Week 3 saw the contestants meeting challenges associated with holidays – swimwear and deck chairs! They also met Jane Crowfoot, one of our inspirational patrons.
Tom Daley was again wearing a striking outfit – a sleeveless body print suit that was mostly pink and black. The judges, Di Gilpin and Sheila Greenwell, perhaps thinking of a typical British summer by the sea, wore knitted jumpers. Di’s was orange and textured, Sheila’s stranded colourwork. Both had boat necks with a rolled stocking stitch edge.
Most contestants wore tops they had made (Simon does not knit for himself). Holger wore a grey cabled pullover, Ailsa a stranded knit short-sleeved sweater (JoJo by Susan Crawford – based on a Lister pattern that is in our Collection), Stephanie a chunky white textured cardigan, Dipti a blue crochet jumper, and Isaac a stranded tank top, and Tracy a knitted shawl with stripes and zig-zags..
Individual task
This week, the contestants had twelve hours to create striking and glamourous swim wear inspired by their favourite holiday. It could be knit or crochet or a combination of both, but needed to be close fitting. The judges would be looking at design, fit and fastenings. Trunks would need to be accompanied by an accessory (so no saving time there!). An extra challenge (for fit) was that Team GB would be modelling the swimwear.
Before the advent of modern materials knit swimwear was worn by many – and Guild member Charlotte Powell has wrote an article for Skipknot 184 on her experiences making and wearing a knitted swimsuit. She has kindly given permission for us to publish it on our website.
A knitted on-piece swimsuit with cape. The pattern for this is available to members from the Knitting & Crochet Guild website. Members can also download a pattern for a men’s swimsuit.
A crochet striped bikini from the Knitting & Crochet Guild collection.
Team challenge
Sticking with the staples of a British beach holiday, the team task was to crochet the seat of a deck chair in only 8 hours in teams of two. Contestants had a choice of three yarns: a thick cabled yarn, a tape and a thin yarn. Two of the teams chose the cable, one the tape and the fourth chose to use the thinner yarn that would give more definition to designs but take longer to create enough fabric.
Not only was time the challenge, but Tom had to sit in the finished deck chairs. Di and Shirley were joined by Jane Crowfoot to set and judge this challenge. They challenged the teams to create a striking design that was practical, functional, and above all, did not let Tom down. Although three of the designs (one with mid-crochet alterations) supported him, Tom “hit the ground sitting” in one. That judged to be best used (UK) double crochets and shell stitches, with double crochet beach huts applied onto the supporting fabric, and strength was achieved by making a tube that went round both the top and the bottom supports.
Not surprisingly, the Collection does not (yet?) have deck chair covers! So here are some crochet furnishings instead.
A crochet curtain or door covering in the Collection.
“Peace 1919″ tablecloth in filet crochet. This was made from a pattern published in Women’s Weekly magazine in April 1919.
Learning more about topics raised in this episode
Do you fancy trying out crochet? We have a “Learn to Crochet” page on our website, and the episode’s guest Jane Crowfoot has a tutorial on her Janie Crow website. Bella Coco has a video on how to make the shell stitch used by Ailsa and Simon.
We agree with Isaac – knitting and crochet are relaxing and mindful – until you are put in a competitive situation!
Next episode
Next week’s theme is “Playtime”. We are promised more crochet – for kids’ fancy dress, and “Wild with wall hangings”.
