For generations the gentle clickity-clack of knitting needles was the soundtrack to family life as armies of knitters kept loved ones cosy in woolly – if sometimes ill-fitting and a little scratchy - creations.
Changing fashions, however, meant handknitting, crochet and traditional patterns – many woven into the heritage of Scottish places and people – and the local yarn they used, faded from everyday life.
Having been revived thanks to celebrity knitters like Tom Daley, easy to follow internet tutorials, Tik-Tok knitters and lockdown projects, wool has suddenly become cool.
Now a new Scotland-based television contest is set to do for knitted crafts and Scottish yarn what The Great British Bake Off did for baking and cakes.
Fronted by two of Scotland’s leading knitters with Hollywood credentials and set over eight hour-long episodes in the Scottish countryside, The Game of Wool will put ten knitters head-to-head in a series of technical and fun challenges until one is crowned the best.
As well as giving viewers a taste of what can be achieved with simple needles, hooks and yarn, it’s hoped the More4 series will propel Scotland’s thriving network of knitting workshops, wool events and growing band of yarn producers into the spotlight.
According to Jo Street, Head of Lifestyle at Channel 4 which has commissioned the series from Glasgow-based production company Hello Halo, the show will be “deeply rooted in the Scottish countryside” with particular focus on knitting and yarn’s historical impact.
“I truly hope the fact that knitting is so on trend for the ‘knit-tok’ generation means our show will find enthusiastic audiences in both the crafting community and beyond, bringing this wholesome pursuit to the mainstream," she says.
Knitting, crochet and other yarn-based skills have become increasingly chic thanks to celebrity fashions: when Taylor Swift was photographed recently wearing an on-trend crochet dress, online knitting and crochet groups went into meltdown trying to replicate the pattern.
There are over 101 million viral ‘knitting’ videos on TikTok, and global stars such as Tom Daley, Lorde, Ryan Gosling and Nicholas Hoult have all been seen mastering the skill.
There has also been soaring interest for ‘heritage’ knitting, using small and exclusive yarns produced by traditional breeds of rare sheep, and the revival of patterns such as Fair Isle and fishermen’s ganseys which tell stories of their wearers and have been handed down for generations.
Events such as the Shetland Wool Week Festival have exploded in popularity, with visitors travelling from around the world to take part and an international frenzy for tickets. Last year’s event attracted more than 800 knitters - around 60% of them from outside of Britain – who injected £1 million to the local economy.
More recently, the Scottish knitwear scene was given the catwalk treatment when designer label Dior showcased Argyll-patterned socks and lacy shawls at its Crieff fashion show.
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The new programme will be fronted by Fife-based Di Gilpin and Sheila Greenwell, who have worked for major fashion names such as Chanel, Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith and NIKE.
They also helped actress Brooke Shields polish her knitting skills during filming Scottish-based Netflix drama, A Castle For Christmas.
Di, who runs a workshop in Pittenweem, says she hopes the series can further ignite interest in Scotland’s vibrant yarn and knitting scene.
“There has been a big resurgence in knitting and Scottish yarn,” she says. “A knitting show in Edinburgh a few months ago was full of young people who belong to knitting clubs or are knitting with their friends.
“A lot of young people are also now involved in yarn production, working as shepherds and producing their own wool here in Scotland.
“There’s a growing sense of community across the country and we hope the new programme will build on that.”
It’s hoped the programme may also help convince more of Scotland's sheep farmers to shift from producing sheep for meat to exploring niche breeds more suitable for wool production, helping to feed demand from the knitting community for high quality, unusual yarns.
Most Scottish flocks produce fleece that is too coarse to be used for handknitting, and ends up being used for mattresses and carpets.
When demand for those fell during the pandemic, Scottish farmers found their ‘rough’ fleeces fetched only pennies at market, leading to some disposing of them in ditches rather than bother trying to sell them.
“For a long time, wool has been so under-valued in Scotland – we can spin yarn here but we don’t even have a baling mill and have to send our yarn to Yorkshire,” adds Sheila.
“There needs to be a change in perception – sheep need to be grown for fleece and not for meat.”
She says much of the new interest in knitting and Scottish specialist yarns is being driven by young people seeking alternatives to fast fashion and looking to connect with old skills and traditions, she adds.
“Young people with climate interests at heart are realising we have to make the best of what resources we have,” she adds.
“Knitting is slow fashion not fast fashion, which a lot of people have realised is not particularly good for the environment and the planet.
“Young people also like to be individual and create their own style, and with knitting they can do that.”
They have been working Regenerative Textiles Scotland, a new group which aims to improve the value of Scottish fleece through collaborations with farmers, shearers, spinners, weavers and knitters, businesses, luxury brands and consumers.
Knitting enthusiast Susan Anderson launched The Journal of Scottish Yarns during lockdown in an effort to tell the stories behind the country’s yarn producers, rare sheep breeds and makers.
She says knitting and Scottish yarns should be viewed in the same 'national treasure' manner as whisky.
“Interest in crafts was already on the rise pre-Covid but seems to have increased exponentially while we had more time on our hands and re-evaluated a bit," she says.
“At the same time with climate change and global warming, we've become more aware of our consumption impact on people and planet: natural fibres like wool, crafts like knitting with its proven mental health benefits, fit perfectly into this.”
She has so far mapped almost 70 specialists around the country producing and working with unique Scottish wools.
They include Foula Wool, which creates a range of naturally coloured knitting yarns, spun from 100% Foula sheep fleece farmed on one of the country’s most remote inhabited islands, 15 miles west of Shetland.
The distinctive flock has lived on the island in isolation for as long as can be remembered. The fleeces are hand-sheared and spun into a yarn so delicate it can be used for intricate knitted Shetland shawls that can be threaded through a wedding ring.
While on the island of Colonsay, Balnahard Farm produces its yarn from sheep born and shorn on its land, using locally grown plants for dyeing, resulting in a palette of colours that reflects the Hebridean landscape.
Further south, in Galashiels, a flock of pedigree Castlemilk Moorit sheep produce thread for Choc Flock, which is then woven on a rare 1948 Hattersley Domestic Dobby loom to create rare tweeds.
And at Iolair Yarn in East Lothian, a former geologist/geochemist who arrived from Germany 25 years ago is producing hand-dyed alpaca blend yarns.
Susan adds: “I set up the journal to support and promote Scottish textiles and every conversation I have reveals so many more stories to share.
“We are very lucky to still have some of the big names and mills like Harris Tweed and Johnstons of Elgin, but there's even more activity with farms and crofts looking to add value to Scottish wool.”
Casting for The Game of Wool is due to begin soon, with the programme on air next September.
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