(bleating) COMM: Previously... (captivating music) Ten of the nation's most talented knitters embarked on the woolly adventure of a lifetime.

We can do this.

We can, we can, we can.

COMM: Knitting like no one has ever knitted before.

It's a workout.

(Holger whimpers) COMM: Stitching up Michelin Star suppers.

Ailsa: I'm making Sunday roast.

COMM: Olympic style swimwear.

I just really wanted to make something that would make you and Sheila proud.

COMM: And even high fashion for our furry friends.

I always cry when I see something beautiful.

COMM: We've seen seven sheep baaaaaadges for outstanding craftsmanship.

The sheep baaaaaadge.

Thaa-nk you.

COMM: Seven knitters cast off, and now only three remain.

(bleating) It's the final week of Game of Wool.

The needles have been sharpened, the haberdashery has been stocked, and our knitters are looking to stitch their way to victory.

And up for grabs are these Golden Needles and the title of Britain's Best Knitter.

So, shall we do this?

Welcome to the final of Game of Wool.

(captivating music fades) (adventurous music) Holger: I do want to win.

Shoot for the stars and then you'll land on the moon.

Lydia: We've come this far, all of that sacrifice, all of that pressure, all of that stress.

It would mean the world to win.

I'm going to throw absolutely everything I've got at winning this.

(adventurous music fades) Hello, knitters, and welcome back to the Yarn Barn.

It's the final.

We got two more challenges to go.

At the end of this, one of you will win the accolade of Britain's Best Knitter.

So, it's time to reveal what your final Group Challenge is.

Di and Sheila would like for you to work as one team to transform the Game of Wool... post box!

(hypnotic music) Yes.

We are looking for you to create... a post box topper.

So, we want you to recreate the Game of Wool world.

And, of course, to do that, we want the three of you together as a team to create... us.

You must create instantly recognisable, and obviously beautiful characters.

You also must showcase the techniques that we have all explored during the competition.

This world must exist on top of the post box.

(hypnotic music fades) Tom: You heard the ladies.

Now, Di and Sheila, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the Yarn Barn.

Good luck.

For the final time, everything you need is over in the haberdashery.

But don't expect to find any red wool, because... I might have used a little bit of that.

You have 12 hours for this challenge.

Let's get knitting.

(adventurous music resumes) COMM: The final team challenge is the last chance for our three finalists to collaborate and pull off knitting on a much greater scale.

Yarn bombing.

Has anybody yarn bombed before?

No.

COMM: This team challenge will test the knitters' intuitive design skills, 3D construction capability and technical prowess, to breathe life into a miniature world through stitches alone.

Ailsa: The way I'm picturing it in my head is just with the circular sofa, judges up front.

Just a little sign.

A wee thing.

-For each person on the sofa.

-On the sofa.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-That they've been there.

So, who would like to do which judge?

I like the idea of Tom.

If you want to do him, I'm happy to do Di.

Yeah, I'd be happy to do Sheila.

COMM: Knitters must showcase techniques from across the competition.

Fair Isle, intricate lace, characterful crochet, texture, intarsia, upcycling, and more.

Yarn bombing on this scale can take people months, but the finalists of Game of Wool have just 12 hours.

(adventurous music fades) So, post box toppers, they're so, like, quintessentially British.

This is a really difficult challenge because to make these figures, there's a lot of shaping, they're complex engineered pieces.

Replicating a mini Fair Isle tank top, for example, might be a bit challenging.

Yes.

Post box toppers do tend to be for some kind of celebration.

-Di: Yeah.

-Tom: Or an event.

I mean, what better challenge for the Game of Wool final?

It's a celebration of all that they've been through, right?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Yeah.

Total celebration.

But every little bit has got to be perfect.

-Yeah.

-'Cause we're in the final.

(suspenseful music) Ailsa: Sheila's head.

Magic glasses.

She's going to have... her pink knitting needles, glasses.

Ailsa, laughing: Look at the pair of them.

I'm so sorry, Sheila.

So that's the plan.

COMM: Knitters will start with their characters, beginning with the feet and working up each leg to form the body.

Both arms and the head are made separately, stuffed, and then sewn on to create the base of their characters.

Then it's up to them to bring them to life using techniques from across the competition.

