulson, who works at a knitting shop, The Yarnery, in St. Paul, Minn. “We can’t keep it on the shelves.”
She was on her third hat on Tuesday and planned a knit-in with customers to make more.
The hats are, in part, a response to Trump’s caught-on-camera remarks about grabbing women’s genitalia, using the loaded P-word. The project’s co-founders want to take back the derogatory term “pussy” while infusing the traditionally feminine color of pink with strength in support of women’s rights.
Amy Nowacoski, 43, made herself a hat to wear either on the National Mall or a march in New York.
Nowacoski considers the hat a kind of merit badge among knitters.
“It’s ‘Yay, of course I did the pussyhat.’ You? There’s a lot of that in the knitting world,” Nowacoski said. “Additionally, it could force newscasters to say ‘pussyhat,’ which would be incredibly entertaining.”
Zweiman and Suh thought marchers in Washington — in January — would need warm headgear and also might enjoy a unifying element.
The two, both Hillary Clinton supporters, launched the project just before Thanksgiving weekend, using social media to spread the pattern created by Kat Coyle, who owns The Little Knittery in Los Angeles.
“It was just so perfect, not just because of Trump’s comments but because of the shame and emotion in the fight for women’s rights,” Zweiman said of the design.
Added Suh: “What surprised me about all of this was the depth of emotion of people who are participating. People are reaching out to us, talking about how this project has lifted them out of a depression, that it’s been their way to channel their grief and anger.”
Knitters are not only sharing their hats but they’re showing them off on Facebook, Instagram and elsewhere. Some are selling them for as much as $35 on Etsy.
Zweiman and Suh estimate that creators are making an average of about eight hats each. Some have included little notes attached to their hats before dropping them at designated locations around the country for distribution at the Washington march.
Other knitters have tweaked the official hat pattern, coming up with their own cat-ear designs. Zweiman and Suh have heard from knitters of all ages and genders.
“It’s really been just incredible,” Suh said. “The process of making the hats and preparing for the march and really including everyone, everywhere who wants to participate but may not be able to march has been so much of this project.”
The official pattern calls for a specific brand of worsted hand-dyed wool in fuchsia.
Tobias Feder, who owns the Uruguay-based company, Malabrigo Yarn, said he has been swamped by requests for the color and about eight other shades of pink.
“Our inventory on pinks was wiped out fairly fast,” he said by telephone. “We restocked as fast as we could and are now shipping some but it is probably too late.”
No worries, some knitters said. Other pinks will do.
Retired chemist Cheryl Rofer, 73, in Santa Fe, N.M., has been knitting since she was a Brownie in the Girl Scouts.
She only recently heard about the project and had one of the hats on her needles on Tuesday.
She plans to wear it as she marches in Santa Fe on the big day.
“The hat is a push back at all the insults Donald Trump has made to women,” she said of why she chose to get involved. “Also, I just enjoy knitting.”
Crystal Howard, 45, of New York, also made a hat. She plans to march in her city wearing her creation.
“I haven’t knit or crocheted since I was probably 12,” Howard said. “More than ever, women and those who support women have to be vigilant as we are being rocked to our core. If I help to educate and inspire others to take action then I’ve done my part.”
Not everyone headed to Washington from the Twin States is part of a protest.
Norwich University on Friday announced that its Regimental Band and Drill Team will represent the state of Vermont and perform at the Trump inauguration in Washington on Friday.
The Valley News contributed to this report.