Just as the rest of the world discovered it, the It Sweater of the Moment has fallen.

I’m not really sure what I expected when I put up Ryland Grace’s wolf cardigan from Project Hail Mary as a contender for Knit Madness. Not only did I create several conundrums for myself that I will have to iron out before next year’s tournament—Should more sweaters from movies/shows that aren’t out yet be included?; Will I run out of angles of this sweater to feature?—but in selecting a sweater you barely see in trailers (and of which there are no promos photos available for me to download), I had to wonder, did anyone else see it too?

So far, you all said yes. Whether it was the cardigan itself, the Ryan Gosling factor, the Mary Maxim factor (a Canadian-based company with a distinct style of vintage knits and patterns), or maybe you just preferred it over every other sweater it faced off against, Ryland Grace’s wolf sweater made it much further than anyone expected—and got close to (but didn’t succeed in) unseating Log Lady’s Cowichan cardigan from Twin Peaks, which also has a corresponding Mary Maxim pattern.

But even if Project Hail Mary didn’t end up in the Final Four, it is finally getting its moment in the sun: Upon the film’s release, the cardigan—along with a few other items in Grace’s wardrobe—went viral. Honestly, felt just a little validated that I (and, in essence, all of you) got there weeks before everyone else.

Demand was so high that Mary Maxim almost instantly sold out of a knit kit¹ for the modified wolf cardigan that appears in the film: Costume co-designers David Crossman and Glyn Dillon thought the original design was too intense for a middle school teacher to wear, so they tweaked it to look a bit softer and for the wolf to look more like a fox. The result? Impeccable coziness.

If that’s something you want to tackle, good on you! But also, maybe release the tweaked version solely as a pattern once the hype dies down a bit so I can pick and choose my yarn and adjust it if the bust area won’t work? I promise you that I will still want it.

As a side note: If any editors follow me, I would absolutely write about the Project Hail Mary sweater for you. Let’s chat.

Now let’s see who will join Twin Peaks and How to Get to Heaven from Belfast in the Final Four.

You can find a detailed rundown of Knit Madness here.

Ready for today’s matchups? Get started with Google Forms, and/or make your way through the Bluesky polls, which you can find below.

Voting will close on Wednesday, March 25, two days from now. And as an additional wrinkle, I’m attending an event early Wednesday afternoon, so the next newsletter unveiling the full Final Four lineup and polls will be delayed by a few hours. But you’re also getting an additional day to vote, so it’ll even out in the long run.

The Sweater: A green zig-zag turtleneck sweater

Who Wore It: Helen Alderson (Rachel Shenton), who might not be a veterinarian but knows her way around farm animals

Replica: No

Notes: One of the remaining British imports remaining in the competition.

Previously Defeated: (8) Hunt for the Wilderpeople; (1) Cheers; (4) Gilmore Girls

The Sweater: A green, red, and yellow Fair Isle sweater

Who Wore It: Charles Heath (Tim Key), a two-time lottery winner and widower who uses his wealth for good—aka enticing the estranged Civil Wars-coded folk duo to travel to to the small Welsh island he calls home and reunite long enough to perform a private concert for him for a buttload of money.

Replica: No

Notes: The sweaters are one thing, but the soundtrack for The Ballad of Wallis Island is another entirely. (Needs more Carey Mulligan, though.)

Previously Defeated: (6) The Fugitive; (3) The Matrix Reloaded; (10) Pluribus

The Sweater: A light gray ribbed sweater with a puffed out collar

Who Wore It: John McClane (Bruce Willis), who just tried to pick his wife up from the airport and got drawn into stopping another terror attack.

Replica: No

Notes: The more I try to find different angles of this sweater, the more I realize I probably haven’t seen it properly.

Previously Defeated: (8) You’ve Got Mail; (1) Inside Out; (13) The Residence

The Sweater: A light gray turtleneck sweater with bright green and forest green sections at the bottom and on the sleeves

Who Wore It: Morag McCabe (Leigh Biagi), the wife of Shetland’s police sergeant

Replica: No

Notes: Another one of the tournament’s remaining British imports.

Previously Defeated: (6) The Brutalist; (14) Bugonia; (2) Star Trek: The Next Generation

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