As a feminist and crazy cat lady, the #pussyhatproject was quite enticing. Even though these political hats draw attention to the Women’s March On Washington, the other side of the world, I still felt making a pussy hat and posting about it helps the cause. Even though the march is over, there still plenty that needs fighting for and many discussions to have. I’ve been dismayed with what’s been happening in the US. I’ve always thought that the measure of country is how it handles reproductive health. You know, a woman’s right to govern her own body. Such a critical right. In fact we were talking about the importance of birth control and abortions at sewing group recently. We were worried about some of the things happening I the US, like defunding of planned parenthood. But with a proud ‘pussy grabber’ in the White House, leader of the free world, we really need to stand together and defend our rights. In the words of Saskia Coenen Snyder, a teacher at the University of South Carolina, “I’m not sure we could have picked a more irresponsible, misogynistic and dangerous man to be president.”
Too true! Enter the pussy hat! I made this pussy hat last night as a symbol of solidarity. But political or not, these hats are pretty cute! A cat hat would be a welcome addition to my wardrobe, both as an ongoing political symbol and a warm thing to wear in the coming cooler weather. It’s not too late to make one and wear it – the pussy hat is symbol. If you’d prefer to knit or crochet one, you can find free patterns at the pussyhat project.
Of course, I sewed mine. I loved the look of the knitted ones I’d seen but as I lack the knack of knitting, I decided to repurpose a pink cardigan. I used the free pattern that the lovely Orange Bettie made but omitted the band at the bottom, using the waistband on the cardigan instead. I placed the pattern above the band and cut it out. As I used a cardigan, the back of the hat was cut in two pieces and seamed. I sewed it up much like this Betz White version, so I could use the waistband as a flipped up cuff.
It has been wonderful to see so many images from marches around the world, a sea of pink hats. And if you’re curious about the relevance of a march in this day and age, you’d better check out Cherry Dollfaces post on the subject. As at the time of this post, this was the most recent news article. But we should mark the words of Gloria Steinem,“Make sure you introduce yourselves to each other and decide what we’re going to do tomorrow, and tomorrow and tomorrow, and we’re never turning back!”
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