Tales of woolly wonder that will provide you with a good yarn
We’ve been celebrating all things wool-related in our ‘Cosy’ November issue. It’s got blankets for snuggling (including some with dogs on), a short story about knitting and a retrospective on how wool has shaped British history, from Viking socks to knitted bikinis. And we thought we’d share with you some of the wonderful woolly facts we discovered along the way.
The record for the longest knitted scarf stands at 4,565.46 metres. That’s nearly three miles. It was knitted by Helge Johansen of Oslo, Norway, and took him 30 years. We’re concerned about how he kept warm for those three decades before the scarf was finished.
The largest number of people to be knitting together in one room is 3,083 and the record was achieved by the Women’s Institute (naturally) in The Royal Albert Hall in 2012.
The fastest hand-knitted ‘sheep-to-jumper’ item was made in 4 hours 45 minutes and 53 seconds by a team in Swalmen, Netherlands in 2017. We don’t know how this was done and we don’t wish to, as we can’t bear to spoil the mental image of someone clicking their needles, taking wool directly off an ever-decreasing sheep.
The world’s largest knitting needles were made by an art student in Wiltshire. They measured 4.42m long and had a diameter of 9.01cm. To claim the world record, the needles had to be capable of knitting ten stitches and ten rows of yarn.
Slow TV in Norway once broadcast a knitting marathon lasting 13 hours, which was watched by 1.3 million viewers.
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