For DC Marchers

Dear Marchers (who already have or are still looking for hats):

First of all, Thank you for marching on behalf of all of us! We love that you are joining Pussyhat Project. For week-of logistics, follow us on twitter: @pussyhatproject. 

WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE HATS TO DISTRIBUTE:

Marchers are our main way of distributing hats. That’s right! You are making this happen- you are a node of distribution. We have a sign you can print out right here if you would like people to know you are distributing: 

You can give your hats at the Women’s March or in the days leading up to or at the March.

The day of the Women’s March, bring your pussyhats to the rally and offer them to marchers who are not wearing one. If you have many pussyhats to give and are concerned about the size of your distribution bag, you should still be able to give the hats out in front of the rallying point.

If you are giving out hats to new folks in the days leading up to the march, please choose a safe and public location.

HOW TO GET A HAT:

Before the march from anywhere

You can get a hat directly from a knitter. You can contact a knitter you know, reach out over social media, and talk to everyone you know about the Women’s March and Pussyhat Project. This serves two additional purposes, you are helping spread the word about Pussyhat Project and potentially connecting with more like-minded advocates for women’s rights. See our “Spread the word” post for more details about how to reach out. As January 21st quickly approaches, many knitters are looking for marchers to take hats to DC, and your help in bringing last-minute pussyhat packages would be wonderful and appreciated. 

You can offer to pick up from a local ally drop site. See our Locations Page to see if there is a Local Yarn Store near you. If they list themselves as a pickup site, they may have a hat for you. You can also offer to take their hats to DC to distribute. And, hooray, you may have connected with someone new who shares your interest in women’s rights!  If there isn’t a location listed, look up on yelp to see if there is a local yarn store that looks friendly and may have classes. Call them. Talk with them about the project and see if they want to be listed on our Locations Page. This helps you find knitters and could help knitters and knitter-curious folks find a group of like-minded women’s rights supporters. You just brought people together! That was great! Take as many hats as you can on behalf of your hat marker and distribute them before or at the march.

 

HOW TO GET A HAT IN THE DC AREA:

Days before the March

We love that you are looking for a #pussyhat and want to get one to you as smoothly as possible. So, here’s the plan. We are going to have few pickup sites in DC in the days leading up to the March. We will be announcing them on Facebook and Twitter. Please be patient. 

Our first distribution scheduled will be at Busboys and Poets at their 5th and K St. Location at 2 pm Wednesday, January 18. We will be there until the hats run out. We will see how that goes and then announce more times as soon as possible. 

Day of the March

We are giving out hats at the March. We love that you are a marcher who is already part of Pussyhat Project with your enthusiasm, passion, and commitment to women's rights. We have a spot confirmed and almost ready to announce. Follow us on Twitter: @pussyhatproject for any last minute changes.

Are you still a little concerned about hat distribution? We are doing our best! Hat makers are pouring their hearts into making hats for you and we are all so grateful for your participation. Please sign up on Twitter @pussyhatproject for logistics in DC (yes, we are mentioning it again). We have to be nimble and may have to make some last minute location changes. If so, we want you to know ASAP.

 

WHEN YOU HAVE YOUR HAT:

A knitter, sewer, or crocheter may have included a note with her gift of a pussyhat to you. If she did, please contact your hat maker. Take a photo so she can see her work in action. Whether or not there is a note included, please know that there is a women's rights supporter out there who is thanking you specifically with the gift of a pussyhat. Take lots of pictures and video of your experience at this historic event. Share them on social media and save them for future shareable opportunities.

 

AFTER THE MARCH:

1. We hope you continue to wear your pussyhat loudly and proudly everywhere and anywhere for years to come. Be prepared to don your pussyhat for future marches and protests. 

2. If you do not want your pussyhat after the march, please give it to a feminist who will wear it loudly and proudly. We know that there are many who are still in search of pussyhats.

