Hat has long history
Susan Moon displays a 700-foot-long hat knitted in 1977. (Courtesy photo)
SANDPOINT — A 700-foot-long ski hat knitted in 1977 is being featured prominently during Sandpoint’s Winter Carnival.
An application is also being submitted to Guinness World Records to determine if it is the longest ski hat in the world.
The Guinness World Records’ website indicates the largest knitted hat record was set in 2008 in Germany with a hat that measured 22 feet high and 49 feet in circumference.
The hat made its debut during the 1977 Winter Carnival.
The hat was knitted by Gini Woodward, now of Bonners Ferry, and Scott Hadley to distract them from protracted winters in the Panhandle. It weighs 80 pounds and was created with a punch card-programmed knitting machine, according to press clippings kept by the Bonner County Historical Society & Museum.
Realtors from the Tomlinson Sandpoint Sotheby’s International Realty paraded the hat from Cedar Street Bridge to Jeff Jones Town Square when the carnival kicked off. It was also featured at the Ski & Board party on Wednesday.
The hat has 539 advertising panels. Approximately 25 of those businesses have endured since the hat was knitted. They include Schweitzer Mountain Resort, Sandpoint Furniture, the Panida Theater, Larson’s, Sandpoint Marina, Alpine Motors, Four Seasons Realty, The Smoke House, Westwood Condos, the Alpine Shop, Connie’s Café, the Bonner County Daily Bee, Ace Septic, Gas & Go, Selkirk Press, Melody Muffler, Evergreen Realty and PJ’s.
The hat is on loan from the historical museum. The museum’s winter hours are Tuesday through Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.