TLDR: I modified the Melt the ICE hat pattern to my liking. Scroll down for the pattern.

Origin

When German forces took over Norway in April 1940, open protest was quickly stamped out. Demonstrations, organized resistance, even certain kinds of speech became too costly. So ordinary Norwegians did what people under pressure tend to do, they got creative. Somewhere around September 1941, following the last major public demonstration against the occupation, people began wearing a simple red, pointed hat with a tassel. It was a nisselue, sometimes called a Santa hat, a style already woven into Norwegian cultural identity for generations. Wearing one said nothing out loud. It just meant: I know. You know. We know.

It worked really well. By February 1942, the sight of red hats had become so common that occupying forces saw it for exactly what it was. On February 26th of that year, the wearing of red nisseluer was officially banned. You could have yours confiscated, be fined, and if you were under 14, your parents would be held responsible.

Fast forward to 2026, to a yarn shop in Minneapolis called Needle & Skein. When owner Gilah Mashaal, herself a Jewish immigrant, decided she couldn’t stay quiet any longer about ICE activity in the Twin Cities, she proposed a protest stitch-along. Paul Neary, a store employee and history buff, suggested they revive the nisselue. The result was the Melt the ICE Hat, a $5 pattern released on Ravelry, with all proceeds going to local immigrant aid organizations. Red yarn promptly sold out across Minneapolis. The pattern shot to the top of Ravelry’s “Hot Right Now” list and stayed there for weeks, racking up thousands of linked projects. The story even made its way back to Norway, where the national broadcaster NRK covered it alongside Bruce Springsteen’s song “Streets of Minneapolis.”

After knitting my first Melt the ICE hat following the pattern and with a worsted weight yarn, I saw how the hat was shaped and wanted to make some modifications. I switched to a chunky yarn, decided I didn’t want a folded brim, and wanted some more stockinette rounds in the body before starting the decreases. I’m going to share the pattern for these modifications, but please still consider buying the original pattern.

This modified version works up quickly because of the chunky yarn and the shorter length of ribbing (thank goodness). It takes me 4-4.5 hours to make one.

Yarn

Paintbox Yarns Simply Chunky in Pillar Red

Needles

5.5 mm

Modified Melt the ICE Hat Pattern

Cast on 72 stitches and join in the round.

Rounds 1-15: K2P2, repeat to end of round.

Rounds 16-24: K all.

Round 25: K18. Place marker. K36. Place marker. K18.

Round 26: K to 4 stitches before marker. K2tog. K2. Slip marker. K2. SSK. K to 4 stitches before marker. K2tog. K2. Slip marker. K2. SSK. K to end of round.
SSK (slip slip knit): slip two stitches individually knitwise, then knit them together through the back loops.

Repeat Round 26 until a total of 12 stitches remain.

Cut yarn, leaving a long tail, and weave through remaining stitches.

Tassel
Cut a length of yarn about six feet long and fold it in half six times. Then cut a separate six-inch piece and tie it tightly around the center of the folded bundle with a double knot (this is what will anchor your tassel to the hat). Thread both ends of that tied piece onto a needle and pull them through the tip of the hat, then secure everything with at least a double knot on the inside. Lay the hat flat and cut through all the folded loops. Divide the strands into three even groups and braid. To finish, cut a four-inch piece of yarn, wrap it around the end of the braid, and tie it off with a double knot, weaving the ends into the center of the braid. Trim the bottom of the tassel if you’d like a neater edge.

At the time of writing this, I have knit 13 Melt the ICE hats and have shipped them all over the country. Seeing a Melt the Ice hat out in the wild gives me a little thrill. I know. You know. We know.