Whether it’s an act of protest or a way to keep anxious hands busy, knitting is the perfect winter hobby for my fellow homebodies. It’s portable, cheap and easy to pick up, and you can knit almost everywhere you go, from research seminars to baseball games to the bus ride home every day.
You can knit patterns generated by neural networks, you can knit with your cat or for your cat, and you can ponder the physical and mathematical properties of knitting at a physics conference near you.
Here’s some inspiration for knitting your city, your science and your school spirit!
Knit Your City: Baltimore Edition
New to Baltimore or long-time resident? Rep Charm City with these unique knits.
Old Bay Cat Sweater Knitting Pattern
If you can’t find what you’re looking for online, try your hand at making your own custom knitting patterns. When I discovered a curious lack of Old Bay cat sweater knitting patterns, I designed this matching hat and sweater set so that Matilda and I can celebrate Maryland’s most beloved spice all winter long.
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- Matilda sporting her Old Bay sweater on a chilly fall day. Photo credit: Anna Moyer
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- Old Bay felted jester hat. Pattern link. Photo credit: Anna Moyer
Once you’ve found the perfect pattern, try knitting in your favorite Baltimore coffee shop or park — there’s even a collection of knitting patterns inspired by green spaces in Baltimore City!
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- JHMI graduate student Courtney McCann knitting in Patterson Park. Photo credit: Courtney McCann
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- Knitting in a tree! Photo credit: Courtney McCann
Knit Your Science
From genetics to ecology, try out these patterns to show off your love for all things science.
Physics & Mathematics Knitting Patterns
- “Phi” golden ratio scarf
- “Recursive” shawl
- “Felted Moebius Basket”
- “Fluxions Hat”
- “Curve of Pursuit” afghan or wall-hanging
- Peano space-filling curve scarf
- “Pi Socks”
- “A New Angle” afghan or wall-hanging
- “Fibonacci Scarf”
- “Mandelbrot” fractal spinning hat
- “Klein Bottle Pi Hat”
- “De Morgan’s Laws” socks
- “Crystalline” scarf
- “Linear Lace” frieze symmetry scarf
- “Spherical Fractal Scarf”
- “Binary” scarf
- “Klein Bottle Hat”
- “Pythagorean Reversible Scarf”
- “Binary Cable Hat”
- “Two Klein Bottle Hats”
- “Knitted Kaleidocycles”
- “Fractal Cowl”
- “Pi Dish Towel”
- “Easy As Pi(E) Blanket”
- “Dragon Curve Fractal Scarf”
- “17 Equations Mobius Scarf”
- “Sierpinski Beanie”
- “#20 Pi Vest”
- “Torus”
- Pythagoras and Mr. Fibonacci glove puppets
- “Irrationally Constant Mittens”
- “Calculator”
- “Escher Seahorse Afghan”
- “Tower of Hanoi”
- “Pi Digits Scarf”
- “Sierpinski Triangle Blanket”
- “The Binary Blanket”
- “Resistor Hat – March for Science”
- “Computer Patterned Knit Hat”
- “Resistor Headband”
- “Celestarium” shawl
- “Galileo Mittens”
- “Microprocessors” socks
- “Circuit” mittens
- “Andromeda Mittens”
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- JHMI colorwork hats with DNA, crabs and the iconic Johns Hopkins Hospital dome. Pattern link. Photo credit: Anna Moyer
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- Chart for knitting JHMI colorwork hat.
Biology & Chemistry Knitting Patterns
- “GENEie Pussyhat”
- “She Blinded Me with Science” socks
- “Baby’s First DNA Model”
- “Atomic Blocks: The Periodic Table”
- “DNA Cozy Beer Cozy”
- “GENEie (Cable Version)” hat
- "GENEie (Colorwork Version)” hat
- “GENEie - The Next Generations Hat”
- “GENEie - The Next Generations Headband”
- “GENEie Plasmid”
- “Ice Cap Headband”
- “DNA Pullover”
- “DNA Scarf”
- “Resistance Hat”
- “InGENEous Fingerless Gloves”
- “InGENEous Mittens”
- “Mitochondrial” DNA socks
- “Denature” DNA socks
- “Anneal” DNA Fingerless Gloves
- “Geek Girl Fingerless Gloves”
- “Double Knit Double Helix” scarf
- “Balaenopteridae” socks
- “ProtoPretty DNA Sweater Shell”
- “Rosalind” scarf
- “Chromosome Cap”
- “DNA Cap”
- “DeoxyriboNucleic Acid: The Hat”
- “Snow White’s DNA” shawl
- “Science March DNA Resist” hat
- “Knitted DNA Hat”
- “DNA Double Helix Cabled Cap”
- “Brain Hat for Science”
- “Heart SCIENCE” hat
- “Heartbeat (EKG)” headband
- “Trilobite” hat
- “Darwin” shawl
- “We’ve Got Chemistry” socks
- “Biology 101” frog
- “The Null Hypothesis Scarf”
- “Biohazard Socks”
- “Brainz Hat”
Knit Your School Spirit
If you’re headed to a March for Science event, knit a DNA hat in blue and yellow to show your Johns Hopkins pride!
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- Blue and yellow cabled DNA hat. Pattern link. Photo credit: Anna Moyer
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- JHMI students Audrey Knight and Monika Looney at a March for Science event. Pattern link. Photo credit: Audrey Knight
You can also buy yarn that’s dyed blue and yellow to turn any knitting pattern into a Hopkins-themed work of art.
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- This yellow and blue shawl features an arsenic atom in the center. Pattern link. Photo credit: Grace Moyer
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- A closer look at the shawl’s details. Photo credit: Grace Moyer
Spin, Dye and Knit Local
For advanced knitters, try something new by learning to spin or dye yarn. The Neighborhood Fiber Co offers dye workshops and retreats for beginners and experts alike.
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- JHMI graduate student Courtney McCann dyes yarn at the Neighborhood Fiber Co. Photo credit: Courtney McCann
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- Photo credit: Courtney McCann
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- Photo credit: Courtney McCann
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- Photo credit: Courtney McCann
Visit the annual Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival to see how yarn is made and purchase local products. You can also buy local yarn at the Baltimore Farmers Market & Bazaar.
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- Meet a camelid or two at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. Photo credit: Courtney McCann
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- JHMI student greets trick-or-treaters while spinning yarn on Halloween. Photo credit: Courtney McCann
Ready to start knitting? Check out these Baltimore knitting resources to take a class, buy some yarn and meet local knitters. If you’re lucky, you might even meet “the Sweater Guy” Sam Barsky, the Baltimore local famous for posing next to landmarks wearing his unique handknitted sweaters.
Knitting Events in Baltimore
- Homespun Yarn Party in Savage, Maryland
- Lancaster WINTER Knitter’s Retreat in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania
- Harry Potter Magical Knitting with Tanis Gray in Stevensville, Maryland
- Delmarva Wool and Fiber Expo in Ocean City, Maryland
- Charm City Yarn Crawl in Baltimore, Maryland
- 47th Annual Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival in West Friendship, Maryland
- Maryland Alpaca and Fleece Festival in West Friendship, Maryland
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