Help me improve Knit Madness and possibly win a hand-knit hat in the process

As a Knit(ting) Flicks reader for [insert applicable length of time], have you ever looked at one of the knitting projects I’ve featured over the years and thought to yourself, “Wow, I really want that?” Or have you seen the various Knitwear of the Week entries and thirsted for any of them? Or—if it’s winter wherever you’re at—looked at your Weather app and cursed the cold for not having cute headgear? Or maybe you have everything you need and just want another hat just because? Or possibly you just want me to stop asking hypothetical questions and to just get on with it?

You are in luck, because starting today, I am giving you the chance for all of it (and no more hypotheticals): Starting today, I’m giving one of you lucky readers the chance to win

All you have to do is…fill out a little old survey for me.

March is only a couple of months away, which means Knit Madness, the chaotic cinematic sweater tournament to end all cinematic sweater tournaments, will soon be upon us. I started it last year on a bit of a whim and went absolutely ham ¹ on it, but it was also a case of me throwing a lot of stuff against the wall and rushing it in the back half of the month to finish on April 1 before I could see what stuck to it.

I’m thinking of spacing this year’s tournament out more throughout the month, which can allow more time for voting (e.g., two days instead of one) or adding more days of tournament so that the first round isn’t so overwhelming. But apart from that, I’m all ears. I want to hear from you about what worked and what didn’t work. What should I throw into the mix next year? Should I change how you vote? Do you even like the ideas I’m already floating?

And, most importantly: Which sweaters should I feature in the 2026 tournament?

I’ll spell this out more succinctly in a post clearly list the tournament rules and regulations, but basically, I think it would be annoying if I just repeated the same sweaters over and over again. Right now, I’m aiming a 3:1 ratio for new to old contenders. And by old contenders, I mean stuff that might’ve dipped out early vs your juggernauts, so we won’t have something like Chris Evans’ Knives Out sweater cruising to the Final Four every year until it inevitably wins the entire thing; it’ll be back eventually.

Dynasties might be a thing in sports, but I think they’re really fucking boring² , so it definitely won’t be a thing in Knit Madness.

Surveys are annoying and they can be long. So here’s a way to incentivize you all: If you fill out the survey and are a subscriber to this newsletter, you’ll be entered in a drawing for a chance to win your very own hat. If you are new-ish here, you can see the kind of knitting I’ve gotten up to since 2017 via this newsletter’s archives, Ravelry, or Instagram. (My account is private because of job-hunting reasons, but if you request and message me to say you’re coming from here, I can let you in.)

You can fill out the survey regardless of whether you’re a subscriber or where you live—the contest is US-only due to shipping costs—but you have to subscribe, fill out the survey, and be based in the US if you want a chance to win a hat.

Here are the rules/what to expect:

1. Fill out this survey and be (or become) a Knit(ting) Flicks subscriber any time between now and Monday, February 16 at 11:59pm ET, when the survey will close. Don’t be a dick: Keep it to one entry per person, please.

2. I will pick the winner at random, which will be announced some time during the last week of February, or when I unveil this year’s bracket—whichever option pans out.

3. I’ll also reach out to you privately to coordinate the hat itself, within reason. Due to the still-continued unemployment thing, I have to limit this to yarn from my stash and free patterns (or those I have previously purchased).

4. Once completed, I’ll ship it out to you!

If you have any questions, comment below or email me at [email protected]!

I’ve already got half the bracket filled with brand new sweaters—before you ask, yes, Elphaba’s sex cardigan will be in in the mix—but I can’t wait to hear what else I’m missing. There are so many good sweaters out there, we only need to share them with the rest of the world.

1  Full disclosure, I was interviewing for a job in the middle of that tournament, if you’re wondering why it was all so much so quickly last year. (Unfortunately, I did not get it.)

2  Except when one of my teams becomes a dynasty, in which case I will fully admit to the hypocrisy. Unfortunately, I root for Philadelphia’s sports teams, so I don’t see myself having to worry about becoming a hypocrite any time soon, sob.