A Woman Knitted a “Temperature Scarf” to Reflect January’s Fluctuating Weather—and It’s Going Viral on Twitter

Every day, people are raising awareness about global warming by channeling their creativity, whether it’s creating eco-friendly products or making public demonstrations of how we as a society continue to waste. And on Twitter, one woman took to her knitting needles to make a scarf that reflected the daily fluctuating temperatures in January. 

Twitter user Josie George posted a photo of the scarf two days after January ended, reflecting the month’s weather patterns for the world to see. In addition to the knitted piece, she also posted a key that showed what each colored yarn meant, the thicker pieces reflecting different temperatures while the thinner pieces reflecting the weather (sunny, overcast, rainy, or snow). 

“I decided that this year, every day, I would knit a row on a scarf to mark the corresponding daily temperature/weather of my town,” George wrote in the tweet. “It felt like a good way to engage with the changing climate and with the changing year. A way to notice and not look away.” 

And boy, did the Twitter universe notice, with almost 400K likes and over 56K shares as of this writing. Others shared what they call their “temperature blankets,” too, proving that it’s more than just a one-time project—it’s a movement. 

George loved the knitting project and symbolism it held so much that she decided to continue the project on a monthly basis, just as many before her had done.

“It’s already become a very established and special daily ritual, looking outside, watching the temperature through the day, setting aside ten minutes or so,” said George. “I’ll share it here at the end of every month as it grows and the colours change.”