- 1 week ago
Game of Wool Britains Best Knitter S01E01
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00:00A new generation of knitters are taking the world by storm.
00:04With just two needles or a hook, they are testing the limits of creativity.
00:09And ten of the nation's most talented are joining me in Scotland to battle it out stitch
00:15by stitch to secure the ultimate crown.
00:19Each week they will face two mind-blowing challenges right here in our magical yarn
00:24bar.
00:33The solo challenge will test the knitters individual talent and skill.
00:38I think those are going to look visually very pleasing.
00:41While the team challenge will see them collaborate on a scale never seen before.
00:46Is it straight?
00:47What do I care about straight?
00:48Nothing escapes the forensic gaze of judges Di Gilpin and Sheila Greenwell.
00:54Softly spoken but with eyes sharp as steel.
00:58I will be looking at the smaller technical details.
01:01I want to see that creativity coming out.
01:04Oh my gosh.
01:05Sheila.
01:05I always cry when I see something beautiful.
01:10Ten knitters, eight weeks, 16 spectacular challenges and one ultimate champion.
01:19I need small sharp scissors.
01:20So as fast as you can.
01:21Oh, I've missed a stitch.
01:23We can do this.
01:25We can, we can, we can.
01:27At the end of the day, this is a competition and someone has to be cast off.
01:33This is knitting like you've never seen it before.
01:37It's a big wooly adventure.
01:39Britain's best knitter, that would be unbelievable.
01:43Welcome to Game of Wool, Britain's best knitter.
01:52It's week one and ten talented amateur knitters have arrived in Scotland, historic home of
01:59all things wool, where the sheep are fluffy, the stakes are high and our magical yarn barn
02:05awaits.
02:11Oh my gosh, look, doesn't this look fabulous?
02:20Oh wow.
02:26As our knitters battle it out to claim big knitter of the week and avoid the dreaded cast off.
02:43Welcome knitters, I'm Tom and over the next eight weeks, I'm going to be guiding you through
02:48some incredible challenges where nine of you are sadly going to be cast off, but we will be left
02:53with one Game of Wool champion, Britain's best knitter.
02:58And although I am knitting obsessed, I'm not going to be judging you through this competition.
03:02I have two people next to me who are true knitting VIPs.
03:08We have Di Gilpin and Sheila Greenwell, who have worked with the likes of Chanel,
03:12Vivian Westwood and even His Majesty the King himself.
03:17These queens of couture have built their career on high fashion, hand-knit, show-stopping garments.
03:23And in this competition, nothing less than perfection will do.
03:27I'll be interrogating all of the technical choices that they have to make.
03:33I want to be completely blown away by creativity.
03:37Every stitch counts.
03:40These two boss stitches are going to be responsible for setting your challenges each and every week.
03:49And speaking of challenges, this is your first solo challenge,
03:52where you will be able to show off your individual talent and skill to impress our lovely judges.
03:59For your first solo challenge, we'd like you to reimagine a fair isle.
04:07We'd like you to make a tank top.
04:09And we'd like you to make it your story, defining who you are as a person.
04:15There are a few key elements to include.
04:18Repeating patterns.
04:20We would like to see periods or motifs in your tank top.
04:26Don't let the people of Fair Isle down.
04:31There you go. I mean, you've heard Di and Sheila.
04:33They would love for you to make a modern twist on the classic, the Scottish Fair Isle.
04:39But as a tank top, you only have 12 hours.
04:41So, let's get knitting.
04:47Fair Isle is a traditional but tricky knitting style which was invented here,
04:52on Fair Isle, a tiny island in the Shetlands, centuries ago.
04:58Fair Isle is a visual story told through repeating bands of symmetrical patterns,
05:03larger motifs and smaller periods.
05:12The yarn barn's fully stocked haberdashery is now open.
05:15This is my idea of heaven.
05:18And knitters have full creative freedom to design and knit their own Fair Isle story.
05:23Right. Come on, Ned.
05:27To knit their tank tops, they will all start from the hem of the garment and work upwards using circular
05:33needles,
05:34which means they can knit continuously in a loop.
05:38Then, they will move on to their Fair Isle pieris and motifs, which they have meticulously designed beforehand.
05:46To knit these, they will use a technique called stranded colour work,
05:50which is where they alternate two coloured yarns along each knitted row to create their iconic Fair Isle pattern.
05:56Once the body of the tank top is done, they switch to straight needles to create the arm and neck
06:02holes,
06:03before finishing and weaving in any loose ends.
06:06An average Fair Isle tank top could take over 40 hours to finish using a fine weight wool.
06:13Our knitters are using chunkier yarn because they have just 12 hours to complete this first challenge.
06:19This is quite a first challenge, creating a modern twist of a Fair Isle, but with a tank top.
06:25We deliberately set a really tough first challenge.
06:30We wanted to push them both in creative and technical terms.
06:35It's a visual world, Fair Isle.
06:37We really want them to be telling their own story, talking about themselves through the medium of knit.
06:45I've started my tank top at the bottom edge with the ribbing that will then go into the main body
06:51of the tank top.
06:52Originally from Germany, but now living in London, is Savile Row fashion designer Holger.
06:58I was always very much interested in the construction of clothes, the way they are made.
