She knit an MBTA-themed sweater, and it’s going viral

Local News

“I’m very inspired by Boston and New England — I feel like it has a very charming, magical spirit about it.”

Boston-based graphic designer Megan Lam became the envy of fashionistas and transit nerds alike last week when she debuted her hand-knit MBTA-themed sweater. Megan Lam

By Abby Patkin

April 3, 2026 | 9:18 AM

3 minutes to read

Bostonians may love to hate on the MBTA as a general rule of thumb, but one T rider is proudly wearing her heart on her sleeve.

Boston-based graphic designer Megan Lam became the envy of fashionistas and transit nerds alike last week when she debuted her latest creation: a hand-knit sweater adorned with trains from the MBTA’s commuter rail and Orange, Green, and Red lines.

According to Lam, the wearable love letter to Boston’s public transit draws inspiration from bus-themed designs by Irish creator Siobh’s Knits, San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit holiday sweaters, and of course, “Love on the Spectrum” star Pari Kim’s infectious enthusiasm for all things MBTA.

“There’s been a lot of just public transit fervor going on,” Lam said in an interview. “I have always taken the MBTA, so it’s definitely a sight I’m familiar with.”

When she decided to design an MBTA-themed sweater last July, the commuter rail, Orange Line, and Green Line were shoo-ins — after all, they were the trains Lam used most in her days as an undergraduate at Northeastern University.

She added the Red Line later in honor of her job at Harvard Magazine, explaining she was particularly moved by the view from the train as it crosses over the Charles River at sunset.

“So that’s why I have those four trains on the sweater. And people are like, ‘What about the Blue Line?’ Like, I’ve taken the Blue Line maybe twice in my life,” she said with a laugh.

A former print design co-op at The Boston Globe, Lam said she’s hoping to craft more Boston-themed projects down the line, including a “Make Way for Ducklings” sweater and a cardigan inspired by the Public Garden’s tulips.

“I love to just make things that I feel are unique and singular to me and what I like to wear and my experiences,” she explained. “I’m very inspired by Boston and New England — I feel like it has a very charming, magical spirit about it.”

For Lam, the MBTA sweater was a true labor of love; she started knitting it in November and only finished a couple of weeks ago. She also said she had to rework some parts of it after opting to design the garment herself on the fly, rather than using an existing pattern for the base.

“But I love that about knitting,” she added. “I love the iteration of it, and I feel like it’s also a motivation, because I’m just someone whose mind is always bubbling with new things I want to make all the time, that it’s hard to get yourself to sit down and finish something that’s more tedious.”

Unlike many fiber arts creators, Lam prefers not to share patterns for her projects — a move she acknowledged “is a little controversial in the knitting community.”

“I like to just do things for myself, and I like my pieces to be unique, one-of-a-kind art pieces in my mind,” she explained.

Lam debuted the finished sweater to much fanfare on Instagram last week with an MBTA-themed photoshoot set against a backdrop of subway cars and commuter rail trains. The influx of positive comments has been “overwhelming,” she admitted, but also “validating.”

“I’m really glad to see a lot more people tap into their creative, artistic side more recently,” Lam added. “I think it’s a great thing, and I would love for fiber arts in general to just feel more like an art, rather than just something you tinker around with. I think the designs everyone’s making and what you can do with knitwear is really amazing and goes beyond even your wildest imagination.”

Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between.