Holger will tackle me with a fiddly loop stitch to recreate my oh so subtle outfit.

Ailsa will recreate Sheila's patterned jumper using tiny intarsia, and Lydia will knit miniature Fair Isle, and of course, the signature Di do, complete with mini knitting needles.

The Yarn Barn will be represented by a scaled-down knitted sofa, surrounded by the iconic Scottish landscape, all created using haberdashery scraps alone.

(suspenseful music fades) -Hello, finalists.

-Hello.

Hello.

What is the plan?

The figures are going to be the most important thing on that toppers.

Right?

So we, I think we just have to make them and see how much time that leaves us for the rest.

It's turning out to be fiddly and complicated.

Yeah.

The figurines do take a little while to make.

They're so, like, little.

There's something about having to concentrate on every single stitch that you do with these.

If there's anything that I have learnt from the judges on my time here on Game of Wool, is that they are sticklers for detail.

Yep.

How are you going to make sure that you finish everything perfectly, and they're not going to find any mistakes?

(playful music) Okay, great.

Um... Tom: Okay.

Good luck.

(playful music fades, bleating) (fast-paced music) COMM: A few hours into the challenge, and the knitters are all heads down in quiet concentration.

Complex shaping of the characters requires focus, and at this point they should be almost ready for the stuffing.

Ailsa: Some stuffing to start putting into the wee heads.

Lydia: Right, that's my little Di.

Ailsa: That's good.

I've just sewed the two hands together so it looks like she's happy.

Oh, okay.

Oh, this.

Yeah.

COMM: But this final team challenge isn't just about executing the characters perfectly.

It's about breathing life into those mini mes.

(fast-paced music fades) Lydia: Perfect.

I've just found some mohair in quite natural hair colours.

These would be quite good to go on the, the judges' hair pieces.

With this Group Challenge, you don't know what the judges are going to love and what they're not going to love.

So, there, there is pressure.

I think all of us could win.

(rousing music) In my general circle, I'm probably a really good knitter.

Right?

Because not many people knit.

But it's nice to be thrust into a room of people who are better than you, um, to bring out the competitive element, and to make yourself want to excel and be better.

And I think this has made me a better knitter.

(rousing music fades) I... I don't feel this is going to be very flattering.

Maybe I can comb it down now.

Yeah, give her a comb over.

Why not?

(Ailsa laughing) Lydia: Ailsa.

We're trying to be flattering right now.

Remember, Sheila specifically wanted to be beautiful.

Lydia: Yeah.

Not looking like Gollum.

What the...?

(laughing continues) (bleating) (anticipatory music) COMM: Holger has finished me and is now recreating my fabulous coat using the loop stitch.

Holger: I'm doing Tom's coat, his outfit this, this week.

It was a gift, right?

I mean, it's just too good to be missed.

Not a technique I've previously used.

Yeah, I, I like precision.

I definitely think I would also probably consider myself a perfectionist, which is, um, slightly unfortunate because I'm also an incredibly pessimistic perfectionist.

So that's probably the worst kind.

So, I always strive for the absolute best and I never think I'm going to ever going to get there.

Once he gets the big loopy mess on him, he'll hopefully look more or less like he did when he... when we launched the challenge.

Alright.

Di's jumper has been attached.

Two pins in her little bun to represent her knitting needles on top.

So, that's my Di doll.

(anticipatory music fades) Ailsa: Just putting Sheila's little jumper on.

I used intarsia to make the little triangles.

I've done a much better job of the intarsia here on the small scale than I did on the actual intarsia jumper that I done a few weeks ago.

(foreboding music) It is quite daunting being opposite to Holger and Lydia 'cause I know they're both very talented.

Yeah, I just need to... keep the good frame of mind.

If I won this competition, I would love to go down a route of... sort of being an ambassador for this craft, and the heritage that we've gotten.

It's an opportunity, and I would be very, very angry at myself if I didn't make the most of it.

(foreboding music fades) Ailsa: I would consider myself quite close to finishing the doll.

Then I'll be moving on to the, the post box.

Knitters, we have a special delivery.

You have six hours to go.

That means you are halfway through your final Group Challenge.

(foreboding music resumes) COMM: At the halfway point, knitters should be putting the final touches on their characters and moving onto the world around them.

