Norwegian public television to air a five-hour attempt to break the world knitting record

By Marah Eakin  |  October 10, 2013 | 6:45pm
Aux Features TV

Norwegian network NRK plans air to five consecutive hours of knitting live this Nov. 1. The needling is the public broadcasting company’s latest foray into the world of slow TV, and arrives after the success of still-camera broadcasts of titillating train travel and seductive ferry crossings. In February, the network even aired a 12-hour look at a fire being built and maintained.

The knitting show might manage to be even more exciting than those, as it showcases the attempts of eight Norwegians to break the world's record for fastest conversion of wool from sheep to sweater. Over the course of five hours, the team will shear a sheep, spin the wool into yarn, then knit a sweater, all in an attempt to beat the current record of four hours and 51 minutes held by Australians.

NRK project manager says the show, which will begin airing at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 1, is thoroughly planned out. For example, “we have already earmarked the lamb to be cut,” says Lise-May Spissøy.

During the show, the network plans to display a lot of tangential facts about knitting, as well as pieces of knitted haute couture. NRK is also asking people to use social media to send in pictures of their own knitting projects, whether complete or just stuck in a bag in the closet waiting to be finished someday, maybe.

 
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