3. The Michigan State University Museum is collecting stories, selfies, pussyhats, and other items related to Michigan women’s participation in the Women’s March in Washington, DC, and in Lansing, Michigan. Please consider donating your stuff and the stuff of your memories to the MSU Museum to document this historic event.  Before you send anything, please contact Shirley Wajda, Curator of History, 517.432.4582 or (better) wajdashi@msu.edu. (It is possible that other collections will also be asking for artifacts related to the Women's March and Pussyhat Project)

4. Bring your pussyhat back to your hometown and give it to someone who needs it to keep warm. We have had many participants suggest women's shelters and cancer wards. Become more involved with the organization you are supporting.

Thank you for being part of Pussyhat Project! We are deeply grateful.

In solidarity,

Jayna and Krista

 

For Knitters, Crocheters and Sewers - Here's What's Happening

Dear Knitter / Crocheter / Sewer,

Thank you for being a part of Pussyhat Project. There is no way we could do this without you. You are amazing. Because of your incredible work, Pussyhat Project is getting a lot of press and encouraging more people to join in the effort!

 

HAT PACKAGE:

When you assemble your hat package, please include a note for the marcher. It’s a great opportunity to connect with those at the march and to let the wearer of your hat know more about you and have the opportunity to thank you for your awesome work.

If you are able, please put your hat with its note in a Ziploc bag. This will help us keep your hat package dry and together. The marcher can also reuse the bag.

REGISTER YOUR HAT

We are making sure that each pussyhat that is made will be on a marcher’s head.  Please register your hat(s) here so we can have a clearer estimate of the number of hats coming into our collection point in Reston, VA and the number coming directly with marchers. This will help us plan for the number of volunteers we need, number of trucks, etc. We expect the day of the march to be somewhat hectic, so we have plans, backup plans and backup plans to our backup plans.

Here some things to consider when you register. We take your privacy seriously. We will never give out your full address or email. We would like to give credit to all of our amazing participants and hope to publish the following information from the registry on our website – first name/last initial, city/state and number of hats. If you would like to register anonymously, that’s ok, too! If, when you register, you have difficulty in uploading photos, hold onto them and we will have a good address to send them to soon.

GET HATS TO MARCHERS

You can bring the hats with you if you are marching, give hats directly to a marcher, or drop them off at a drop site (call to find out their specific deadline). Our deadline to send hats to our Reston, VA address was today. If your hats are on their way to Reston, VA we are happy to collect them. Just know, the later they arrive, the more difficult it is for us to distribute them.

We prefer you register your hat and send it to DC with a marcher so we can have as many people ready to go with pussyhats as early as possible. It also means you may have a few extra days to keep making hats!

We will take good care of your hats whichever channel you use. 

What are some ways you can get hats to marchers if you can’t think of anyone going to the march?

1.     Post your gorgeous work on social media and ask if anyone wants to take your pussyhats to the DC march (a marcher can take many and distribute on your behalf). When you post, include your city and state. That way, a marcher near you can easily connect and save you a trip to the post office!

2.     Give your hat directly to a marcher. There are buses of marchers from around the country going to DC. Contact the one closest to you and see if they can take your pussyhats http://buses.womensmarch.com/

 

KEEP KNITTING/CROCHETING/SEWING HATS

Now that you have sent your wonderful pussyhats to DC, do you feel like making more? We do! There are currently 370 sister marches planned for January 21. There is probably a march happening near you (https://www.womensmarch.com/sisters).  If you cannot make it to a local march, there may be a marcher who would love to represent you.

Thank you for being an essential part of Pussyhat Project!

In solidarity,

Jayna and Krista

 

 

Spreading the Word Ideas!

Hi Pussyhat Project Team,

We are thrilled you are here- you are essential to making the Pussyhat Project happen!

At first glance, the Pussyhat Project is about making a powerful visual statement at the Women’s March on Washington, D.C.  It’s about the hats, and also a lot more. At its core, this project is about creating a form of representation for those who cannot be there, developing connections between people who care about women’s rights, and creating a framework for community and personal agency from the local to the national level.

Today we want to write a bit about what “Spreading the Word” can look like because all of us, whether we are knitters/crocheters/sewers, marchers, both or neither, can contribute immensely to making this happen.