Lydia is using stocking stitch to knit a tiny sofa cover for a cardboard frame... Lydia: Didn't think I'd be making sofa covers again after week one.

COMM: ...while Ailsa recreates the rolling hills using jumper offcuts.

Just scrunched the jumpers up and then sewed them together with this.

(whispering) I'm a bit worried that they're even going to get anything to put on top of the post box, because they haven't actually got the sofa constructed.

They've got hills, but they haven't even got anything that can actually secure it down yet.

(foreboding music fades) (bleating) (anticipatory music, bleating) COMM: It's the final, and the knitters have just a few hours remaining in their last ever team challenge.

To yarn bomb this post box into a celebration of Game of Wool.

And the knitter being cast off this week is... Tom.

COMM: With their miniature models complete... -Tom: Can I see Sheila?

-Ailsa: Yes.

Tom: Oh, Sheila.

It's really good.

It's, like, the glasses are great.

No mistakes.

No mistakes.

COMM: ...the knitters have moved on to creating the world around them.

How are the hills going, Ailsa?

Eee.

I think when we add things to it, it'll look more hilly.

Or we could be the sheep in the hills.

We haven't got sheep, have we?

Unless we're going to take those off and plonk them onto the scene.

That could be quite cute.

(Ailsa laughs) COMM: And they've decided to place a few tiny mementos as a tribute to the previous knitters.

(anticipatory music fades) We were trying to think about the Game of Wool world.

And the thing that makes the Game of Wool world is the contestants and the people.

So, what we're going to have is a little something that represents each contestant.

-Okay.

-So, for example, we're going to make a rainbow for Dipti.

Tom: So, you've got Dipti, you've got the rainbow.

Ailsa: Oh.

Lydia: That's very cute.

Tom: How many of the seven pieces have you done?

-Uh, there's four.

-You've got Tracy, you've got Gordon, you've got Stephanie.

I'm actually just making Stephanie's red slippers right now.

Tom: So, you've just got Isaac, Meadow and Simon.

For Simon I would love if we could make a tiny little mace.

(birds chirping, sheep bleating) Tom: One Knitmore Row, Woolington.

I hope it gets there in an hour, because, knitters, you have one hour to go in your final Group Challenge.

There's nothing on the top of here yet.

(tense music) COMM: In the final stages, knitters need to attach all the elements to the post box, apart from the removable individual characters, which will be inspected up close by the judges.

(whispering) Each knitter so desperately wants to win.

They've made it this far.

It is getting down to the wire now, but it's just... There is nothing on top of the post box.

Alright, guys, let's start making a post box topper.

(tense music continues) I've lost Sheila's glasses.

Hunt for Sheila's glasses.

Ailsa: That is like a needle in a haystack.

Lydia: Ah!

See them, I see them.

Ailsa: Oh!

Lydia: I spotted them.

Well done, Lydia.

Ah, they found them.

I'm just finding chocolate.

Just on the last ditch here too.

And then the sofa will be on.

(whispering) In three minutes.

It's gone a bit bendy.

How's it looking at the front there?

Holger: Yeah, good.

Nothing about putting your work front and centre.

Ten, nine, eight... Oh.

Six, five, four... Three, two, one.

(tense music fades) Time is up.

You finished your last Group Challenge!

Holger: Yay!

Group Challenge, Group Challenge, Group Challenge.

Careful, careful, careful.

Not... Tom: Okay.

Just like, it's done.

I'm like, what will be will be.

I would say we definitely hit the brief.

I think overall it is a joyful piece.

I hope they recognise and are not offended by what they see.

Finalists, you well and truly delivered on this challenge, but it's now time to bring Di and Sheila in to see the post box topper for the first time.

Di and Sheila, come back into the Yarn Barn!

Oh!

Oh, my word.

Di: Oh wow.

Wow.

Congratulations.

-Goodness me.

Well done.

-I love it.

-Well done, all of you.

-That is really something else.

Can I ask who did Tom?

That was me.

That was you.

Well, the impact, the outfit.

The outfit was a gift.

I do like the little V-neck and finished as you would knit a V-neck.

-Di: Tom doll is definitely Tom.

-Sheila: Mm.

Tiny trifling little things really.

'Cause I do like the coat, one loose end.

