Watch CBS News

Baltimore Man Becomes International Internet Sensation For Handmade Sweaters Featuring Landmarks

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — He may be one of the most celebrated Baltimoreans you've never heard of: Sam Barsky has become internationally famous for knitting sweaters featuring landmarks and then posing in front of them.

One hundred twenty sweaters hang at Hampden's Lovely Yarns.

"I saw a cloudy sky one day and I thought, that would be a neat idea, a cloudy sky sweater," Barsky said.

Since that time 20 years ago, Barsky has knit sweaters and taken pictures of himself in front of the images he knits.

"After a while, I realized I had 10 to 15 pictures like that and this was a form of art of its own," Barsky said.

In Israel, Barsky was featured in a documentary.

With over one million hits on social media, he's a knitting sensation.

"I had people coming up to me in Vegas all the time," Barsky said.

[Reporter: Saying what?]

"Are you the one who makes all the sweaters?" he replied.

He teaches workshops in person and online and is regularly featured in knitting magazines and journals.

Each sweater takes a month to create and they travel with Barsky to knitting conventions and workshops.

Barsky is working on Colorado landmarks as he plans to visit in August to hold a knitting workshop. He doesn't sell his sweaters, but now that he's internationally famous, he's getting lots of requests.

You can follow him on instagram here.

Follow @WJZ on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.