I made the Project Hail Mary Fox Cardigan! I am a beginner when it comes to knitting and have only made simple items before this cardigan, like scarves, hats, socks, and sleeveless sweater vests. Before this project, I had never done color work, successfully worked off a knitting chart, or finished a long-sleeve sweater. There was definitely a learning curve, but I got through it and love the finished product.

I documented my progress on Instagram and am consolidating all my tips here for easy reference. If you’re considering making your own fox cardigan, I hope this post helps!

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The timeline of my fox cardigan:

• Fall in love with the Project Hail Mary book and get others to read it.
• See the cardigan go viral amongst the maker community and swear I’d never want to make it.
• Watch the movie.
• Do some research, decide to make it, and order the yarn 10 days later.
• Design a label to match, because I just had to have some of Rocky included.
• Finish knitting the cardigan, plus weaving in the ends and sewing in the zipper and label, with roughly 100 hours of work.

Choosing the Pattern and Yarn

After some research, I learned that the cardigan from the movie was adapted from the vintage wolf pattern by Mary Maxim to better fit Ryland Grace’s character. I think Ryan Gosling made the request, and I have to agree that the fox fits Grace’s personality more than the wolf.

As the cardigan went viral among the maker community, many people altered the existing wolf pattern and shared their altered knitting charts on Ravelry. Mary Maxim eventually released their own updated version as well. (I see reports that Mary Maxim also raised the prices of the original patterns from ~$4 to $8.)

Top Row: Original vintage wolf pattern. Bottom Row: Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace. Updated Fox pattern.

Available options for pattern and yarn:

1. Updated fox pattern, only available in a kit with acrylic yarn ($90). The easiest way to get started right away. Comes with everything you need except knitting needles and a zipper (or buttons if you want to go that route).
2. Original vintage wolf pattern ($8) and sourcing your own yarn. Use with free altered color charts found on Ravelry. I used the one from Leannade (see notes below for more).

So the options, at least at the time I was looking and excluding tax/shipping, were:

• Updated pattern and 100% acrylic: $90
• Original pattern and 100% acrylic: $54
• Original pattern and wool/acrylic: $80
• Original pattern and 100% wool: $140

As much as I wanted a 100% wool cardigan, it was hard to justify the cost when I knew I’d make mistakes and who knew if I would actually finish making it at all. For the best bang for my buck, I decided to go with the original vintage wolf pattern with a wool/acrylic blend yarn.

Fox Cardigan Supplies

What I Used For a Size 38:

• Wolf pattern by Mary Maxim
• Altered Fox color chart by Leannade (see notes below for more)
• Size 9 and 6 knitting needles (my fave interchangeable circular needle set)
• Main color: Hue + Me in Whisper (bought 7, only needed 6)
• Foxes: Hue + Me in Saffron (1)
• Paw prints: Hue + Me in Shadow (1)
• Black: Hue + Me in Werewolf (1)
• Tongue: Hue + Me in Love Song (1)
• YKK #5 22″ jacket zipper in antique brass and beige from Wawak
• Amaze cotton label from my shop.

The Hue + Me yarn is a size 5 bulky/chunky yarn, consisting of 80% acrylic and 20% wool. I found all of the colors I wanted directly from Lion Brand Yarn. Each skein retails for $7.99, but is periodically on sale. I got them for $5.99 each. Plus tax and shipping, the total cost of my yarn was $82. With the pattern ($8) and zipper ($5), the total cost of my cardigan was $95, and that’s with one completely unused skein of Whisper.

Notes on the Pattern

Sizing

I used the original wolf pattern to make a size 38, the smallest size, and the altered color chart from Ravelry. I chose the size based on the finished measurements and used one size smaller needles than the pattern called for to get the correct gauge. I’ve read that others have had issues with the fit being smaller than intended, but I didn’t have that issue. I’m not sure if it’s because of my yarn or gauge (or inexperience with knitting), but I had no issues with the sizing of the pattern. The finished measurements of my cardigan match the pattern’s measurements exactly. It’s slightly oversized without being overwhelming on my frame. (For reference, I’m 5 ft tall with a ~33″ bust.)

If I were to make it again, I’d be interested in trying it out with slightly larger needles (as recommended in the pattern) or making the next size up for an even more oversized fit.

Wolf Pattern and Altered Color Chart

Since I haven’t worked with a knitting chart before, I was worried that trying to work with an alteration would be difficult. It turns out it wasn’t any more difficult, especially since the original pattern is sparse in instructions anyway. The original pattern gives you the basics of the cardigan, and then you’re mostly working off the given color chart. For the fox, you’ll just swap in the altered color chart, which you can make your own or you can use one of several free ones available online.

I chose to use the one by Leannade on Ravelry. Leann offers a ton of great resources as she worked through making her own, and I love the movie-accurate charts she offers. The only issue I had was that the paw prints on the back panel didn’t work as well for size 38. On the left side of the back panel, there is a break in the paw prints when you’re making size 38. It didn’t fully match the paw prints on the side of the front left panel. I thought it would be fine once I stitched the panels together, but I ended up having a partial extra paw at that seam and ended up duplicate stitching over it at the end. This could totally be on me and how I put everything together, but it’s worth noting in case anyone encounters the same issue. If I were to make this again, I’d consider using the original placement of the paw prints.

