How our hats are made

Almost all the home knitters who make ski hats for Vermont Originals have been knitting for many years. It takes years of experience to achieve the skill level necessary to meet our quality standards. Most of our knitters make about 75 hats per week, although some can make as many as 100. We also have a group of home sewers who sew the hats together once they have been knit. Our tassel and braid makers also have years of crocheting experience as do the women who sew in the fleece linings.

All of our ski hats are made by home knitters using home knitting machines similar to this one.

Ginny hand crochets the tassel that is then sewn into the hat.

Our ski hats are lined with fleece for extra warmth and comfort.

Our yarn and fleece

The quality of Vermont Originals hats is far superior to other hats because of the quality of the yarn and the craftsmanship of our knitters. As they are hand made, no two hats are exactly alike. Each is a Vermont Original.

Quality Yarn — Beautiful Colors All of our heavy wool hats are made of 100% wool. We use a heavy worsted yarn in our hats because it knits up extremely well and also provides real warmth. Our 100% Merino hats are made from superfine merino which allows us to knit them in tight patterns for beauty and softness.

Fleece for Extra Warmth We line our heavy wool hats with warm high quality fleece. They come either with a fleece band or with a full-fleece lining. our fleece lining will provide you with warmth and comfort, and the fleece won't ball-up after wearing it a few times.

Our Story

Vermont Originals was founded in 1971, by Wendell Earle, a business professor from Cornell, and one of his students, Bruce Krisiak, as a case history for the Cornell Business School.

At first Vermont Originals sold ski hats only to shops in New England. On fall weekends and over Christmas vacation young Bruce, still a graduate student at Cornell, would load up his station wagon with hats and visit local ski shops. Retailers were extremely impressed with the quality and craftsmanship of the hats. Bruce usually returned home having sold everything he could carry.

In 1984, Margaret Krysiak, Bruce's mother, joined the company and became the designer for Vermont Originals. She created a whole new line of traditional Nordic designs in several different styles and in many different color combinations. Vermont Originals also began expanding its distribution beyond the Northeast and into the Mid-west and Rocky Mountains. The company began knitting monograms and logos into the hats, a tradition that continues today.

In the early '90s Vermont Originals added another design innovation. The company began lining its hats with Malden fleece. This non-itch fleece not only added warmth, on cold winter days, but made the hats extremely comfortable.

In January of 2004, Margaret Krysiak decided to retire from running the company and Vermont Originals was purchased by Jane and Tad Washburn. They are carrying on the traditions of Vermont Originals.

We think you will find the quality and craftsmanship of Vermont Originals superior to any knitted ski hat you have ever owned. Because all our hats are hand made on home knitting machines, no two are exactly alike. Each one is a Vermont Original.