Gilah Mashaal, the owner of Minnesota yarn shop Needle & Skein, has had a busy few weeks.
“It’s been insane,” she told Good Good Good. “It really has.”
Needle & Skein launched a call to action for the craft community amidst aggressive United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids across Minnesota in mid-January.
Their intention was to encourage knitters and crocheters to create a red winter hat with a tassel on the end — called the “Melt the ICE hat” — inspired by a Norwegian design made in opposition to Nazi Germany in the 1940s.
Needle & Skein made knitting and crochet patterns available online for anyone who wanted to make the hat — at just $5 a pop.
The red hats have become a symbol of ICE resistance. Photo courtesy of Gilah Mashaal
In the past few weeks, they have now raised over $588,000 by selling the patterns online, Marshall said, with $250,000 already distributed to two local organizations.
“For the first round of donations, $125,000 went to STEP, which is the St. Louis Park Emergency Program,” Mashaal said. “And the other $125,000 went to the Immigrant Aid Emergency Fund.”
Mashaal said she will now be coordinating with her team to figure out where the next round of donations should go.
“Now, we have to say, ‘Hey, should we donate to the same place, or where should we donate? Who needs the money?,’” she said.
The project got started on January 15, about a week after Renee Good was killed in Minneapolis. But after a second ICE shooting, which killed Alex Pretti, Mashaal said, that’s when she saw an uptick in interest.
“It was gaining a lot of momentum,” she said. “And then after the murder of Alex Pretti, it really exploded.”
Stitchers and yarn shops alike have reported that red yarn is flying off the shelves, but for those who aren’t quite craft-savvy, Mashaal said, Needle & Skein has just announced a way for people to get their own red hats if they can’t make their own.
Mashaal’s daughter created a form for those who might be interested in contributing a red hat, and for those who are looking to acquire one.
“You can put your name down if you’re willing to donate hats, and you can put your name on a list to possibly get to buy a pre-made hat,” Mashaal said.
“And it’s 100% a donation. The people knitting the hats donate their materials and time, and the people who are going to buy a hat, it’s a donation to Minnesota organizations.”
Those who want to create hats for others can fill out a hat donation form, and those looking to buy one can express interest in a separate form, according to Mashaal.
Interest in pre-made hats does not guarantee that one will be available to purchase, but Mashaal said her team has been hard at work trying to figure out how to get hats on as many heads as possible.
A Tunisian crochet version of the Melt the ICE hat. Photo courtesy of Andrea Cretu for Needle & Skein
“It’s going to be first-come, first-served,” she explained. “When we get a hat, we’re just going to go down the list. I just think that’s the most fair way to do it.”
The demand is certainly there.
“One of the greatest moments was that there was a woman who just walked into [the store] and very loudly proclaimed, ‘Is this the resistance headquarters?’” Mashaal reflected.
But the support isn’t contained to Minnesota.
“We’ve just had so many positive comments and emails and phone calls from people all over the world saying how much they’ve got Minnesota and the United States in their hearts,” she said. “And they’re supporting us.”
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