Anytime you think,” The organizers of the Pussyhat Project should really….” you are probably right! Consider whether this thing you are thinking about is something you can take on. This is a huge group effort and it will be that much better the more we can increase awareness and involvement!

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to spark ways to get involved. 

Ask Yourself:

1. Do I have access to social media? An email address?
Post about Pussyhat Project on social media (instagram, facebook, twitter). Email your friends about Pussyhat Project.  Tell your friends why you personally love this project and direct them to the website www.pussyhatproject.com for more info.

2. Am I making a hat?
Take a picture when it’s in progress and post it on social media using the hashtags:  #pussyhat and #pussyhatproject.  BONUS – take a short video of you knitting and post it on social media – we will assemble them into a video in the near future! 

3. Am I an expert knitter or crocheter?
Offer to give advice and troubleshooting help on social media or locally! Beginning knitters would much appreciate it! Let them know that you’re willing to share your knowledge if they are involved with Pussyhat Project!

4. Am I a D.C.-bound Marcher looking for a hat?
Thank you for going to the March and representing the rights of all women! We love that you are being proactive in getting a hat early. An effective way to raise awareness about the Pussyhat Project is to announce that you are looking to represent a knitter at the March by wearing her hat and would like to connect directly. Someone you know or a new friend may reach out to you! You can also check our Locations page<link> and see if local yarn stores have any hats to give out or could use some help transporting the hats to D.C. via you. If the local yarn store gives you a hat, post a photo of you in the hat right there in the store! If you don’t see a yarn store nearby you listed, check yelp for a yarn store with classes. Stop by and talk with them about the project and if they’re interested tell them to contact us via our website to get listed on our Locations page. If you can’t get a hat before you get to D.C. check back on the website the week of the March to see how to pick up a hat at the March.

5. Do I have access to a #pussyhat?
WEAR YOUR PUSSYHAT NOW! Maybe you are a marcher who has connected with a knitter and are already in possession of this incredible gift. Maybe you are a knitter who hasn’t yet sent a pussyhat along. In my personal experience, wearing my pussyhat around town has led to countless conversations. They usually begin with, “Whoa, nice hat! I love it!” It gives me an opportunity to connect with the hat-admirer on topics concerning women’s rights and delightful fashion.

6. Do I have a printer?
Print out our PDF and distribute it! Bring prints to your library, community center, place of worship, coffee shop, skating rink, bar, beauty salon, doctor’s office, school, any place with a bulletin board or a place to put printed matter that you think may attract people to the project.

7. Do I know of a retirement home, assisted living facility, rehab facility, dialysis clinic, hospital or another place where there may be knitters who are not on social media?
Contact the social coordinator of the facility. Let them know that this type of project is therapeutic and can give purpose to people who may feel powerless.  Really! At senior centers, older folks may not have access to social media, but many do have time and knitting chops. Maybe you could even visit and knit together!

8. Am I a part of any community service, social activism, or women’s group?
Talk with your group about the Pussyhat Project and see if creating hats for the March is right for your group. If so, start to organize! Some groups could include: Mommy and Me groups,  book club, The Red Hat Society, craft beer club, Pantsuit Nation on Facebook, a local marching group headed to D.C., bridge club, bowling league, sky diving club, pep squad, rotary club, etc.

9. Do I have a local media outlet?
Go to the website of your local news source and find the email of the editor, or news tip line. Write an email about Pussyhat Project and what it means to you.  You probably have a local TV station, radio station and newspaper. Maybe invite a journalist or a TV camera crew to a knit along. Wouldn’t it be great to have some positive local news with a national impact?

 10. Do I know an influencer who may be interested in this project?
Reach out to her/him. Perhaps you are this person’s friend or this person’s fan. Let that person know why Pussyhat Project is important to you and include a link to our website so the influencer can find out more. Many have mentioned Samantha Bee as a great example of a stellar influencer. We could not agree more- we adore her!  Can you imagine if 100 or 1000 of us from across the country reached out personally to her? How powerful!