07:02And obviously for classic men's tailoring, Savile Row is like the place to be.
07:06Fair Isle is very much what I like doing, but not on this yarn and not on this needle.
07:12So to tell me that I have to express myself on a super chunky yarn is like asking a vegetarian
07:20to express themselves with a medium of steak or something.
07:26Holger has chosen ribbed neck and arm holes for his tank top.
07:30On the body, he's gone for classic Fair Isle motifs and peeries in a red, yellow and blue gradient, inspired
07:37by a previous project.
07:41She came into being around the time as everybody seemed to have been knitting emotional support chickens.
07:47It does represent me, a nonchalant chicken.
07:53For my design, I've got a repeating pattern throughout of the Sierra Leonean flag because my family is from Sierra
08:01Leone.
08:01Cyber security student Isaac learned to knit when he was 10 years old.
08:05I knit primarily for myself because I don't have to impress too much.
08:10It's quite handy. I don't need to stick to any deadlines.
08:13I have in the past knit for my mum and my granddad.
08:19Isaac's family inspired tank top features a gaggle of geese marching across it as his motif and peeries in the
08:25colours of the Sierra Leonean flag.
08:28It's finished with a ribbed hem, neckline and arm holes.
08:33So Isaac, what exactly are you up to?
08:35You've gotten through the ribbing and you've done your first motif.
08:39My main motif is a series of geese.
08:42My mum calls me a silly goose, my girlfriend calls me a silly goose. I'm just a silly goose.
08:46In terms of time, is it something that you're worried about with this challenge?
08:49I'm not great at estimating time, so I suppose we'll see.
08:56Fair Isle is largely a lot of what I do when I knit for myself, so I sort of feel
09:02I know what I'm doing.
09:03Already familiar with the Fair Isle technique is cruise ship singer Gordon.
09:08I'm a very traditional knitter. I've never tried anything particularly avant-garde.
09:14Heritage knit enthusiast Gordon is combining his love of Shetland with his passion for music by knitting peeries of piano
09:22keys accompanied by the oxo motifs used in traditional Fair Isle designs.
09:26Gordon is the only knitter attempting the risky traditional Fair Isle method of steeking, which means to cut open the
09:35neck and arm holes.
09:36You heard that right. Cut into the knitting. You can't spell steek without spelling eek.
09:42It won't ravel out. People think it'll just completely disintegrate, but it won't.
09:53Knitters, that's two hours gone. You have ten hours remaining.
09:58A pile of wool next to me. A cup of tea on the side.
10:01It's altered.
10:03You guys are loving this, aren't you? Time over your lives.
10:07The best part of any day is a cup of tea.
10:14Hoping to impress the judges with a nature-inspired knit is psychotherapist Tracy.
10:19Hello. Hello.
10:22I'm a grandmother of eight and I've been knitting as long as I think I've been breathing.
10:27Do you want to tell us a little bit about the design?
10:29As I kind of thought about what I'm going to do with this, I saw a picture in a charity
10:33shop and it was a picture of trees.
10:35So I kind of believe that everyone's born as a little seed and then they grow into a mighty tree.
10:40And no one says, well, that's a fat tree, that's an odd tree, it's a weird tree. We just love
10:43trees the way they are.
10:47Tracy's Fair Isle design story is all about the circle of life and incorporates nature symbols and scissors to represent
10:54pruning and shaping your path.
10:58So are you going to embellish it?
11:00I might be.
11:02You know, I've been known to add pieces of chandelier to a shawl, so I do like to change things
11:07as I go along.
11:10This whole thing has been absolutely new to me. I've never done Fair Isle before.
11:14Ever in my life.
11:15Library worker Dipti knits to unwind, but is still getting to grips with some of the trickier techniques.
11:21I generally am very amateur. I have told my son that I'm going to be in a knitting competition.
11:28And he said to me, you're not very good. So you'll come home soon anyway.
11:34Dipti.
11:35Hello Tom.
11:35How are we getting on?
11:37I am a massive fan of stuffed toys.
11:39Okay.
11:39So is my little boy.
11:41This is a design for the love of his favourite soft toy.
11:46We love him so much. That's his own bedroom.
11:48He literally is a member of the family. We even celebrate his birthday.
11:52The first of August.
11:53Wow. Okay.
11:54Literally, it is adorable.
11:58Dipti's knit has both heart-shaped motifs and her son's favourite birthday celebrating bunny, all incorporated in a blue, white
12:06and pink design.
12:08Is there anything with this project and this challenge in particular that you're concerned about?
12:12For me, it's always the fit. I'm not a massive maker of garments and finishing it because I'm quite a
12:18slow knitter.
12:22I'm back on track. I thought I was behind, but I'm back on track now. I'm so delighted. It's really
12:28exciting.
12:28I was making my black knit faster.
12:32Oh dearie. Can't stop. There will be smoke coming off my needles soon.
12:36This giddy knitter is life coach Stephanie, who first picked up a set of needles 45 years ago.
12:43I'm not your average gran. I do all sorts of things and now I'm in an extreme knitting competition that
12:50I'm going to win.
12:53Stephanie's Fair Isle design features motifs of all the things she loves.
12:57Games at the table with her daughters, knitting needles and a cup of tea.
