2025 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

PollyWollyDoodle

I did watch it, but don’t think I’ll be watching any more episodes.  

I get frustrated with the time-limits imposed on ‘Sewing Bee’ but you can make a dress in a few hours, while it really isn’t possible to knit at speed.  To me, knitting is a thoughtful and meditative activity. The only way they could produce a garment within the time constraints was by using enormous needles and chunky wool, and if it’s going to be like that all the way through, I’m definitely not interested. 

I have read some of the comments from Shetland and Fair Isle knitters and they are justifiably very angry. What was shown is not true Fair Isle, and they used incorrect terminology - your analogy with Bake Off is a good one, @Laura_Elsewhere. Very disappointing. 

PipneyJane

PollyWollyDoodle said:

I did watch it, but don’t think I’ll be watching any more episodes.  

I get frustrated with the time-limits imposed on ‘Sewing Bee’ but you can make a dress in a few hours, while it really isn’t possible to knit at speed.  To me, knitting is a thoughtful and meditative activity. The only way they could produce a garment within the time constraints was by using enormous needles and chunky wool, and if it’s going to be like that all the way through, I’m definitely not interested. 

I have read some of the comments from Shetland and Fair Isle knitters and they are justifiably very angry. What was shown is not true Fair Isle, and they used incorrect terminology - your analogy with Bake Off is a good one, @Laura_Elsewhere. Very disappointing. 

Agreed.  It was colourwork, not Fair Isle and Laura’s analogy is a good one.

However, I think that the gentleman who was voted off had the most unfinished garment.  I think that if he’d had the time to finish up his steeks and knit the neck and armbands, he would have survived.  (Someone else had a neckband that was so tight, Tom couldn’t put his head through it.).  What wasn’t explained is whether the knitters are given proportions to knit to, or whether they can pick the sizing to suit themselves.  I got the distinct impression that he was knitting a garment to fit a man, whereas the women were knitting something to fit a woman, which is considerably smaller and quicker to knit.

For now, I’m giving the show the benefit of the doubt.  I will watch the next episode and see how I feel about it, afterwards.

- Pip

itsthelittlethings

It really annoyed me that they only knit using chunky wool. It’s not representative of knitting at all.

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, yes I think @PipneyJane is right the knitter voted off was because it was the least finished. I did watch it and found it quite interesting but as others have said the time constraints are frustrating but I will watch it again to see how it goes along. 
I have spends to declare 😁. 3 birthday presents bought and a c present so 1 coat at 14 coupons, 4 t shirts at 4 coupons each and a pair of trainers at 16 coupons 😁. Total = 35 coupons. So 58.5 - 35 = 23.5 remaining. There might be more before the end of the year but so far I have not found anything I am short of. The underwear and socks are continuing to hold their own despite a few pairs being consigned to the rag bag. I have been rotating through these since covid which just goes to prove I had far more than I really needed but they will be worn until they wear out now. I am sure without this challenge I would have bought more even though I don't need them 😂. I did also buy a footy scarf but that was on someone else's request so that is their coupons 😂. I have periodically looked in the cs for yarn but not found anything that has called to me and I am continuing to crochet from my stash, currently a couple of rectangular "baskets" to store the various hats, scarves and gloves residing in a heap on top of the coat rack 😂.
Take care everyone
23.5/66 coupons remaining

thriftmonster

I agree with everything people have said about Game of Wool and I love Laura's pizza analogy as well. Maybe I'm just getting old and grumpy but I also didn't see why TD had to strip off to his vest to model them instead of them using mannequins.
I will watch one more to see but it's not representative of knitting.

Nelliegrace

The traditional Scottish knitters would have turned out garments very quickly, trained from childhood, working rapidly, every available minute of the day, because their families’ lives depended on the bit of money from the piecework.  
Perhaps the knitting show should have been the recorded highlights of several months of knitting, like shows on weight loss. Everyone wants quick results. In TV series the woman goes into labour, gives a couple of pushes, and the relatives have visited the new baby, all in a forty minute episode, many of our patients expected the same.

PipneyJane

Nelliegrace said:

The traditional Scottish knitters would have turned out garments very quickly, trained from childhood, working rapidly, every available minute of the day, because their families’ lives depended on the bit of money from the piecework.  
Perhaps the knitting show should have been the recorded highlights of several months of knitting, like shows on weight loss. Everyone wants quick results. In TV series the woman goes into labour, gives a couple of pushes, and the relatives have visited the new baby, all in a forty minute episode, many of our patients expected the same.

Agreed, @Nelliegrace.  To me, the producers applied the SewingBee concept and were then shocked to discover that it takes more than 3 hours to turn out a knitted garment!

Why haven’t the remaining knitters been set a task to work on during the time they aren’t at the Yarn Barn?  Knitting a garment over 3-4 weeks, bringing it in to explain a) their personal process, and b) to have their work studied/commented upon as they go?

thriftmonster said:

I agree with everything people have said about Game of Wool and I love Laura's pizza analogy as well. Maybe I'm just getting old and grumpy but I also didn't see why TD had to strip off to his vest to model them instead of them using mannequins.
I will watch one more to see but it's not representative of knitting.

Ditto, @thriftmonster.  The other thing that annoyed me was what TD was wearing.  Seriously, I spent a good part of the show trying to figure out what the hell it was.  It looked like a collection of tension squares sewn together.

Again, not representative of knitting.

- Pip

alicef

I did try to watch Game of Wool but I gave up before the first challenge ended.  I was far more taken with the knitted garments the contestants were wearing and I loved Holger's vest - that is my kind of knitting.

OK, I need some help tracking down info on a CC41 utility cloth specification.  I have acquired some cloth, from which I shall make a couple of shirts for the OH,  It has the label CC41 and 'spec 9'.  I would love to find out the fibre details for 'spec 9'. 

Thank you lovely people!

thriftmonster

Those poor dogs. Again should have used a mannequin

thriftmonster

Will revert back to the 1940s now. Sorry