The Intersection of Craft and Science: How knitting helps people see, feel, and understand climate patterns
Does craft have a place in scientific storytelling? In this post, I explore how craft and science intersect in my temperature blanket project, including why I chose knitting as the medium, how it helps make climate data more tangible, and the ways it allows people to engage with and understand complex patterns. I will also share how combining yarn and data breaks down barriers, sparks curiosity, and creates a bridge between scientific information and everyday experience.
From Hobby to Communication Tool
At its core, my project is about using craft to interpret science. Each blanket represents historical temperature data from Kentville, Nova Scotia, and through knitting, I turn abstract numbers into a tangible, colourful story. What started as a simple year-long experiment quickly expanded. I began downloading as much historical data as I could find, and my newly-learned craft - knitting - became the medium through which the science could be visualized and shared. Knitting is familiar, tactile, and colourful, making it easy to see shifts from day to day or year to year.
It took just a couple of months of knitting for me to realize that this wasn’t just about personal exploration - it could communicate scientific data to others. Conversations with friends and the public highlighted how impactful a visual and tactile medium could be. Teaching university classes at the same time reinforced this; the blankets could be used as a tool to explain climate patterns and trends in ways that charts or graphs often cannot.
Explaining the Science
When people first see a blanket, they usually grasp the basics: warm colours mean hot days, cool colours mean cold. But I make sure to clarify a few important points. One day, year, or even decade of data isn’t enough to “prove” climate change; thirty years is the minimum for reliable trends. The blankets show average daily temperatures, so extremes aren’t fully represented. And anomalies - unusual warm or cold days - will always appear, but these blips don’t negate the long-term trends we’re trying to highlight. Knitting makes these concepts easier to see and understand.
Craft reaches audiences that traditional science communication often misses. I interact with people of all ages, from curious students to climate skeptics. While not everyone comes into these conversations with an understanding of the science, the visual and tactile aspects break down barriers. Seeing the colour patterns makes data approachable, sparking questions and discussions that might not occur with abstract graphs. People are drawn to the warmth of the yarn, the shifts in colour, and the sheer scale of a decade condensed into the textile. They ask about the length of the project, the size of the blankets, and what I plan to do with them. But many also ask about the science, the trends, and the meaning behind the colours.
The Power of Combining Mediums
The interplay of craft and science gives each medium what the other lacks. Knitting simplifies, visualizes, and humanizes data, while science provides the story, the patterns, and the context. Together, they create an accessible, tangible, and engaging way to explore complex topics like climate change. It allows people to connect personally with the data, understand trends, and consider the implications in their own lives.
Ultimately, combining craft and science matters because it breaks down barriers to understanding. At a time when trust in science is fragile, and disinformation campaigns attempt to confuse the public, making data tangible and approachable is crucial. Science should be used to prevent harm and guide decisions, but it can only do that if people can understand and connect with it. Craft is one way to provide that bridge.