13:02But she's hoping to wow the judges with a unique roll neck collar.
13:09Tell us a little bit about the design.
13:11I'm going to do a roll collar.
13:14A collar? That's exciting.
13:17That's the plan. Fingers crossed.
13:2018 year old fashion student Meadow only got into knitting recently, but already loves its creative potential.
13:27For my motifs, I've decided to go with Daisy for my granny.
13:31I just really like bright colours.
13:33I'm the youngest knitter in the competition.
13:35I'm very excited to show people that I can make.
13:38Meadow's Fair Isle tank top is a multicolored love letter to her gran.
13:42Complete with checkerboard peeries and a giant Daisy motif, her gran's favourite flower.
13:48I have my granny's knitting needles.
13:51She taught me how to knit when I was really young, so it's always something we've had a bond over.
13:59During the first half of the challenge, it is essential the knitters complete the body of their tank tops to
14:05allow time for the fiddly neck and arm holes.
14:08Well, unless you've found a cheeky shortcut like me.
14:12Oh, stannit.
14:13That's me, finished with my Fair Isle sweater, and we're only halfway through.
14:18So, knitters, you're halfway through.
14:21Six hours to go.
14:25How you doing, Gordo?
14:27Um...
14:28I'm further behind than I would have liked to have been.
14:30It's like being in one of these anxiety dreams.
14:33Except it isn't a dream.
14:34I'm really here and I'm knitting like mad.
14:44It's week one here in the Game of Wool yarn barn, and our ten knitters are over halfway through their
14:50first solo challenge.
14:51A modern Fair Isle tank top.
14:53The plans are still fine.
14:55I've just messed up this motif, so I'm just trying to fix it at the moment.
14:58Ex-Marine turned builder, Simon, has been knitting for over ten years.
15:02Generally, knitting on a building site goes down with a bit of shock.
15:05Like, what the hell's this dude doing with a set of knitting needles?
15:08Simon, can you tell me about your tank top design?
15:10Some of my motifs are based around my life story, really.
15:15Simon's tank top is partly inspired by his time with actual tanks, as it uses the colours of the Royal
15:21Marines.
15:21He's also adding a trowel motif as a nod to his new career as a builder.
15:26And to reflect he and his wife's IBF journey, motifs of Petri dishes and egg timers.
15:33Each egg timer should, if I can get there, go down in time to signify IVF and the amount of
15:39time it took.
15:40Well, that's such a great idea, because Fair Isle usually repeats, but there's like subtle differences.
15:45How far in are you?
15:46Not as far as I should be.
15:52Also struggling to stay afloat is cruise ship entertainer Gordon.
15:56I decided to do what I always do and I'm stinking the armholes.
16:01Oh!
16:03Stinking using a chunkier yarn will be tricky, because this wool isn't as sticky, so it won't cling together like
16:09a Shetland wool, which is traditionally used in Fair Isle.
16:13That's quite a risky decision, Gordon.
16:16So, timing.
16:18Timing, yes. I'm hoping I'll be okay, but I don't think I'm going to be sitting around having a cup
16:23of tea.
16:29With just a few hours remaining, the knitters should all have moved on to the neck and armholes.
16:36I've done the main body of my vest, and so now I'm picking up stitches for the neckline.
16:43Lydia juggles her passion for knitting with a career in the charity sector, whilst also raising three-year-old twins.
16:49Right, I don't knit for barely anyone but myself, and yes, I have kids, and no, I don't knit for
16:54them.
16:55Well, Lydia, what have we got going on here for your Feral vest?
16:59I'm doing a take on a kente print, which is a traditional West African material.
17:04So, I was inspired by this dress.
17:06Oh, wow!
17:07This is me and my husband at our wedding party.
17:11Inspired by her wedding dress, Lydia's Fair Isle story explores her Ghanaian roots,
17:16combining traditional symbols representing love at her motifs and periods within a bright West African colour palette.
17:23Wow, that's so special. The meaning behind it, the patterns. You're cracking through it.
17:28I think I'm about an hour off.
17:30And she's not the only knitter approaching the finish line.
17:33It's possible, looking around, I might be one of the first to finish,
17:37but I've also got a couple of design features further up that take a good bit of time.
17:44Elsa works for a ferry company and has been knitting for over 20 years.
17:49Hey Elsa, do you want to tell us a little bit about the story?
17:53My design is based on a day in my life.
17:55I live next to the beach with my dog Brillo. That's who this is.
17:59Oh, lovely.
18:02Elsa's tank top is inspired by her local beach,
18:05with a waved peerie accompanied by a motif of her beloved dog Brillo.
18:11She's pushing the boat out with a few extra flourishes,
18:14such as a vintage ribbon-inspired necktie and a surprise on the back.
18:18I'm creating a hole, like a porthole.
18:22Oh.
18:23Because I work for a ferry company, I'm bringing that into my design
18:26because I'm lucky enough through work to be able to go to places
18:29with some of the best knitting and wool history.
18:34When I discovered that there's a history to knitting and it's such an interesting history,
18:41I was just down that rabbit hole.
18:43I have been called an old soul quite a few times in my life.
18:48I'm probably perceived as being quite quiet, but I'm just soaking everything up
18:53and seeing what I can do to be really loud with my knitting, albeit being quiet myself.
