Knit Madness Day 9: Sweet Sixteen, Part 1

After eight days, only 16 sweaters remain.

Once this tournament is over, I might show you a glimpse into what it took to put this thing together. But, as we’re fully in the second half of the tournament, it feels strange that so much of that work is no longer needed because, well, a lot of those sweaters lost their matchups. Those were good sweaters.

But the ones that are still here? Also good!

By Tuesday, we’ll know which sweater is the ultimate victor. Enjoy the chaos while you can.

Recap: Day 8, Cardigan/Neck

Voting matters: The Banshees vs Lighthouse matchup was a nail-biter until the very end, folks.

• Matchup: (1) Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (70.2%) vs (8) The Holiday (29.8%)

• Matchup: (2) The Big Lebowski (66%) vs (7) The Truman Show (34%)

• Matchup: (6) The Banshees of Inisherin (51.4%) vs (14) The Lighthouse (48.6%)

• Matchup: (12) Doctor Zhivago (44%) vs (13) Moonstruck (56%)

And here’s your finalized Sweet Sixteen!

You can find a detailed rundown of Knit Madness here.

Today’s Matchups

Cables Matchup: (1) Knives Out vs (4) Firefly season 1

(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: If I had to pick exactly one sweater to make it this far, it would’ve been this one. After all, it’s the sweater that got me to start writing about them professionally in the first place.

Previously Defeated: (16) Friday the 13th; (9) The Mandalorian.

(4) Firefly (1×08, “Out of Gas,” and 1×12, “The Message”)

Sweater: A yellowish-brown cable-knit sweater.

Who Wore It: Hoban "Wash" Washburne (Alan Tudyk), the Serenity’s resident wife guy.

Replica: Yes

Notes: When I first watched Firefly in college, I couldn’t have told you that this sweater stood out. But if we’re less likely to talk about Firefly these days because of who made it, I’m glad one bit of it has.

Previously Defeated: (13) Let’s Make Love, a historic—if only in sweaters—Marilyn Monroe flop; (5) Gilmore Girls.

Who has the better sweater?

Cables Matchup: (3) When Harry Met Sally… vs (15) Derry Girls season 3

(3) When Harry Met Sally…

Sweater: A chunky white Aran sweater.

Who Wore It: Harry Burns (Billy Crystal), one-half of one of the rom-com genre’s greatest slow-burns and fully in his divorcé era—and so memorable that nobody can replicate it, not even Billy Crystal—and he tried!

Replica: No

Notes: Nothing—and I mean nothing—hits quite like Nora Ephron Sweater Weather. If you need proof, look at how engrained a 35-year-old sweater is in our minds.

Previously Defeated: (14) The Thomas Crown Affair; (6) Star Trek: Picard.

(15) Derry Girls (3×06, “Halloween,” and 3×07, “The Agreement”)

Sweater: A classically Irish white honeycomb Aran sweater.

Who Wore It: Sister Michael (Siobhán McSweeney), Derry’s most over-it-all nun with great taste in film.

Replica: No

Notes: As a longtime Derry Girls fan (and of McSweeney as a host of The Great Pottery Throw Down—a Great British Bake Off offshoot that’s much better than that description makes it sound), I’m absolutely thrilled that Sister Michael’s Aran clawed its way this far.

Previously Defeated: (2) Titanic in a major upset; (10) Love Story (1970) in a slightly smaller upset.

Who has the better sweater?

Textured/Miscellaneous Matchup: (2) Coraline vs (3) Only Murders in the Building season 1

(2) Coraline

The Sweater: A dark blue sweater with silver stars.

Who Wore It: Coraline Jones (Dakota Fanning), the extremely precocious (and titular) 10-year-old who discovers another world parallel to her own inside her house.

Replica: Yes

Notes: It’s one of the few sweaters left in the competition whose physical creation awes me.

Previously Defeated: (15) The Way We Were; (7) My So-Called Life.

(3) Only Murders in the Building (1×02, “Who Is Tim Kono?”)

The Sweater: A fluffy gray and rainbow-color striped pullover.

Who Wore It: Artist, podcaster, sleuth, and knitter Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez), who lives in a building with an unusual abundance of murders.

Replica: Yes

Notes: I haven’t seen enough Only Murders in the Building to fully appreciate Mabel’s sweater wardrobe (which promo photos assure me is extensive), but she is one of the few characters on this list who knits.

Previously Defeated: The festive (14) The Santa Clause; (11) Penny Dreadful.

Who has the better sweater?

Textured/Miscellaneous Matchup: (9) The Wheel of Time season 1 vs (12) While You Were Sleeping

(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: The Wheel of Time is in the middle of an incredible run right now¹ , but the one thing that would make it better is if Rand had brought his sheepherder sweater with him. Sure, he might be in the middle of the Aiel Waste and doesn’t need it most of the time between the heat and the appearance of the markings on his arm, but deserts get really cold at night! That sweater would help!

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

The Sweater: A light gray oversized sweater with massive sleeves.

Who Wore It: Lucy Eleanor Moderatz (Sandra Bullock), a Chicago fare token collector who falls for one man, saves him, and then falls for his brother after lying to his family by telling them she’s the first brother’s fiancée.

Replica: No

Notes: I haven’t watched While You Were Sleeping yet because I can’t get past the premise. (Not even the promise of incredible chemistry with Bill Pullman has persuaded me.) But it’s a really lovely sweater.

Previously Defeated: (5) Home Alone; (13) A Fish Called Wanda.

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!

1  Please go watch and catch up on The Wheel of Time (streaming on Prime Video) because I really need a season 4.