11. Is there a knitter in my life?
Talk with her, or him! Share information about the project.

12. Do I have a local yarn store that isn’t on the Locations page?
Get in touch with them and let them know about your interest in the Pussyhat Project. Chances are, there are other people in your area who are, too. Give the local yarn store this link so they can let people know how they are participating.  You will be helping other knitters in your area find a base and be helping a small business.

13. Do I know how to throw a party?
If you can throw a party, you know how to politically organize! Host a Pussyhat knitting party and invite friends to knit, talk about women’s rights, and learn more about the project. Take photos and post them on social media using #pussyhat and #pussyhatproject.  You can host a meetup in your own home or perhaps at a local coffeeshop like @thread.winners did in Riverside, CA:

14. Do I have a business with space for people to gather?
You can host a knitting group. You don’t even have to be a knitter! Advertise that Pussyhat Project knitters are welcome. (More tips about how to host a knitting party coming soon!) Dance studios, coffee shops, bookstores, boutiques, art galleries, ski lodges – all could be potential “knit in public” places.

15. Am I a photographer?
Offer to take portraits of people in their Pussyhats in your local area! Share them with #pussyhat and #pussyhatproject.

16. Do I know a second language?
If you are able to translate the PDF into another language we would welcome it! You can contact us here.

17. What else can I do? What am I good at that I can apply toward this project?
@anitaliangirl on Instagram posted this photo of a yarn bomb. She clearly is not afraid of heights and knows how to make a big statement in her own hometown! Be creative and think of what fresh stuff you can cook up with your talents to get the word out about Pussyhat Project!

We are two women with laptops who started this project. Your engagement on a local level is crucial to the cause because Pussyhat Project is about all of us.

What we hope you take away from this post is this: We all matter. We all can make a difference. Everyone is welcome.

Thank you for continuing to be a part of the Pussyhat Project.

In solidarity,
Jayna Zweiman

Much love!
Krista Suh

 

 

Loopy Mango and AlexCreates - Yarn Makers for Women's Rights

Speaking of Superpowers, we want to introduce you to some super people who A) make yarn and B) are excited about The Pussyhat Project! Meet Anna Pulvermakher and Waejong Kim of Loopy Mango, and Alex Reynoso of AlexCreates.

Anna and Waejong run cult favorite yarn brand Loopy Mango. They have generously released 3 knit and crochet patterns for their Kitty Hat for free - find them on our page PATTERNS. In addition they are giving a discount on their website for Big Loop yarn in cotton candy pink. Big Loop Yarn is the thickest yarn available on the market today and made in the USA! It is made at their mill in Key Largo, Florida and is 100% domestic merino wool. Check out their DIY Kit - perfect for Pussyhat beginners. We will be posting their fab video tutorials very soon, so beginners rejoice!

Alex Reynoso learned how to knit in 2011 at age 14 from youtube videos, 5 years later he runs his own business out of his mom's Harlem apartment! We are so touched that he is offering a discount on 2 of his pink yarns "Wanda's Fuchsia" and "Radioactive Grapes." Use code "pussyhat" for an $8 discount. His ombre yarns are hand dyed in his NYC apartment kitchen using professional acid dyes that are colorfast. He uses custom milled yarn from a NY mill with US grown merino.

If you are a yarn maker standing up for women's rights through the Pussyhat Project, please contact us through our CONTACT page so we can share your good deeds! We do not endorse any one yarn as the official Pussyhat pink yarn, but we would love to share your info with our knitters and crocheters!

What's Your Superpower? Why You're Like Krysten Ritter

(Letter from Pussyhat Project co-founder Krista Suh)

Dear Team Pussyhat,

I want to drop in on the blog every so often to get all emotional on you. So, last week, within a few days of launch, The Pussyhat Project was reposted by Krysten Ritter - super talented actress AND avid knitter! (check out her hashtag #krystenknitter on instagram!). Krysten plays superheroine Jessica Jones on the Netflix show of the same name. I love the show - I see it as a story of a person with superpowers fighting for women's rights.

Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones as imagined by French illustrator Mahulda Jelly.

Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones as imagined by French illustrator Mahulda Jelly.