19:02Now you're getting on, mate.
19:03I'm feeling very stressed about time.
19:05I am whizzing up my front piece.
19:08Unfortunately, the whizzing is not quite as whizzy as it should be.
19:12Do you want me to run across for a cuddle?
19:15I'm busy, I'm busy knitting.
19:17I think I'm here to just try and put a smile on Holger's face.
19:21Yeah, amazing, thank you.
19:27So right now I'm adding a duplicate stitch to add the orange bills.
19:31So instead of being these sad little bill-less geese,
19:35they're nice and happy and they can honk at you.
19:38Duplicate stitch is a common technique used to embroider over existing knitting to add detail.
19:44But Isaac is unusually combining this with the ladder back technique,
19:48a method to neatly hold strands of yarn on the inside of your garments.
19:52I've done duplicate stitch before, so I'm quite confident doing it.
19:55I've never done a cashing it on the back using the ladder back,
19:59but that was just as easy as doing it on the front.
20:01But I think timing-wise I might be running a little bit behind.
20:04Still got three to go.
20:07Knitters, that's one hour to go.
20:10Is it really? No, no, no, no, no.
20:13One hour.
20:14I'm in big trouble, major big trouble.
20:16I've got about 16 rows still to knit.
20:19In the final hour, our knitters must complete their garments and cast off their designs,
20:24which means securing their final row of stitches before presenting to the judges.
20:30Holger, how are you doing? Concerned about time or are you...?
20:32Yep.
20:35Somebody's just told me I've only got one hour left to do it in.
20:37And how are you doing, Dipti?
20:39Honestly, I haven't got the time, sorry.
20:42I'm gonna leave.
20:44While some knitters are finishing up...
20:46I'm just finishing, casting it off here.
20:48Happy to have finished. Good to go.
20:51For others, the knit goes on.
20:54I'm unfortunately gonna have to sacrifice the finish that I wanted on the neck and arms.
21:00Time-wise, it's not gonna be feasible.
21:04This thing's not getting finished.
21:07I might not be able to sew the ends in, but I should have a garment that goes on a
21:10mannequin.
21:12Knitters, you have ten minutes remaining.
21:16OK, I'm going to cut these.
21:18I'm going to just steek the armholes in the neck hole.
21:22It's not really feasible to do steeking with such a chunky yarn
21:26because the risk of the steeks coming loose is far, far greater.
21:30I certainly admire Gordon for doing it.
21:33It takes guts.
21:40Gordon's steeking.
21:45What's that?
21:53That gives me one armhole.
21:57Gosh, he's cut these steeky.
22:00And...
22:06All done.
22:07The openings are now made.
22:09I've just got two big raggy gaping holes where your arms poke out.
22:14Knitters, cast off your stitches.
22:16This challenge is complete.
22:19Your time is up.
22:22I embraced my ends.
22:24You got them on show?
22:25Yeah.
22:25Beautiful.
22:26This looks absolutely appalling.
22:28Dear God.
22:31Birthday bunnies, a gaggle of geese and steeking scares.
22:35That's ten Fair Isle tank tops done in just 12 hours.
22:39I hope the judges see the fact that I've had a bit of fun with it.
22:43I've worked really hard to create something that I think represents the culture well, so I hope I've done the
22:47side proud.
22:50Well done, knitters.
22:52Before we get to judging, I should let you in on a little secret.
22:55We're not going to be trying them on mannequins today.
23:00We have a special guest coming in to model them for you.
23:05Me.
23:06Yay!
23:09Let's get to judging with the first person, and that is Lydia, please.
23:19Wow.
23:20I mean, I could see somebody going straight down a catwalk wearing that.
23:25The colourways that you've chosen are so vibrant, beautiful.
23:30It's a story, and Fair Isle, and knitting generally, is all about making stories.
23:36This has really answered the brief to show us you and your roots and your heritage.
23:44Well, thank you very much, Lydia.
23:46Stephanie.
23:50Stitch work is really even and flat, and as you would hope for a really nice piece of Fair Isle
23:58knitting.
23:58Colour, Stephanie.
24:01Yeah.
24:02Yeah.
24:03Well done.
24:05Next up, we have Meadow.
24:11Great colour choices.
24:13Contemporary, modern, dynamic, can I say?
24:16Great Piri.
24:18Yes.
24:19There.
24:21It's...
24:25Really worked out very well.
24:27Yeah.
24:28Next up, we have Simon.
24:33I think this is just such a lovely design story.
24:37Yes.
24:37And these I particularly love.
24:39The egg timers.
24:40Thank you, Simon.
24:41Next up, can we have Gordon, please?
24:44The walk of shame.
24:53Okay.
24:54So, you were steeking.
24:59Yes.
25:00Quite an undertaking in the chunky yarn.
25:03Okay.
25:04I think that's what has caused it to be more complicated.
25:08Those are difficult decisions when you're a steeker.
25:10Can I just say, Gordon, I really like the overall design.
25:16It tells me a lot about you.
25:18Piano keys.
25:19Lovely Fair Isle.
25:20And it speaks Scotland.
25:22We're very sad that you ran out of time to finish it because there is so many elements that we
25:28really appreciate.
25:30Mm.
25:30Well, thank you, Gordon.