Sheila: Mm.

I was hoping it'd get lost with all the fluff out on that side.

Di: Yes, I can see a couple of those.

I do like the hair, the shading with the different colours and the whole shape of the cut and everything.

Well done, Holger.

Thank you.

Di: So, then we have Sheila.

-Who made Sheila?

-That was me.

(Ailsa chuckling) I really do love... the intarsia, and it's been knitted really well.

The colours, you know, the little bit of blue, the little bit of orange.

Sheila: Yes, I'm all, I'm all matching.

I do love it.

I really do.

So, this one must be Lydia.

I think you're jumping for joy here, are you?

-Oh!

-Yep, that one.

Not quite sure of what happened at the top of the sleeves, the arm holes.

Di: There's a little bit of gapping there.

But... I like the action.

Yes.

The fact that it is, it's on the move.

Di: I really do like that.

And I love my bit of lace.

That's very perceptive.

So, the top of the post box, I really don't know what they might be.

Fields.

It's Scotland.

Yes.

Should there be sheep?

Di: Ah.

A tree would have helped.

We're finding objects.

Referencing everyone who's been with us.

-Di: We've got this, Sheila.

-Sheila: Oh yes.

Well, that's Isaac, isn't it?

Oh, yes.

Dipti.

-There it is.

-Simon!

Sheila: The mace.

The mace.

This reminds me more than a little of Lydia's lovely necklace.

We asked them to make a Game of Wool... inspired post box topper.

What do you think?

I think they got the three of us spot on and also very, um, heart-warming to include everyone.

I think it's a huge success and I absolutely love it.

Well done, knitters.

That's your final Group Challenge done.

And I think it's safe to say they've all been First Class.

I knew the hills would come up in the judging because they are just scrumpled up bits of jumpers sewn down.

Lydia: Bit frustrated about that one stitch in the shoulder seam.

But I hope that's not affected my chances too much.

I hopefully can tackle the Solo Challenge with the energy that it needs.

(bleating) (captivating music) COMM: It's the Game of Wool final, and me and my fluffy friends have witnessed 15 epic challenges unfold inside those magical Yarn Barn walls.

But now, only one more challenge stands in the way of the title of Britain's Best Knitter.

Right, wee lamb, hey!

Who do you think's going to win?

Who's going to win?

Tell me.

I think the solo will make or break it for all of us.

Going into solo I don't where I stand, and I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing right now.

Solo challenge is the culmination of the series, in a way.

It is the last one.

It's going to be the last big push.

(captivating music fades) Knitters, the Solo Challenge is upon us.

So, Di and Sheila want you to create a showstopper... of a hat.

(hypnotic music) What I really want is something that actually defines you, tells us about you as a knitter, and shows off your skills, your story.

You can use any yarn, any technique.

We will need to see flawless execution, and a signature style.

(hypnotic music fades) Very best of luck.

You heard the ladies.

You are going to have 12 hours to knit up a storm and create a showstopper of a hat.

Your time starts now.

Let's get knitting.

(suspenseful music) COMM: This challenge is the ultimate test requiring creative design, precise stitch calculation, and ingenious engineering to pull off an utterly flawless headpiece.

I am very nervous.

I need to get it right for it to sit absolutely perfect.

COMM: And with no rules on yarn choice, colour or style, our judges will be expecting the knitters to use every trick in the book to pull off a hat worthy of winning the ultimate crown.

(suspenseful music fades) So, a showstopper hat.

What are you looking for, to be showstopping?

It has to be fantastic construction.

It has to be fantastic stitch choice.

And I've got to see something of them in it.

It really has to be out of the ordinary.

I would hope so.

(anticipatory music) Because this is the final challenge, we've got to make it about us and really reflect us.

COMM: Ailsa's clever use of retro designs has consistently impressed.

And for the final challenge, she's staying true to her style, and going all out with a vintage Breton hat.

It's going to be houndstooth, which is quite a traditional design from the borders of Scotland.

And I wanted my design to reflect where my love for knitting comes from.

COMM: Ailsa's vintage hat will be knitted in the classic houndstooth pattern, but instead of black and white, she's gone for racing green and rose pink.

To construct her Breton style, she will knit four separate panels to form the crown, knitting the upturned brim separately before tackling the highly skilled task of precisely sewing it all together.

