Community / Shetland knitting group ‘shocked and saddened’ by representation in Channel 4 show
A GROUP protecting Shetland’s knitting heritage has criticised a new Channel 4 show for spreading “negative misconceptions about Fair Isle knitting techniques”.
Shetland Organisation for Knitters (SOK) also accused Game of Wool: Britain’s Best Knitter of “appropriation” because of its incorrect references to Fair Isle knitting.
The programme, presented by Olympian and knitting enthusiast Tom Daley, aired for the first time on Channel 4 on Sunday night and has been widely praised by critics.
But the SOK said it had been left “shocked and saddened” by the way Fair Isle knitting was presented in episode one of the show.
The group said this was “especially disheartening from a UK-based show meant to encourage more people to take up knitting.”
Terri Leask, who runs Terri Laura knitwear and is a founding member of SOK, said knitters in Shetland had been left furious by the portrayal of isles knitting in the show.
“The main thing folk were up in arms about was the terminology they used, which was either misused or mispronounced Shetland words,” she told Shetland News.
“When we watched it we were just like, ‘what is happening’. The mistakes were so clear.”
Leask said the production team behind Game of Wool had even been in contact with Shetland knitters to ask for advice before the programme aired.
But she said despite one person answering questions and two sending in videos to the team, all of the advice had been “completely ignored”.
The contestants were given 12 hours to knit a tank top inspired by Fair Isle patterns, with Daley telling the audience these were inspired by an island in “the Shetlands”.
Contestant Gordon Cree was the first to leave the programme after failing to produce a tank top in the time.
In an Instagram video posted on Monday, Cree said he failed to produce a tank top in the time because he made a mistake with the pattern and had to take back “at least 20 rows”.
But on the programme, Cree’s decision to ‘cut’ his knitting was presented as a major factor in his failure to finish the tank top.
The practice sees folk knitting in the round, before cutting out holes for the arms and neck.
SOK said cutting was a “safe technique”, and that the show had “leaned into the misunderstandings about cutting your knitting, perpetuating negative misconceptions about Fair Isle knitting techniques”.
“Gordon Cree is the only contestant we know of that’s been to Shetland, learned the techniques and credits the people he learned from,” Leask told Shetland News.
But she said there was a “judgemental” response on the show to him deciding to cut his knitting, with “gasps” and advice not to do it.
“It was made out to be this negative thing,” she said.
“It was made out to be the reason why he didn’t finish, when he’s said himself that wasn’t the case.”
The show also repeatedly referred to cutting as “steeking” – something Leask said was “not a word” used locally.
“We don’t actually have a word for cutting it,” she said.
“But steeking is not a word, and steeker definitely isn’t either.”
Another “really grating” term used in the programme is “peeries”, she said.
Small patterns in Fair Isle are referred to as “peerie patterns”, but Leask has said they “would never” refer to them as “peeries”.
“That’s never been used by a Shetlander,” she said.
“A lot of Shetlanders have said they have never even heard of that.”
Leask described the misinformation in the show as “frustrating”, and said knitters locally spent a lot of their time having to clear up similar confusion with visitors to the isles.
SOK worries now that Game of Wool will have a further damaging effect on misinformation around Shetland knitting.
“The SOK are having to stand up for ourselves,” Leask said.
“The term Fair Isle is going to be lost. Fair Isle is being used when what they are making is not Fair Isle. It’s appropriation.”
And she also railed against Game of Wool as a whole, calling the first challenge – to knit a Fair Isle tank top in 12 hours – “just unrealistic”.
“The needles were 10mm, we would use 2.5 or 3mm here. The yarn was eight times thicker than the yarn we produce here.
“If you were comparing it to something from the Bake Off, at least in that they give them the ingredients to do the things they’re asked.
“And if they’re looking for the best knitter in Britain, why are they speed knitting?”
Leask said a few Shetlanders had considered applying for the show, but had reconsidered after being told they would need to crochet as well.
“They’re completely different skills,” she said.
“It doesn’t really make sense when they’re looking for the UK’s best knitter.”
She thinks Shetlanders will be “very cautious” about whether they can trust what is said in the programme going forward.
“If they have let us down, what else might they do? We don’t know what they say is true.”
Leask added that this was a “perfect example” of why the SOK, which is a newly formed charity, had been set up in the first place.
“It gives us a collective voice to deal with these things,” she said.
“This is not the first time this has happened, and it won’t be the last.”
Channel 4 has been approached for comment.
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