25:31Thank you so much.
25:32Be careful.
25:35Oh, are you okay?
25:36I'm all right.
25:37It's all right.
25:37Yes.
25:38We're out.
25:38Yes.
25:38I'm going to come and get yours, Tracy.
25:46Got tassels, Tom.
25:47Wow.
25:48Got embellishments.
25:49It makes you do that.
25:51It's like...
25:52I actually love what you've done here, Tracy.
25:54We weren't expecting the tassels.
25:56Thank you so much.
25:58Next up, we have Elsa.
26:06It is...
26:07Wow.
26:08Yeah.
26:08Really, really something else, actually.
26:11Yeah.
26:11I find this quite emotional.
26:15Sorry, because it is just so beautiful.
26:17Oh, thank you.
26:22There's so much about this, which is the balance, the wave pattern, your little fine detail,
26:30little tweaks that can make something completely new and different.
26:35The neckline, the classic V-neck with the tie, you've appreciated that this wool is quite chunky
26:43and that actually looks fantastic.
26:46Very much like the green touches.
26:48You know, the stitch work is really lovely.
26:51Yeah.
26:52And, oh, my gosh.
26:53I've just spotted the...
26:54Sheila!
26:54There's a porthole on the back here, Tom.
26:57It's not every day that you see a porthole in a Fair Isle tank top.
27:02Well, thank you very much, Elsa.
27:03Thank you very much.
27:05Next up, Isaac.
27:11The geese.
27:12The geese, that's a stroke of genius, really.
27:14I love it.
27:14I love the way you've put the feet one step in the grass, almost, the green.
27:20And the thing that really, really I love, and we would need to just hold this up, the way you
27:28did a ladder back for holding your strands to use it for the duplicate stitch.
27:35It's very clever.
27:36And quite innovative, really.
27:38Yeah.
27:38I haven't seen it used very often in Fair Isle.
27:42Tell me about the neck, Isaac.
27:45I have been intending on doing ribbed neckline and armbands, but obviously I sort of ran short.
27:52Yeah.
27:53Yeah.
27:53Thank you very much.
27:55Thank you very much, Isaac.
27:55Thank you, Isaac.
28:01Really lovely colour.
28:03Yes.
28:04And I love the transition.
28:05So how would you, Holger, have finished off the armholes?
28:09Well, I've finished one of the armholes.
28:10It's not ideally finished off either.
28:12Ideally, I would have finished the ribbing off with an Italian bind-off.
28:18But there was like no time.
28:22It's a real shame about the armholes because that detracts from a really nicely tailored
28:29piece.
28:31Well, thank you very much, Holger.
28:34And last but not least, dip tea.
28:36Oh.
28:41No.
28:46Oh.
28:48Unfortunately not.
28:49Oh.
28:50We'll hold it up like this instead.
28:52Hold it up in front so that we can see it.
28:55Let's have a wee look.
28:56Well, it's a fab design.
28:58Yeah.
28:58Do you think you just had not quite enough time to plan the neck?
29:04Yes.
29:04I was rushing quite a lot to actually just get it into a garment.
29:09To get the top, yes.
29:09Yeah.
29:10And then it was after I'd finished it, I realised that the neck hole was just far too small.
29:14Yeah.
29:14Thank you very much, dip tea.
29:15Thank you very much.
29:18It wouldn't go round his neck, so I was very upset that he couldn't wear it.
29:23That really upset me, but...
29:26Yeah.
29:26I mean, I spend my whole working life under pressure, playing music live on Radio 3 and things, and that's
29:33pressure.
29:34But this really got to me somehow, and I've disappointed myself.
29:37How I sort of cracked under pressure of knitting that no one was paying me to do.
29:50With the Tank Top solo challenge complete, it's time for our first Team Knit.
29:57A surprise challenge on an epic scale.
30:01And one last opportunity for knitters to impress.
30:07This is going to be knitting like you've never seen it before, so grab onto those needles and get ready.
30:13You're going to be working in two teams to transform a sofa.
30:19Oh!
30:20What?
30:21What?
30:23A sofa!
30:25We want you to come up as a team with a fitted sofa cover using a chunky yarn.
30:33You can use as much colour as you want, or you can use as little as you want.
30:38We're looking for a really cohesive design concept.
30:42And we want the best possible practical fit.
30:46All parts of the sofa must be covered.
30:50And it's a sofa that when we walk in, we really want to go, wow!
30:54Wow!
30:56Now for this challenge, it is going to be judged blind.
31:00So now I am sadly going to ask Di and Sheila to leave the yarn barn
31:04and come back a little bit later on to see your lovely creations.
31:07Now knitters, you are going to be working in two teams of five.
31:12So team one is going to be Isaac, Gordon, Meadow, Tracy and Dipti.
31:18And in team two, we have Simon, Lydia, Stephanie, Holger and Eilsa.
31:26So now you know your teams, there's no time to make friendly here.
31:30It's time to get going.
31:31And you're not going to have very much time to do it.
31:34You have ten hours to complete this challenge.
31:37So knitters, let's get knitting!
31:43Our knitters are used to working alone, but to beat the other team,
31:46they must now combine their technical skills and work together
31:50to pull off a cohesive design in just ten hours.
