‘Out of body experience.’ KC artist who made Taylor Swift’s Chiefs cap in the spotlight
Please excuse Kathryn Cacho of Kansas City for freaking out just a little — actually a lot — when she saw something she made with her own two hands on one of the most famous heads in the world on Sunday.
When word got out that Cacho made the stocking cap that Taylor Swift wore to the Chiefs-Patriots game in Massachusetts, her phone nearly blew up from the calls and texts that poured in.
“I feel like I’m having an out of body experience right now,” Cacho told the Star Sunday.
Cacho is the social media manager for The Westside Storey in Kansas City. In October, the store took an order from Swift’s marketing team for five vintage Kansas City Chiefs sweatshirts.
Swift’s dad, Scott Swift, wore one of the sweatshirts Sunday as he watched his first Chiefs game alongside his daughter, who is dating tight end Travis Kelce.
“I was the one who packed her order and made the TikTok video” of the sweatshirts being boxed up, Cacho said.
She tucked the hat into the box as a gift for the “Blank Space” singer. She runs Kut The Knit — @kuttheknit on Instagram — as a side business, selling “vintage knitwear and other cute and eclectic pieces you might find in your grandma’s closet,” she said.
“But I also sell stuff I make. I crochet, knit and tuft. All the pieces are made with secondhand yarn.”
Cacho has knitted and crocheted since middle school. Her grandma taught her how to knit, with pencils no less, and she focused on knitwear and sustainability when she studied fashion design in college.
She crocheted Taylor’s hat from acrylic yarn she found at a secondhand store. (“Everything is washed/cleaned before sending out!” she said.)
“When I heard that she ordered from the store, I immediately thought I wanted to make her something to include in the package,” said Cacho. “So I crocheted it the night before the package was sent out.”
The hat is white, accented with a red stripe and the number 87 in black thread — Kelce’s jersey number. (The number can be customized.) Taylor’s cap sported a perky brown pom-pom.
“Doesn’t Taylor Swift look cute in her little Santa hat,” one fan tweeted.
Cacho wanted to use Chiefs colors, but also “wanted it to be simple so that she was able to wear it with different outfits,” she said. “I was originally doing yellow and red but I didn’t have the right shade of yellow in my stock and didn’t have time to find one since I wanted to ship it out with the Westside Storey package.”
The hat was literally the first thing fans noticed about Taylor when she arrived at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
There she is, the one in the hat!
The Westside Storey posted the story behind the cap to its Facebook page.
“Taylor supporting another local biz, & it’s one of our own @kuttheknit (our social media manager)!” the store wrote.
Cacho had an all-caps moment on her Instagram, writing: “TAYLOR SWIFT IS WEARING THE HAT I MADE HER BRB PASSING AWAY RN.”
“I’m honestly freaking out right now,” she told the Star. “I don’t even know what to think. Obviously super excited to see her actually wearing it and seeing the support from her fans is amazing.
“It’s definitely overwhelming but very thankful to her and her fans.”
The good news for Swifties who want the hat?
Cacho has a limited number available on preorder right now, “but once I get through those I’ll add more. My sister is thankfully helping me since she crochets too and has her own business.”
She’s selling them for $30 on Depop, where secondhand clothing is sold. It’s the one described this way: “AS SEEN ON TAYLOR SWIFT HERSELF!”
The bad news for Swifties: The hats won’t be available before Christmas.
This story was originally published December 17, 2023 at 4:20 PM.
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