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If the marching resistance to US President Donald Trump’s first term had a color, it was probably pink.
But knitted protest headgear is getting a new look in 2026, thanks to the popularity of a red “ice melting” hat pattern shared online by a yarn shop in suburban Minneapolis.
What started as a local act of “craftivism” has now spread across the US and the world. But the artisans say their commitment to the goal of protecting their neighbors from immigrant attacks goes beyond just wearing hats.
Minneapolis has been the target of escalating immigration raids since Trump deployed 2,000 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to the city on January 6. The raids were met with intense local resistance, with protesters following unmarked ICE vehicles and blowing whistles to warn neighbors of their presence.
In the midst of these tensions, federal agents shot and killed two protesters, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, sparking an international outcry.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz spoke to reporters after a woman was shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, saying he has been warning for weeks about the consequences of the Trump administration’s “recklessness.”
Public figures from Joni Mitchell to Bad Bunny spoke out against the crackdown, and pins with slogans like “Be Good” and “ICE Out” appeared on the red carpet at Sunday’s Grammy Awards.
Nordic inspiration
The “melt the ICE” cap is inspired by Norway, according to the staff at Needle & Skein yarn store in St. Louis Park, Minn., who shared the pattern on the popular craft site Ravelry last month. Minnesota has one of the highest concentrations of residents who claim Norwegian ancestry, according to state demographers.
A red hat with tassels, called a Santa’s hat in Norwegian, it was a symbol of patriotism and protest against the Nazi occupation during World War II.
“Hats were banned because of what they symbolized,” said Maggie Bonetti, a Chicago mom and knitting instructor who noticed the pattern was making waves about three weeks ago.
Bonetti created a column on Instagram explaining the history of the hat, which she shared with her 900 followers. The post struck a chord and was seen by hundreds of thousands of Instagram users.
Knitters from around the world have since added their own style to the social media trend, sewing middle fingers and hat-shaped mini purse charms. Ravelry users have even recreated it blue hat with rabbit ears worn by Liam Conejo Ramos, a five-year-old boy who was detained by immigration officials in Minneapolis last month. (Ramos and his father were released from custody in Texas on Saturday.)
The yarn store charges five dollars for a “melt the ice” pattern and she said it was expensiveissued more than $250,000 to immigrant mutual aid groups in Minnesota. In a fundraising update posted on social media last week, the store said the funds will go to STEP St. Louis Park and the Immigrant Rapid Response Fund, which helps people affected by ICE raids pay rent and bills.
Symbols and action
Ann Shoemake first learned to knit during the Women’s Marches Trump’s first term, when pink kitty hats filled the streets of major U.S. cities in response to Trump’s sexting comments that surfaced during his 2016 presidential campaign. Shoemake, who lives in Tacoma, Wash., with her husband and son, says knitting has become an outletfind a way to connect with the wider community.
With ICE now hitting the streets of Minnesota, she has once again embraced “fury knitting” making red “melt the ICE” hats for her family and friends.
“I am very upset about what is happening in this country,” she said. “I’m very worried. I have a husband and a son who are not white so I’m worried about them.”
People across Minnesota participated in an ‘economic blackout’ on Friday to protest the federal immigration crackdown in parts of the state. Hundreds of businesses were closed for the day, and organizers urged people not to work or go to school.
While it’s not the first time artisans have embraced a political movement, some makers of ice-melting hats want to avoid the pitfalls of the pussy hat movement. Looking back at the pink hat trend that some later criticized as irrelevantBonetti says she was careful not to let the symbol get in the way of the action.
“The pink kitty hats, they were just kind of a virtue signal, they didn’t really do anything with the movement,” Bonetti said. This time he sees a greater focus on community work and mutual aid.
“What’s really encouraging is to see people not just knitting a hat,” she said. “What’s important is that you work within your community to embody what this hat represents.”
Cities governed by Democrats are targeted
Shoemake and her husband, Syed Jamal, say they have attended No Kings marches in Tacoma and look forward to another nationwide protest in March.
Bonetti helped organize an anti-ICE fundraiser at a local coffee shop on Saturday, and plans to continue the event on February 15. She called on the wider knitting community to donate to mutual aid funds and make a plan for when ICE comes to their town.
Democratic-governed cities like Chicago, Portland and Washington, DC, have already seen federal crackdowns. Shoemake’s family worries Washington state could be next.
During the crackdown in Chicago last year, Bonetti said she heard the almost constant buzzing of helicopters overhead and the increasing frequency of sirens.
“ICE came here in September and it was really scary,” she said. “I had to explain to my children, in an age-appropriate way, why mom now wears a whistle to school every day.”
Small actions, like taking whistles to school, helped bring neighbors together, she said.
“There was definitely a lot of community working together in Chicago to resist and fight back as best we could.”
Can red hats have the same effect?
“Whatever they do, it will seem small,” Bonetti said. “But if the choice is little or nothing, you just have to do the little thing and get over it.”