31:56This is quite an ambitious challenge.
31:59Well, not very many people have knitted a sofa cover.
32:02There's five people working on it.
32:04Yeah.
32:04And they have to work together to make it cohesive.
32:09At this point, we know they can knit.
32:11Yes.
32:11But it's down to those little details.
32:13They have to have planned right to the very end,
32:18including how they're going to put the pieces together.
32:24Has anybody done anything like this before?
32:28No.
32:29Okay.
32:29We need to think about when we're splitting it out,
32:31how people knit differently.
32:33So how does that fit into the design concept?
32:35With his experience of precise Savile Row tailoring,
32:38Holger is the first knitter to pitch a plan.
32:40As it is a fairly angular design,
32:42that lends itself to being split up into lots of geometric shapes,
32:47as in like rectangles.
32:48The concept could be like, let's say it's a gradient.
32:52You know, you could then do various colours in different textures, for example.
32:57We could have a cable at every join.
33:01A diamond.
33:02Yeah.
33:02You know, one person knits solid yellow,
33:04one person knits yellow orange,
33:05one person knits orange,
33:07and so on.
33:07It could literally be any colour gradient,
33:09and then you would join them together.
33:11Roughly some sort of look like that.
33:14Yeah.
33:14It would be a relatively simple concept,
33:18but visually it's quite impactful and strong.
33:23Holger's idea is for each team member to knit strips in different colour combinations,
33:28holding two different coloured yarns together to create a marl effect.
33:33These will be accompanied with strips of a more complex cable stitch to add detail and texture.
33:39These strips would then be sewn together, creating a gradient or ombre effect.
33:44OK, team, each of us are going to do a panel.
33:47We're going to knit the length of the panel.
33:49Two metres.
33:50What? Two metres?
33:51Just under.
33:52Two metres.
33:53Whee!
33:53Once we've done that, we can allocate who's going to do the cabled panels with the solid colours.
33:58I'm good with Chunky, whatever you need me to do.
34:00Chunky, hmm, OK.
34:02We'll see.
34:03We'll see how it goes with Chunky.
34:05The other team haven't been putting their feet up either.
34:08Student Isaac has already hatched a plan.
34:11I had a thought, I'm a fan of colour work.
34:13We can maybe do some kind of like sunset across the back of the sofa.
34:17Oh, that sounds nice.
34:18How about holiday scenes?
34:20So we have beach, sand, sea.
34:23Maybe the sunset would be the star of the show.
34:29The team have struck on an ambitious design built around a picture postcard holiday scene
34:34of rippling waves, sandy beaches and even the starry night sky.
34:39But the centrepiece will be Isaac's sumptuous sunset.
34:44The team have decided to use a variety of stitches across the entire sofa.
34:48If you garter stitched them, that would be quite good.
34:50A garter stitch?
34:51Yeah.
34:52We'd have the stockinette on the front.
34:53That's why I did.
34:54I'm happy to do anything.
34:55I think that's going to be like a series of pan.
35:08Let's get started.
35:09With only ten hours to execute these designs, both teams are getting to grips with the sheer scale of this
35:14sofa-stitching showstopper.
35:17I've got a newfound respect for people who consistently knit in really chunky arms.
35:21I physically can't cope with size 20 needles.
35:25Isaac is tackling the centrepiece of his team's design, the sunset.
35:32I've been quite ambitious with what I'm aiming to do. Intasia is a different beast.
35:37Intasia is a colour technique used to create blocks of colour by using separate lengths of yarn.
35:43But unlike Fair Isle, where the yarn is carried along the back of the work, with Intasia, you use a
35:48separate ball of yarn for each colour change.
35:51Every time you see a colour change in a single row, you're carrying a new set of yarn behind it.
35:57I'm basically switching which colour I'm using, so I have to, like, cross them in the back right here.
36:02This just sounds like a different language, doesn't it?
36:05Room for a little one.
36:06Wow, look at all this.
36:07It's getting a bit hectic over here.
36:09I've added in the gradient and it's starting to take shape.
36:12So quite an ambitious panel to be making.
36:14Yeah, it is.
36:15Was it your idea?
36:16Yeah, it was.
36:17If we can get it done, it's going to be really fantastic.
36:20It's going to have that wow factor.
36:22Yeah, because look at that.
36:24That's...
36:24Even as a knitter, that is terrifying.
36:33Here we go.
36:34Wow.
36:35So this is the plan.
36:36It's a gradient.
36:37Okay.
36:37All with a bit of cabling.
36:38With a bit of cabling.
36:40So we've got these various colour combinations going on.
36:44This is what we've got.
36:46Great.
36:46Who has knit with wall this chunky before?
36:49Nope.
36:49Never?
36:50I love a chunky thing.
36:51It's just not me.
36:52Not for you.
36:53I just can't knit with really chunky yarn and really chunky needles.
36:56These needles are some chunky...
36:58They're huge.
36:59Chunky, chunky.
37:00Huge, 20 mils.
37:01Yeah.
37:02They're massive.
37:03Yeah, we love it.
37:06While the chunky yarn is slowing Holger down,
37:09on the other team, Meadow is racing through her pieces.
37:13Nearly done the first of the three back panels.
37:15Whoa.
37:16That's quick.
