A yarn store in Minnesota has sparked an unlikely viral movement by turning an old Norwegian resistance symbol into a political statement against federal immigration enforcement in Minneapolis. The Needle & Skein yarn shop created a knitting pattern for a red cap dubbed the “Melt the ICE” hat — modeled after a hat used to protest Nazi occupation in Norway during World War II — and the design has taken off on social media and around the globe.
The hat is a simple red beanie with a braided tassel, reminiscent of the morale‑boosting symbol Norwegians adopted while resisting occupation. According to the shop’s owner, Gilah Mashaal, the pattern’s release was directly tied to outrage over what critics describe as aggressive tactics by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. “What’s been happening in Minneapolis has been so egregious and awful and so destructive to our community,” Mashaal said.
Since making the pattern available for about $5, Mashaal says the shop has brought in nearly $400,000 in sales. A large portion of the proceeds — roughly $250,000 — has already been donated to local organizations supporting immigrants, including the St. Louis Park Emergency Program and the Immigrant Rapid Response Fund.
The hat’s popularity quickly spread beyond Minnesota knitting circles, with posts featuring the cap popping up across social media and even messages arriving from supporters in places as far flung as Israel, South Africa, and Norway. The original symbol’s historical roots were highlighted by Needle & Skein employee and history enthusiast Paul Neary, who chose the old Norwegian pattern for its association with nonviolent resistance.
Mats Tangestuen, director of Norway’s Resistance Museum in Oslo, commented that for Norwegians during World War II, the hat was meant to be a hopeful, nonthreatening emblem of resilience when dark times threatened to crush morale. “The main purpose of it was just to keep up morale, keep up hope and not descend into hopelessness and apathy,” Tangestuen said, noting that the cap was eventually banned by occupying German forces during the war.
A University of Illinois history professor also weighed in, drawing parallels between feelings of occupation under the Nazis and how some Minnesotans describe the presence of federal immigration agents — even while acknowledging the vastly different scale of the historical contexts.
The uplifting grassroots fundraising has struck a chord for many, especially within crafting communities, but critics note that stories like this feature only one side of the broader immigration enforcement debate. They point out that federal agents in Minnesota have been targeting some of the most dangerous criminal offenders in the area, including convicted killers, rapists, and child predators — yet that aspect was absent from much of the coverage surrounding the hat’s rise.
