I wrote about the lengthy history of cinematic reverse-engineered knitwear—and the people who break down those items and knit and crochet them from the ground up https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/reverse-engineer-knits-pattern-doctor-who-outlander-star-wars/

I've been working on this piece about cinematic reverse-engineered knitwear since November (and have contemplated writing about it for even longer). It's quite long, so take some time with it https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/reverse-engineer-knits-pattern-doctor-who-outlander-star-wars/

For instance, #doctorwho. People have been clamoring for Tom Baker's scarf pattern for *years*. In the '80s, the BBC sent fans the pattern and an American DOCTOR WHO fan club both commissioned orders and posted the pattern themselves in their newsletter https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/reverse-engineer-knits-pattern-doctor-who-outlander-star-wars/

For me, that introduction came via the Hogwarts House scarves; I attempted to make a Ravenclaw scarf countless times but kept failing. (Still have never made one!) @toribryan elaborates more on part of the draw that HP knitwear had https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/reverse-engineer-knits-pattern-doctor-who-outlander-star-wars/

It's also really fascinating (to me anyway) to see how knitwear can take shape in a fandom that doesn't have a huge history of canonical knitwear like #starwars. With some insight from @tanisgray, who just released #knittingthegalaxy last week https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/reverse-engineer-knits-pattern-doctor-who-outlander-star-wars/

If you're looking for the one show or film that's knitwear supreme today, there's no question: It's #Outlander. Kat Dennings is a fan, and @KnitzyBlonde's Facebook and Ravelry groups offer a place to indulge in the love of the show and the knitwear https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/reverse-engineer-knits-pattern-doctor-who-outlander-star-wars/

Knitting and crocheting have become more popular during the pandemic. As @AymTellsStories, who crocheted the Taylor Swift cardigan from #folklore, explained, the draw of a cozy cardigan as we were all cooped up inside probably helped its popularity https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/reverse-engineer-knits-pattern-doctor-who-outlander-star-wars/

Another really great thing? When a knitwear designer puts out a pattern for anyone to try like JW Anderson did with Harry Styles patchwork cardigan (and then @the_good_trader customized) https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/reverse-engineer-knits-pattern-doctor-who-outlander-star-wars/

Why do people do it? Plenty of reasons: satisfaction, comfort, fixing perceived mistakes, the prohibitive price is often a big factor. But, as @_Caryn_S told me, you also get to see people complete their own sweater before you've finished yours https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/reverse-engineer-knits-pattern-doctor-who-outlander-star-wars/

Special shout out to @tiffmkelly, who helped me through all of it, even as some of the construction coincided with Sundance, and @bakedinapie, who is responsible for both the main illustration—bringing an idea in my head to life—and this really awesome scarf section breaker

There's so much more in the piece. A section on *how* people design these reverse-engineered patterns. A brief timeline of famous knitwear spanning over 50 years. So much insight (and even more I wasn't able to include) https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/reverse-engineer-knits-pattern-doctor-who-outlander-star-wars/

Side note: If your fav isn't included in the timeline (which I've been calling an Incomplete Knitwear Canon), it's not meant to encompass everything. Dates are by release date/when it blew up, although there are some knits that went viral beforehand, e.g. #knivesout

tl;dr I wrote over 4,500 words about cinematic knitwear, got some really cool people to send me photos of their knitwear and talk about their process, and I hope that you take the time to read it https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/reverse-engineer-knits-pattern-doctor-who-outlander-star-wars/

Also, I didn't realize until after I typed out all of this that, between the illustration and the text, the first tweet in this thread is very much an unintentional visual pun smh

Oh! And if you want an excuse (not that you need one) to drool over great cinematic/pop culture knitwear, here's a whole thread of it from November https://twitter.com/michejaw/status/1326659533456936962