Determined to reference subjects as volunteers rather than naming them
Two volunteers knit at a recent Melt the Ice meetup in Fremont. The group gathers Sunday afternoons to make red hats inspired by the Norwegian WWII resistance movement. Photo by Nathan Dolliver.
When Dawn Wheeler moved back to Seattle after 11 years abroad, she was looking for ways to put down roots. She found it in a red hat.
Wheeler, a Fremont resident, launched the Melt the Ice hat-making group in late January, gathering neighbors to knit and crochet red hats inspired by a Norwegian World War II resistance symbol. The group has distributed more than 24 hats and an estimated $700 in donations for Stand With Minnesota, a grassroots charity supporting communities affected by ICE enforcement.
“I love to knit, and I love to get people together,” Wheeler said. “This was my one small contribution.”
Wheeler recounted the red hat’s origins. According to Red Hat Factory, a Norwegian hatmaker that has documented the history of the resistance symbol, during World War II Norwegians began wearing red knit caps as a sign of resistance to the Nazi occupation. On Feb. 26, 1942, wearing the red knit caps was outlawed as a form of protest. The tradition has been revived by Needle and Skein, a Minneapolis yarn shop that designed the Melt the Ice pattern and sells it for $5, with proceeds supporting Minnesota communities affected by ICE. A crochet version has also been created. Together the patterns have raised over $700,000 nationally.
The Fremont group meets Sunday afternoons, typically in the common area of Wheeler’s apartment building. About 5-10 people show up, with others knitting throughout the week and dropping off finished hats. Each crafter buys the pattern individually, contributing to the national fundraising total. People who request a hat are asked to show proof of a donation to Stand With Minnesota.
Support has come from unexpected places. A woman in Montana mailed a bag of pure wool after seeing a Facebook post about the group. The Nordic Museum in Seattle has been referring visitors to the project to pick up hats ahead of the No Kings protest scheduled for March 28 in downtown Seattle.
Member Sasha described the group’s appeal in terms of scale. “Activism is like being in a chorus,” they said. “You can’t sing every part by yourself. You have to trust that the other people in the chorus are singing their parts, and the music is going to be whole, even though you’re just doing your one thing.”
Rachael Rinehart, who attended a knit-in at the Washington state Capitol on International Women’s Day, said the group crosses political lines. Wheeler agreed. “We’re all knitting together regardless,” she said. “We just get to know each other as people and find our commonalities.”
The group is already thinking ahead to warmer weather. Rinehart has been in contact with a German designer working on a warm-weather alternative, a bandana with a tassel, and hopes the design will be added to the official Needle and Skein lineup to keep donations flowing through summer.
Red yarn, meanwhile, has become scarce at craft stores across the country, something the group said echoes what happened with pink yarn in early 2017.
Those interested in making hats or requesting one can sign up at subscribepage.io/melttheice.
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