Her final flourish will be to add a feather and a secret Morse code patch for the judges to crack.

(anticipatory music fades) I'm making one of four quarters that will make the crown of the hat.

I've got to be quite neat because it'll be on show.

Any sewing that I do will be quite obvious.

She's gone cross eyed.

I should have worn my glasses, let's just put it that way.

So, are you working on the brim then, Lydia?

Yeah.

I'm doing a folded kind of rim, and then I'm going to do, like, a round of increases and start building up the hat.

COMM: Lydia has effectively weaved her personal history and heritage into all of her designs.

And she's not holding back for the final.

Lydia: So, I am making a beret, something like this.

This symbol here, that incorporates Ghana for me.

I found this one, which means good family, and I, I wanted to put something about family in it because of kind of the family ties with the yarn, and because there was no restriction to what kind of yarn we could use, I obviously, I dyed my own yarn.

COMM: For her showstopper hat, Lydia will use her own hand-dyed yarn in soft muted colours.

First she will knit in the round to create a perfectly fitting brim.

Next, she will use signature lace style to form the beginning of the crown, which will then go into an intricate colour work pattern for the top of the beret, showcasing traditional Ghanaian symbols, celebrating family and religion.

Lydia: Ooh, I've cast on the wrong number of stitches.

I cast on too many stitches for my ribs, so I was meant to have a smaller rib and then a more dramatic increase, but I... cast on the wrong number.

Lydia, you alright?

Yeah, I'm fine.

I'm fine.

I'm fine, I'm fine.

-This fits, right?

It fits on the thing.

-Yeah, it does.

Holger: In the grand scheme of thing, it doesn't matter.

Okay.

Yeah.

How are you getting on?

Ah, steady.

Slow but steady.

There's various different reasons why I've picked this.

One of them is it's fun to wear.

You have something, like, dangling around you.

COMM: Holger has consistently wowed the Yarn Barn with adventurous designs, complex engineering and precise stitchwork.

For the final, he's looking to home for inspiration.

It's stocking cap with a very long point.

The shape is a reference to a character called the, uh, Der Deutsche Michel, which basically is a personification of the German nation.

COMM: Holger will begin with a picot edge detail for the brim.

And then, as a tribute to his first ever Fair Isle design on Game of Wool, he will knit an intricate colour work pattern in the round.

He will then continue towards the point of his hat, creating texture with a twisted rib and a travelling cable, before finishing it all off with a flamboyant tassel.

But with such a long point, Holger's stocking cap will require careful time management to ensure he can reach his peak in time.

-Hello, Holger.

-Hello, Tom.

You're changing to... -Cabling.

-Cabling.

Yes.

I wanted to bring a little bit of this whole Bavarian alpine cabling.

Tom: I think it's really cool that you're bringing in this German aspect to your knitting.

Is that something that's important to you?

This challenge was specifically about us, our journey, and who we are as knitters.

There needed to be a German element in there, because otherwise it wouldn't be me, would it?

So... Yeah.

I mean, you strike me as someone that pays such attention to detail of every little thing that you do.

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, it's always... How should I put that?

Um... You always want to make the people proud of you, right?

You always have people in your life that you feel you don't want to disappoint.

Di and Sheila, for example.

You have, like, almost like a weight of expectation on you with that.

You win a gold medal... They expect more.

You do feel like you have to be extra good.

If you have that very, very strong feeling that in certain areas you are disappointing them massively... Like, I mean, I know my parents, for example, would have dearly loved to have grandchildren.

You then automatically try and overcome in certain other areas.

Tom: For me, when I was growing up, I felt like there was a part of me that was wrong.

I felt like I had to overcompensate in so many aspects of my life.

One thing that you need to know is that the things that you've created in this competition have been absolutely incredible.

Thank you.

COMM: A few hours into the challenge, knitters should be working their way into the body of their hats.

Despite her earlier mistake with her brim, rather than start again, Lydia has decided to keep pushing forward with the rest of the design.

I wanted to have a tighter rib, but it's fine.

Um, probably just need a little bit of elastic, just to slightly tighten the rib up a little bit.

COMM: The judges will be expecting the knitters to demonstrate impeccable construction and a flawless execution of every stitch.

