If you’re a science fiction geek you may already be familiar with the movie Project Hail Mary, based on the book of the same name and starring Ryan Gosling.
What you might not have seen if you haven’t watched the movie yet is his character’s amazing knit cardigan, featuring fox faces on the fronts and full bodies of foxes on the back, as well as paw prints along the edges.
It turns out the original design is a vintage Mary Maxim knitting pattern, which originally featured wolves instead of foxes.
Chris Miller, one of the directors of Project Hail Mary, said the foxes were an important choice for the character, whose clothes are often marked with personal history (and sciencey dad jokes).
Mary Maxim has released a kit for making the fox version of the cardigan, which has already sold out, but there is a wait list for future kits.
The project uses bulky weight yarn and is considered for intermediate knitters. I assume it uses intarsia rather than duplicate stitch for the foxes (Tom Daley made a version that uses duplicate stitch you can see on his Instagram).
The kit offers two sizes, with a chest measurement of 38-40 inches or 44-45.5 inches (that’s 96.5-101.6 cm or 111.76-115.5 cm). The pattern and yarn are included but not the zipper you would need to complete the project as it is shown in the movie.
You can also buy the pattern not as a kit for the original wolf cardigan sweater. The original was published in the 1950s (the original pamphlet is shown on the pattern page and it is fantastic) and uses bulky weight yarn. It comes in four sizes.
This looks like a fun project and the knitting without the colorwork is probably pretty easy. If you make one I’d love to know how it turns out!
[Photo: Mary Maxim]