Tips For Knitting Your Own Cardigan

I started with the back panel, which is the trickiest and time-intensive part. If that sounds daunting to you, start with a sleeve or front panel so you can get a better handle on the color work and managing all the different yarns. You’ll use both fair isle and intarsia for the colors, if you’re going off the original pattern. Alternatively, I’ve seen others use duplicate stitching for some or all of the sections.

Techniques you should familiarize yourself with before starting:

• Stockinette stitch. If you are a complete beginner, make sure you’re comfortable with knitting and purling. You’ll want to make sure your tension is pretty consistent before starting this project.
• Casting on and casting off. When casting on for the ribbing, I cast on both my needles so I had plenty of stretch.
• Intarsia, especially how to change colors. When changing colors, I remembered this by always putting the new color over the old color, basically making sure I’m sandwiching the old color in between the project and the new color. This ensures there won’t be holes whenever switching colors.
• Carrying floats. To carry colors where they’re needed next, catch the float every 2-3 stitches. This keeps the back as clean as possible. You can see where I learned to carry my floats better on the back panel, from the first fox to the second fox.
• Yarn management. Bobbins are a common way for people to keep yarns under control, but I never used them. I just kept the balls of yarn as separately as possible, in and around a woven basket I had on hand. If you’re going to move this project around a lot, I recommend a better system than mine.
• Weaving in ends as you go. I hate weaving in ends and found weaving them in as I went a lot easier than if I left them all for the end. I thought these large-eye needles were immensely helpful.

Back panel

For all sections:

• A looser tension usually works better for me, especially when switching colors, and I catch floats every 2-3 stitches.
• Keep an eye on where you’ll pick up the color next. You’ll want to catch the floats and bring that color along until you need it. If you’re going to carry the float for a ways, consider starting a new ball of yarn for that section.
• Yarn management can be tricky. I think of it as controlled chaos, which helps me with perfection tendencies. Most of the time, grab the tangle and gently pull the yarn you’re using.
• You can use a different ball of yarn for each of the two sets of paw prints and carry it as you go.
• You’re going to work with lots of little balls of yarn. Don’t be afraid to start a new ball with each color section. Yeah, the tangle may be annoying, but I found it easier than trying to manage floats across larger sections.
• Use stitch markers to mark every 10 stitches per the color chart. This makes reading the chart and spotting mistakes easier. (Similar to my fave stitch markers.)
• Mark off rows as you go. There are different ways to do this. I used a highlighter.

Front right side panel

For the front panels and pockets:

• Slip the first stitch of every row to keep a clean edge.
• Keep count of stitches, especially while doing the pocket. Double-check you have the correct number of stitches before and after the pocket opening section. I swore I had it right, but then I was on autopilot and didn’t realize I’d messed up until I got to the fox.
• You’ll add the pocket you made earlier on a purl row.
• Use stitch markers to mark the different sections. I have one for the front opening and one every 10 stitches per the color chart.

Front left side panel

For the sleeves and collar:

• Make sure you increase stitches before changing to a larger needle on the sleeves! You’ll increase on the last row of ribbing. I knit front and back after slipping the first stitch and again on the second to last stitch of the row.
• Watch for the increases and decreases on the sleeve. The decreases (when you start casting off) start at the beginning of a knit row, and it’s not symmetrical on the chart, which threw me off each time. Casting off is roughly every other row (on the knit side) until the very end when it’s every row.
• Be mindful to keep a loose tension on the collar, especially if you tend to knit tight. This will be sewn into the neckline of the cardigan, and you don’t want it to be too small.
• Slip the first stitch of each row to keep it clean. I’m not sure if this is “right” but it seemed to work out.

Sleeve

For finishing:

• Weave in all ends and block each of the panels before sewing them together.
• I used a yarn needle and yarn to sew all the panels together on all seams. (Mattress stitch tutorial from Purl Soho.)
• Sew the pockets down. The bottom of my pockets hit just above the ribbing.
• For the zipper, I used a regular sewing needle and thread. It’s recommended to pin the zipper in place, but I had a hard time getting pins in without manipulating the pieces. Instead, I used sewing clips at roughly the beginning and middle of the front edge so I knew where it should align. Then I used a backstitch to hand-sew it in, careful not to stretch the knit panel. (Here is a great tutorial from Purl Soho, though I haven’t whipstitched the edges of the zipper in place yet. I may redo my zipper to try to fix the wavy edges.)
• Lastly, I added the Amaze cotton label to the inside back with a sewing needle and thread.

Final Thoughts

For this being my first try at this pattern, I’m very happy with how it turned out. The fit is practically perfect, and it was a good project to work on. I learned a lot as I went and can’t wait to wear it more once the weather cools down.

I really enjoyed working through this pattern, though I was definitely feeling the burnout as I was knitting the sleeves. After deciphering the puzzle of the foxes, I found the stockinette stitch of the sleeves to be very tedious for some reason. Thankfully, the sleeves went by quickly after everything else I’d already completed. The best estimate I have for how long it took me to knit this cardigan is 100 hours.

After being consumed by this project, I’m not sure what else to work on next and have considered making a second one. I tend to enjoy going through a pattern a second time since it’s more familiar, but we’ll see if I revisit this one. I would definitely use this yarn again, though I am wondering how well it’ll hold up to regular wear. Maybe I’ll splurge on a 100% wool yarn next time around. Or perhaps I’ll try another of this style.

Are you working on your own Project Hail Mary Fox Cardigan? I love that this movie and book created a community of Fox Cardigan makers. Every single one is unique, and I love seeing all the versions. I’d love to see yours! Find me on Instagram.