The Story Behind the Taylor Swift Sweater

If you were online yesterday (and you might not have been, if you’re in a country where yesterday was a holiday) you might have heard about Taylor Swift posting on Instagram about an amazing handknit sweater she received as a gift at a concert in Denver.

The sweater includes a Polaroid-style picture of Swift inspired by her 1989 album cover.

When she posted the picture she didn’t actually know who had knit the sweater, but the “mystery” has been solved. The knitter is a 27-year-old Colorado stitcher named Jadda, whose progress on the sweater over eight months was well documented.

She said on her Tumblr that the sweater was the first one she ever knit, it was a pieced raglan and she charted the picture and the letters to make the words readable. (It says “It’s like I’ve got this music in my mind sayin’ it’s gonna be alright.” Of course.)

She also noted it was “difficult af” and a “ton of work but so much fun.”

She told BuzzFeed that she attended two concerts of Swift’s in Denver and wore the sweater herself the first night, but thanks to her boyfriend got the sweater into Swift’s mom’s hands along with a letter the second night.

Taylor posted a picture on Instagram yesterday saying the sweater “has very quickly become my everything.” The picture got 1.8 million likes on Instagram and more than 83,000 favorites on Twitter. She posted on Tumblr when she learned who the knitter was, saying she loved the sweater and it was “so comfortable” and clearly “made with love.”

Which is really what we all want when we make something for someone else, right? What a great story!

Looking for a fun birthday gift? Check out this Taylor swift birthday card complete with a bracelet and keychain.

Next Pattern:

Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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