(July 2018, Just an added note, I had no idea at the time I wrote this that the Pussyhat would become an iconic symbol reused often and displayed in museums. I feel like apologizing, but at the time I was clueless! So please bear that in mind reading this and know I still need to convert my undone Pussyhat back to a Pussyhat! Thanks)
Well done to all who marched and all who knit for The Women's March in Washington D.C. this past weekend. The largest Peaceful protest ever with estimates ranging from half a million to a million marchers. All I know is you filled the streets. And thanks also to all the Sister Marches around the country and world! One loud voice, in a sea of pink. I think the pink visually made a difference. They were noticeable in a bright and cheery way. My Saturday thoughts from home as I knit a hat in support. I knit, watched the parade and listened to the stirring speeches. Jaw on ground on the masses of people! Wish I could of been there. Simply Saturday - The Women's March.
Now that it's over, some of you will be keeping your hats to remind you of this Historic event. Others, I was told, will be using them in parades to come. They're adorable and I know it sounds like sacrilege to mention they can be altered to be donated. Sure you could donate them as is, but my thought is if the hats can be changed into a more normal hat, others could use it. Women's Shelter's , Homeless Women, Homes for Battered Women. Anywhere there's a bare head and a heart that needs to feel loved.
I knit my hat in a Super Bulky in Lion's Wool-Ease Thick and Quick in Raspberry. I used a favorite hat pattern of mine - The Big Hat pattern and at 8" I cast off and sewed my hat shut. It made a very nice Pussy Hat in a day!
To Repurpose Your Pussy Hat-
My hat is very easy to redo. The seam is at the top and all I did was take it out and put my stitches back on my circular needles and away I go. I overlap my yarn when joining a few stitches to reconnect and this pattern went for 9" and then it decreases. I'm finishing it up today and making a pom pom for it! I'll post pics later here when I'm done, it's a great hat!
Other Pussyhat Designs Redo's
So if your pattern has a stitched up top, that's fairly easy to undo and continue knitting. But let say it was knit sideways. Well then you need to pick up stitches, by pulling your own loops through the edge, this page describes how - HOW TO PICK UP STITCHES ALONG A HORIZONTAL EDGE. Pick up what you think is a good amount of evenly spaced stitches and if you wonder how many stitches go over to Ravelry and search hats and on the left hand side you can check off your yarn weight and look at other patterns to get a rough idea. Mine was Super Bulky and was 44 stitches, worsted might be more like double that at 100 stitches. Wing it, live dangerously, you'll do fine. You'll then need to decrease your crown soon after you get it on the needles. I'm adding another inch because not only my pattern calls for it, but it's a folded up brim (whereas the Pussyhat doesn't always have a folded brim, mine didn't). Then you're ready to decrease. When you get to a smaller opening as you decrease, if you are using circular needles , you'll have to switch to double pointed to finish. I think watching The Big Hat Tutorials as an example will help if you have Super Bulky yarn. Here's a How-to in more detail: For the Knit of It - Knitting 101 – Hats: Decreasing the Crown.
This design, the original, I'm honestly a little stumped on, so if anyone has ideas just shoot them to me in the comments. This hat is seamed on the side and the top is a continuous knit. I'm thinking it might be possible to, from the inside, sew along the corners, cutting them off, and giving it a rounded end. Trimming the excess. It'll probably work. Got better ideas let me know and I'll share them.
One Facebook comment was to unravel your hat and reuse the yarn. I thought that if I had used a Malabrigo yarn (which the original Pussyhat is done in) I'd be tempted! Then make something like a special commemorative shawl out of it! Or something else special to celebrate this achievement The largest Peaceful March, EVER!
P.S. - You never know when you might land in a firestorm. My simple suggestions seems to upset some. No offense intended. I have a son in an Ecology minded college back East and it's always there on my mind, how not to waste and how to give, clear out and recycle. So here's my response to one Facebook user.
"I think there are those who'll never be able to let go of their Pussyhats, they mean a lot to them; some will proudly re-use them in other marches; but inevitably there are those who won't and will discard. It's those people I'm inspiring to change up and give their hats to the needy. Someone who needs a warm head. We're a consumptive society that tends to waste. I'm trying to "head" that off for those not inclined to re-use their hats."
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