Ailsa is the only knitter constructing her hat in panels.

So Ailsa, you're doing this in pieces and then sewing.

What are the advantages for sewing as opposed to doing it seamlessly?

I considered doing it in the round, but the maths of trying to work out where the decreases would be, and how many, how many sort of segments to put into, I liked the, the look of it being seamed.

It's quite important with this, the classic houndstooth, to have them matching.

(playful music) I want it to not take the attention away from the, the nice bit of the pattern.

Yes, so you want them to align.

-Hm-mm.

-Really carefully.

This bit is really crucial.

It's important to consider every stitch.

We'll let you get on with it.

(playful music fades) -Hi, Tom.

-How's it going?

Yeah, it's starting to look a little bit more like a hat now.

And it's my final challenge, the relief is palpable.

-Really?

-Yeah, yeah.

So, what would it mean to you to win this competition?

You know, I, I keep thinking about it, and this has been a real journey for me.

(anticipatory music) Knitting's kind of been a constant in my life, which is why it was quite difficult when I was pregnant that I couldn't do any knitting.

Suddenly you're really ill with pregnancy, and literally even the smell of yarn, absolutely not.

That was really hard because knitting's either been a space where I can decompress.

Being here in the final has kind of been a really great confidence boost for me.

Just the fact that it's given you this confidence, it's doing things that you never thought you would ever do is exactly how I imagine you want to raise your twins.

-Yeah, yeah.

-To be able to feel like no dream is too big.

"Strong sense of self" is what their preschool calls it.

Okay.

Yeah.

I wonder where they get that from?

Oh, I've no idea.

(anticipatory music fades, bleating) (ethereal music) (sighs) Knitters.

You are halfway through your final challenge.

Six hours... remains.

Holger: Brimstone pungent.

COMM: At the halfway point, knitters should be starting to consider the final stages of their hat construction.

But Holger has still got a woolly mountain to climb.

I'm feeling slightly anxious, uh, because in an ideal world I'd be further.

There's still a lot of rounds to go.

COMM: Speedy knitting has consistently been a problem for Holger in the Yarn Barn, but for the final, there will be nowhere to hide.

Holger: It's always a stress, isn't it?

I'm not confident about the time.

It is what it is.

And it has to be, it has to be done.

I mean, honestly, it's not, it's not a, it's not a panic stations yet.

Um, you will, you will notice when you physically hear me scream.

(ethereal music fades) (rousing music) COMM: It's the final, and the three remaining knitters are under pressure to pull off showstopping hats for the win.

Ailsa: Got to keep an eye on what I'm doing with the houndstooth.

It's quite noticeable if you get one row slightly out of joint.

Yeah.

I'm on the final section of the crown at the moment.

We will basically knit until the bell tolls, and then we'll have a cap.

COMM: With no rules to this final Solo Challenge, the judges will be expecting the finalists to surprise them with unexpected techniques and structural ingenuity.

(rousing music fades) We are moving into a more textured pattern.

Tell us what you're doing.

This is going to be the, the rest of the body of the stocking.

It's to not to do, to do more Bavarian heritage.

It's, I wanted to have those kind of travelling stitches, twisted stitches.

Sheila: I do like this very twisted rib, but you're going to have to shape it on the way down.

Well, that's the thing.

You can hide the decreases in the pattern.

(hypnotic music) COMM: Holger is shaping his stocking cap to a point.

But as he is also knitting a textured cable towards that point, he needs to follow a bespoke formula to achieve precision.

Di: So, you've done all the math, you've had to calculate where you need to put your decreases... to make the shape work.

And then you've had to calculate where to put those decreases to hide them in the pattern.

It's a formula which you've created to enable, to get to your 32 stitches at the end.

-Yeah.

-I really appreciate the skill in it.

Do you think you've got time to get to the end?

It's going to be a challenge.

We'll see.

(hypnotic music fades) Tom: Ailsa, where are you at?

I'm just finishing my little Morse code patch.

Another part of knitting history that I love is its role in intelligence.

There were agents who would knit information into their knitting.

I wanted to put my interest in knitting into this because it's to reflect me as a knitter.

We've got a wee house that we go to in Aberdeenshire that's so old, the building.

In there, there's a sign of all the kind of crafting history in the family.