37:18So, Meadow, when did you start knitting?
37:20Well, my granny, she taught me when I was really young.
37:24Like, as I'm autistic and I was having a really hard time managing some things in school.
37:29My mind could be so busy and stressed sometimes, so it's just really relaxing to just sit and focus on
37:35a project.
37:36Yeah.
37:36So, like, once it started, it was just like, whoa.
37:38Yeah.
37:38I found my thing.
37:40It's the thing that I do for myself.
37:42Yes, it is. It is.
37:44Gordon, did you say you did knitting at school?
37:46Oh, yes.
37:47Even as a boy?
37:49I've always been a boy.
37:50You know.
37:52Cruise ship entertainer Gordon is knitting the beach using garter stitch, a beginner-friendly stitch.
37:57I don't often knit in a public place, especially on board the ship.
38:03Most of the time, I do it in the cabin.
38:07It's only maybe in the last few years I've been a public knitter.
38:10I was once on a cruise knitting and a lady came past.
38:13She looked at me with great disgust and said, I think a jigsaw puzzle would be a bit more manly.
38:19Oh.
38:20Wow.
38:20So that was me told.
38:21I don't know any of this business of it being like, oh, you know, it's not very manly.
38:26Like, there are going to be people in life who don't like you.
38:28And if the reason that they don't like me is because I'm a bloke who knits, then I've got better
38:33things to worry about, really.
38:47I've got stars in there.
38:49Noticing that.
38:50We've got quite different designs.
38:54You say it.
38:55No.
38:56You say it.
38:58We Tom doesn't want to say it.
39:00You're halfway through.
39:02Five hours to go.
39:04Oh my gosh.
39:07I think we need to start seaming because if there's a problem, then we need more time.
39:14The gradient team are now moving on to the critical stage of sewing their strips together.
39:19Right.
39:20Let's see if we can put this baby together.
39:22To see how the whole principle that the whore decides based on whether this actually works.
39:27With that many strips, it's obviously crucial that they're going to be nicely aligned.
39:31As an analogy, this team, the gradient team, are doing a modern twist on a Victoria sponge.
39:38When executed well, lovely.
39:39Is it as ambitious as the other team?
39:42No.
39:43But while they are now racing to turn their strips into one cohesive cover, the Sunset team are
39:49still knitting their individual panels.
39:53I'm slightly concerned that they're going to finish in time.
39:56Mainly, I said.
39:58The intarsia work and the colour work and the stranding that he's doing is very complicated.
40:05And he still has a way to go.
40:07We need to start joining.
40:08We haven't...
40:09We've got panels missing, haven't we?
40:13Currently, we don't have enough pieces to cover the sofa yet, which is slightly panic-inducing.
40:21Do we think we're on track?
40:25Debatable.
40:26It's getting tight.
40:27It's getting tight, isn't it, guys?
40:28Yeah?
40:28Yeah, I don't think we're on track.
40:35The knitters are running out of time in their first team challenge to design and knit a sofa
40:41cover to wow the judges.
40:43Plowing on across this vast expanse of sand.
40:46While the gradient team are now sewing theirs together...
40:49Also, from this way, that way, you sew.
40:51Yes, sir.
40:51Somewhere in the middle.
40:52The Sunset team are still knitting individual panels.
40:56Close.
40:56Not really.
40:57It's all rain.
40:58Isaac, how are you looking at that last bit?
41:00Not fantastic.
41:01Do you think your time might be better spent joining pieces together?
41:07If I start joining stuff together, there's going to be a massive hole.
41:10If I don't start joining stuff together and other people are doing it, there's going to be a smaller hole.
41:14I don't want to say that I've bitten off more than I can chew, but I think it just took
41:17me a bit of time to find my flow.
41:22Knitters, you have one hour remaining.
41:25No way.
41:27No.
41:27No.
41:28No.
41:29Simon and Holger are doing the sewing up and almost finished.
41:31I'm on one of two of the pink legs.
41:34I don't know if it's blind hope or optimism, but I think we're going to be all right.
41:40Right.
41:40Fun knitting.
41:41Well done.
41:42Well done.
41:43I'm crocheting the back pieces together.
41:46Do I just cast this off and we have a massive hole?
41:48Yeah, yeah.
41:48Yeah, let's just get those other two bits on.
41:52Tip it upside down to put the feet on.
41:54Heave.
41:56Heave.
41:56Feat.
41:57Take a look.
41:58Is it straight?
41:59What do I care about straight?
42:02Are we all good?
42:03I think so.
42:06Five minutes, guys.
42:07Five minutes.
42:10Should we offer to help?
42:12Yeah.
42:12Guys, do you need help pinning up?
42:15Tell us where you want us.
42:16Thank you so much, guys.
42:17This goes together, right?
42:18Four balls of water put round the legs.
42:21What colour?
42:21Anything.
42:22What if you pin that on to the back?
42:25No, you need a new pin of star on there.
42:31Knitters, needles down, place your final pins.
42:34Time is up.
42:37Thank you so much, guys.
42:39Well done, guys.
42:40Oh, go and have a good cry.
42:41Yeah, right.
42:43It's just such a hodgepodge.
42:47We need to do, we need to finish on a group hug or something.
42:49Shall we have a team hug?
42:50I'd rather not.
