Group chat for Shetland Knitters was popping, says one member, as they watched the first episode of Wools’ play Wool: Britain’s best knitter.
But their enthusiasm for the channel 4 elimination show hosted by ex-Olympian and weapons enthusiast Tom Daley was quickly dampened.
This became clear in the seasoned knitters program of Primetime on Sunday, which focused on the FACTLIC Isle Technique, which was prompted by mistakes, admitting cultural failure and asking for a correction from the broadcaster.
Practitioners contacted the Guardian disappointed that a series intended to show blackness to a wider audience should have so many things wrong with the historical approach. The style is named after Fair Isle, the southernmost of the Shetland Islands. it Contains a different set of motifs with two colors in each row and was enlarged by Edward VIII.
The Shetland organization for knitters (SOK), was founded earlier this year to “preserve and protect some of the biggest mistakes on social media. It cites the use of chunky yarn and 10mm needles instead of the traditional 2.5 or 3mm width; Refers to small designs as “peeriie pattern”, a term not used by Shetlanders; As well as “absurd” challenge to tie a fair tank on the Island in 12 hours.
The Shetland Knitters were particularly baffled by Dey’s panic as one contestant, Gordon Cree, was the first to leave the program after failing to beat the deadline.
Elizabeth Johnston, a trustee of SOK who began her Fair Isle apprenticeship before she started school, said the anger should be understood as a response to what for many is the final straw – or perhaps pin – after decades of fudging of terms and techniques.
“The problem is that many businesses, designers, pattern publishers use the term fair island and its methods are incorrect,” he added. “The term is used for any type of stranded knitted with many, but fair Isle is a different set of patterns and unique knitting skills that have been passed down through the generations.
“Everyone did it at the time, both dressed themselves and sold, but the culture has changed and we have to teach the generations below the world from Shetland.”
Helen Barwick, who runs Shetland Stitch Club, a mobile sewing school, said knitting was a feminist issue: “You have to remember that this is a huge industry up here, and traditionally a way for Shetland women to earn a decent income, that has been killed off by fast fashion which labels designs as Fair Isle when they don’t stick to the tradition of even using Shetland wool.”
In an open letter to Channel 4, he said the Fair Isle tradition is rooted in the people and the fabric of the islands.
“It is done with Shetland wool, from native Shetland sheep – a fiber so brilliant that it gave rise to this long tradition. The natural variation in color of the fleece lends itself brilliantly to color work, and its natural crimp means the fibers cling and felt together, creating a patterned fabric every bit as dense and strong and something made in one yarn.”
Barwick, who moved to Shetland last year after falling for the island’s fair approach to London, wants to demonstrate that the furore is unmistakable as knitters being precious about their craft.
“It’s a welcome to the community and Sheetland Week Eight is a fun sharing of skills and knowledge,” he said. “But it makes me sad that it is so difficult to live from the integration now. The reasons that the fair island continues to flow with passionate practitioners.”
Channel 4 has been approached for comment.