Knit Madness Day 12: Final Four

If I had to guess which sweaters would end up in the Final Four when I started this, I’d get…maybe one of them. I feel you could’ve easily called the Knives Out sweater, but otherwise? It gets a lot tougher.

But to this point, I couldn’t have predicted that Sorcerer’s Stone would get knocked out in the first round, Wallace’s sweater vest would lose early but A Close Shave would reach the Elite Eight, my beloved Derry Girls made it several rounds, and WoTsky would help push the Dragon Reborn into the Final Four.

It’s been a thrill to have gone through this ride with all of you, but for now, let’s see how everyone did yesterday and launch into the penultimate round of matchups.

Recap: Day 11, Elite Eight

Cables

• Matchup: (1) Knives Out (75.5%) vs (3) When Harry Met Sally… (24.5%)

Textured/Miscellaneous

• Matchup: (3) Only Murders in the Building (47.2%) vs (9) The Wheel of Time (52.8%)

Color Work/Christmas

• Matchup: (2) Murder, She Wrote (53.2%) vs (12) A Close Shave (46.8%)

Cardigan/Neck

• Matchup: (1) Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (52%) vs (2) The Big Lebowski (48%)

And here is your Final Four!

You can find a detailed rundown of Knit Madness here.

Today’s Matchups

Matchup: (1) Knives Out vs (9) The Wheel of Time season 1

Cables Champion: (1) Knives Out

Sweater: A purposely distressed white Aran pullover with a level of organic internet virality Lionsgate could’ve never bought.

Who Wore It: Professional shit-stirrer Hugh “Ransom” Drysdale (Chris Evans), who is an affront to sweater care.

Replica: Yes

Notes: Ransom’s viral sweater from Knives Out has walked pretty handily to earn its spot in the Final Four. Will its trip to the Championship be just as easy?

Previously Defeated: (16) Friday the 13th; (9) The Mandalorian; (4) Firefly; (3) When Harry Met Sally….

Textured/Miscellaneous Champion: (9) The Wheel of Time (1×01, “Leavetaking”)

The Sweater: A fuzzy, striped light blue sweater.

Who Wore It: A very naive—and pre-Dragon Reborn—Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski)

Replica: Yes

Notes: An unlikely contender from the beginning, Rand’s sweater from The Wheel of Time’s first episode is now the lowest-ranked sweater left in the competition. Between the show airing its latest season while this competition played out, the might of WoTsky, and a battle with Only Murders in the Building with the most votes of any matchup to date, Rand’s sweater has made it to the Final Four. But will it be enough to topple a sweater titan?

Previously Defeated: Fellow ginger in (8) Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan); (1) The Nanny in a big upset; (12) While You Were Sleeping in a rematch following a tie; (3) Only Murders in the Building in another upset.

Who has the better sweater?

Matchup: (2) Murder, She Wrote season 1 vs (1) Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (various, all seasons)

Color Work/Christmas Champion: (2) Murder, She Wrote (1×02, “Deadly Lady”)

The Sweater: A cream-colored zippered cardigan with several fish stitched together in black yarn on the front and sleeves. (Not seen: Even more fish on the back.)

Who Wore It: Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), who’s perhaps the greatest detective that Cabot Cove has ever seen. Or she should be.

Replica: Yes

Notes: Although it’s faced some fierce competition from What We Do in the Shadows and A Close Shave, Jessica Fletcher (and international treasure Angela Lansbury) has had a fairly smooth journey to the Final Four, with some assistance from r/murdershewrote along the way. But will it be enough?

Previously Defeated: (15) Finding Mr. Christmas; (7) Bridget Jones’s Diary; (14) What We Do in the Shadows; (12) A Close Shave.

Cardigan/Neck Champion: (1) Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (various, all seasons)

The Sweater: A green cardigan (likely hand-knitted by his mother) that’s cozy enough to wear at home.

Who Wore It: The singular Fred Rogers, of course. Who’d probably have a lot of thoughts about what’s happening to children’s education right now.

Replica: Yes

Notes: Although it only defeated The Big Lebowski by two votes, the iconic cardigans of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood have otherwise cozied their way into the Final Four without too much fuss. But will the collective goodwill toward Fred Rogers—who’s of top of mind amid renewed efforts to gut PBS—be enough to put Rogers into the Championship?

Previously Defeated: (16) The Lake House; (8) The Holiday; (13) Moonstruck; (2) The Big Lebowski.

Who has the better sweater?

If you enjoyed this newsletter and want to directly support my work, you can leave me a tip on Ko-Fi!