42:51Okay, so we need a team hug.
42:52I'm not a massive hugger.
42:54Okay, I'll hug you, too, then.
42:55That's fine.
42:59In ten hours, both teams have completed their sofa covers.
43:04Sort of.
43:05Well done, knitters.
43:06It is now time to hear from the judges.
43:09So, Di and Sheila, would you like to come back into our yarn barn
43:13and let us know what you think?
43:16Starting with the sandy sunset sofa, what do you think?
43:23Well...
43:30I mean, it's a very ambitious design.
43:37It saddens me to have to say that it's not properly finished, is it?
43:42It's not finished.
43:42There's some car crushes.
43:44Well, there's lots, actually.
43:45Yeah.
43:46We've got lots of holes.
43:48Well...
43:48Because the garter stitch is...
43:49It's stretched.
43:50Yeah.
43:52There has had to be some intarsia work done here, which is commendable.
43:58Mm.
43:59The stocking stitch going to garter.
44:02There's no cohesion, is there?
44:04No.
44:05I do think they're an inventive group.
44:08I mean, the balls of wool for the legs.
44:10We said covered.
44:12Look!
44:14Indeed!
44:15It is really quite fun.
44:18But...
44:18It's...
44:18It's incomplete.
44:21Dian Sheila, can I ask you what you think of the gradient sofa?
44:27It's the cables that strike me first.
44:29But you would probably say it's the sweep of the colour.
44:32Colour going through.
44:33It's very cuddly.
44:34That's because of the raised effect.
44:36With the wide cable.
44:38The diamond.
44:39Interlocking diamond design.
44:40That's why this works so much.
44:42It does have feet.
44:43The feet.
44:44The feet are fabulous.
44:48Have each of these panels actually been knitted separately?
44:51Di, that's an incredible amount of sewing up.
44:54You end up with an uneven effect.
44:58It hasn't been neatly finished.
45:01No.
45:01At all.
45:01It's actually, you know, a very simple design.
45:05And we did want something that is like, wow, wow, wow.
45:11It's wow, but it's not...
45:17Incredible.
45:21Dian Sheila, have you come to a decision?
45:25Ladies, tell us.
45:26One sofa demonstrated a better design concept and execution overall.
45:35And that sofa is...
45:39...the ombre.
45:48Whose idea was the ombre so far?
45:52Holger?
45:53Yeah?
45:54Congratulations.
45:56Well, knitters, those are the challenges complete for this week.
45:59So, it's time to wind up your wall and let Di and Sheila decide your fate.
46:04What?
46:08Intagra is a different beast when it comes to a lot of types of knitting.
46:12I don't know why I said I would do it.
46:14I think the bits that I completed were fine.
46:17If I do go home, I'd be disappointed.
46:19It was just time.
46:20And if we had more time, it would have been better executed.
46:23I'm worried.
46:24It's now up to Di and Sheila to decide who will be cast off based on their performance across both
46:30challenges.
46:32I mean, wow.
46:34What an incredible first two challenges.
46:37You asked a lot of the knitters.
46:39We certainly did.
46:40So, who has done particularly well this week?
46:42Lydia.
46:44We found very striking.
46:47Ailsa.
46:49Her attention to detail.
46:53Who are you worried about?
46:56Isaac.
46:59The sunset sofa was a car crash.
47:02He didn't quite have enough time to finish.
47:06And then in the Fair Isle challenge, Gordon.
47:12I don't love the Stee King.
47:15No.
47:16Dipti didn't quite produce a garment that was fit for purpose.
47:24So, have you come to a decision?
47:28We have.
47:36It's time to hear who has knit big and whose journey has started to unravel.
47:43Di.
47:44So, our first big knitter of the competition is...
47:52Ailsa.
47:56And to commemorate the occasion, I'd love to present to you the sheep badge.
48:03You're very welcome.
48:04You deserve it. Congratulations.
48:07But this is a competition.
48:10And sadly, we have to say goodbye to someone.
48:14The person being cast off this week is...
48:27Gordon.
48:29Gordon.
48:30Oh, don't.
48:32That was really kind of...
48:33Oh, give us a hug.
48:36You did so incredibly well.
48:38I just was so keen to come on and show that everyone can knit nowadays without shame or embarrassment.
48:45We'll have a group hug. Come on, everyone in.
48:48Gordon.
48:50Thank you, everyone.
48:51Oh, my goodness. I can't believe I'm here next week.
48:53I genuinely thought I was for the chop.
48:55It's literally going to diminish the humour in this room by about 50%.
48:59Yeah.
49:00We've only got Simon to listen to.
49:04I didn't expect to be the first big knitter.
49:06It's a good confidence boost going into the next week.
49:13Next time, iconic knits for dogs.
49:17Don't hate me. I'm not a dog person.
49:20She's so beautiful.
49:23And a throwback to the 80s.
49:25Now, we all remember the 80s, right? The shoulder pads, the big hair.
49:29Results in fashion fabulousness.
49:31I love the big puffy sleeve.
49:34I love the big puffy sleeve.
49:35I love the big puffy sleeve.
49:58You know a dog.
49:59Beforekey.
49:59Your broke Wouldn't!
49:59You have no problem with emotions!
49:59You need can be bother.
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