It got me thinking that everyone in the Pussyhat Project is lending their particular superpower to the movement. For example, Kat Coyle was a professional pattern maker before opening her own yarn store, and when I asked her to make a pattern for the Pussyhat Project - she lit up with excitement. She got to support a cause she believed in while using her particular superpower (she has many!).

I asked Aurora Lady via email to do artwork for the project, and she wrote back to me immediately, "Girl, call me!" Aurora's talents are PERFECT for this project, I am continually amazed by how she gives life to our vision with her beautiful artwork.

And now I have the pleasure and honor of seeing women around the nation and the world jumping in with their superpowers to support women's rights. Knitters are knitting, crocheters are crocheting, and sewers are sewing! People are spreading the word with passion and eloquence. Patternmakers are writing up alternate patterns to help. Local yarn stores are planning knit parties and guiding beginners. Community leaders are connecting local marching groups headed to D.C. with local knitting groups to help with the transfer of hat to wearer! Senior groups, college students, and other locals in the D.C. area are offering to help distribution efforts the week of the march! 

Thank you for lending your superpowers for The Pussyhat Project. Thank you for HONING your superpowers all these years, thank you for being you. We need you more than ever now, and thank you for showing up.

Please continue spreading the word about The Pussyhat Project so other people can share their superpowers as well! (Doesn't it feel GOOD?)

Much love,

Krista Suh

Dietland - Happy Thanksgiving!

We completely didn't realize until just now that we'd be releasing our first book recommendation Dietland, by Sarai Walker, on Thanksgiving! Dietland isn't here to scold you about eating too many helpings of candied yams and stuffing. Rather, Dietland frees you from the patriarchy. (Seriously.) It is a work of fiction that is fiercely feminist. Our co-founder Krista fell in love with it this summer. (It's also an Oprah pick, but you care more about Krista's opinion than Oprah's, right? Right?)

From Krista, "It's funny, sweet, smart, it struck me to the core. I love it and I also hate that I didn't write it."

Krista's copy of Dietland along with her grandmother's pink yarn haul. Grandma is 85 years old and is excitedly knitting pussyhats for the Women's March on Washington D.C.!  Photo by: Krista Suh.

Dietland begins rather like a classic chick lit novel - Plum is in her 20s and feeling depressed about her weight and life in general. Lovers of the chick lit genre will salivate because it has all the trappings of the drug we crave: the transformation story.

Sarai Walker delivers the transformation story and SO MUCH MORE. You will be transformed reading it. We highly recommend you read it this weekend, or listen to the audiobook as you knit your Pussyhats for the Women's March on Washington D.C. 

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Knitting!  XOXO The Pussyhat Project

Why 1.17 million hats?

We aim big here at the Pussyhat Project, and we want all women to do the same!

We came across this Washington Post article from 2009, estimating how many people fit on the National Mall (fun fact, it's "on the Mall" instead of "at the Mall"), the site of the march. The article was originally written in anticipation of President Obama's historic inauguration.

With some breathing room, they estimated that the Mall fits 1.17 million. And on January 21, 2017, we anticipate the Mall filled with people who are passionate about women's rights, filling the Mall from Lincoln Memorial all the way to Washington Monument, and perhaps even to Capitol Hill! Like a good party host, we are striving to make sure there's enough pussyhats for everyone! So please, send in those pink hats!

From The Washington Post.

The Washington Post does quality journalism. In the midst of fake news sites, we need high-quality journalism more than ever. If you want to support newspapers that have integrity, but cannot afford a subscription, click here. It is an ingenious project created by food critic and badass female Helen Rosner. It allows people free 12 month access to The Washington Post and The New York Times while supporting these publications with $$$ so that high-quality journalism can survive and continue reporting the truth.

Our Mission

The Pussyhat Project aims to:

  1. Provide the people of the Women's March on Washington D.C. a means to make a unique collective visual statement which will help activists be better heard.
  2. Provide people who cannot physically be on the National Mall a way to represent themselves and support women's rights.

The more we are seen, the more we are heard. Let's come together to support women's rights in a creative and impactful way.