Tom Daley to Host Knitting Competition Show

There’s been talk recently that a British knitting competition show was in the works, and Tom Daley has announced on Instagram that he’s going to be the host.

With the working title of “The Game of Wool,” the program will be on Channel 4 and is currently looking for contestants.

According to a post on Gathered, the show will feature 10 contestants and each episode will involve two challenges. One will be a team project and one for individual knitters that aims to test their skills and their style.

I have no idea how this will work in the real world, since knitting takes a lot of time and there’s not really any way to speed it up. It’s also not super dramatic when you fail like it is when cooking or baking (or even in fashion design when you cut something wrong and it ends up not fitting).

In any case, the post says the judges will be Di Gilpin and Sheila Greenwell, who have knit for numerous fashion brands and will judge both knitting technique and creative approaches and the knitters are put through their paces on a variety of projects in both type and scale.

I’ll let you know more about it as we hear more about it.

In the meantime, if you happen to be a British knitter with an interest in figuring out what a knitting competition show looks like before the rest of us, you can apply to become one of the contestants at the Game of Wool website. According to the site, participants must be 18 or older and need to be able to commit to filming away from home for eight weeks.

The application states that they are looking for people with a passion for the craft, who are able to both knit and crochet, are honest about their skills and can share photos of their work. The deadline to apply is midnight on January 5, 2025.

If you apply I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo via Instagram]

Next Pattern:

The felted slipper craze that began last year doesn’t seem like it’s fading away. The Sailor Slippers, often striped knit and felted slippers made with super bulky yarn, because the project of the moment late last year (check out more knit slipper options in this post all about sailor slippers) and they’re still consistently popular with knitters.

Which makes sense because they are fun and fast to knit, and seeing them go from this giant thing to something that actually fits a foot feels a little magical.

I have always loved felting (in fact my first book was about felting knitting) and it’s always fun for me to see people rediscover this technique.

If you’ve knit enough plain slippers to fit all the feet you know, maybe it’s time to stitch up some tabi style slippers instead.

Maymade Knits has designed these cute tabi ballerina slippers, made with bulky yarn and felted. They’re worked flat at first and then in rounds, and are available in 10 EU sizes (the Internet tells me add 31 to your American shoe size to get your EU size). The designer says the slippers are meant to have a close fit and you should choose a size a little smaller than your foot for the ideal fit.

The pattern includes a video tutorial along with the written pattern.

You can grab this pattern on Ravelry. The same designer has her own version of the striped felted slipper as well, called Sarah’s Striped Slippers. These are worked in super bulky yarn and have a contrasting foot and a striped body. These are knit flat and seamed and there are 7 size options available. Check that pattern out here if you’re looking for a more traditional slipper shape. They also look roomier so you can wear them with socks if you like.

[Photo: Maymade Knits]

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