There's tapestries and loads of handmade stuff.

When I go there, I feel like I'm doing exactly what they would have been doing when they were sat there.

That's what I kind of feel like with the vintage patterns too.

Like, someone else has sat with this project, I kind of feel the history, I suppose.

Tom: What are you going to have on there?

Dash, dash, dot, dash, dash, dash, dot, dash, dash.

-Oh wait, that's in lace.

-There's lace and pearl bumps.

Tom: Wow.

So, is lace the dash?

-Yeah.

-And then the pearl bumps are dots.

-Yeah.

You've cracked it.

-Wow.

COMM: It's crunch time in the last Solo Challenge, and knitters should be moving towards final construction and finishing details.

Lydia is adding elastic to solve her earlier mistake, and ensure the brim fits perfectly.

This is tricky.

You want it to be as neat as possible.

You don't want the judges to see the elastic poking through.

COMM: Ailsa is about to cautiously sew up the individual parts of her crown.

Ailsa: It is quite a critical moment because, when you knit flat, it's impossible to see what the 3D hat will look like until this part's done.

What I'm trying to do is keep the pattern as closely matched as I can.

COMM: And Holger is still painstakingly knitting his cap towards its point.

I would love to say we're getting very close to the pointy end, but unfortunately the pointy end is very long drawn out.

So, we're not really pointing yet.

Knitters, you have 30 minutes left until your final Solo Challenge needs to be completed.

(fast-paced music) Lydia: I don't know, kind of like the gravity of it is sort of hitting.

So yeah.

Whew.

I feel sick.

Ah!

I'm just sewing like the clapper's trying to get it done.

My hands are getting a bit shaky now, which is not ideal.

Holger: There's still a lot of rounds to go.

Tom, whispering: You really start to get a sense how much this means to the knitters.

They all want to win.

They all want to finish.

COMM: Ailsa is the first knitter to cross that woolly finish line.

Yeah.

I think that's me.

Very happy.

COMM: Closely followed by Lydia.

I think I'm done.

Bam!

Wow!

COMM: But Holger is still knitting.

How long have you got to go, Holger?

Um, oh, you know, just about that much to knit.

Five minutes.

You're done.

It's mainly for Holger.

We're cinching that tip of that hat, Holger, aren't we?

Holger: We are indeed.

You've got this, Holger.

We believe in you.

Thank you.

We have a point.

There we are.

One minute, Holger.

You can do it.

(fast-paced music fades) Holger: Woo!

-Is that it?

-No, no, no.

This is it.

Tom: Oh!

Look at that.

That is it.

You did it.

You completed the Game of Wool.

(birds chirping, sheep bleating) Well done, finalists.

That is your final solo knit complete.

And all that's left is to find out what Di and Sheila think.

So, we'll start with Ailsa.

(light, piano-driven music) Di: It's really lovely.

Very stylish, isn't it?

So, I actually love the overall shape.

I'm just going to take it off and have a little look.

Ah.

-Sheila: Oh my goodness.

-Di: Oh.

Sheila: It's got a little pattern here.

Morse code.

Do you want to tell us what the message is?

It's G-O-W for Game of Wool.

I did wonder.

It just raises the hat to another level.

My main concern is the sewing of the crown.

It's really difficult to sew and to get it matching.

It is one of the hardest things.

I would have been tempted to go back over it.

And to sew it, because you, you're starting to get little gaps.

-I mean, that's my only real concern.

-Hm-mm, yeah.

Ailsa, is that.

-Thank you, Ailsa.

-Tom: Well done, Ailsa.

Ailsa: Thank you.

Next up we have Lydia.

Ooh.

This is quite delightful.

Oh, good.

The colours are, you know, you can really, really, really tell they're hand-dyed.

The back really, really works.

We asked for originality and you've added in some shapes, a symbol that you know from your heritage is really, really, really lovely.

So... too many stitches in the rib.

I wouldn't normally put elastic in.

I would expect it to be done within the stitches, but you resolved it, which has meant that the rib now works as it should.

And it's obviously seamless, which is lovely.

And I think anybody would love to wear that hat.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Lydia.

And well done.

And then we have Holger.

Really nice.

The construction is great.

Looking closely at how you achieved your decreases, I very much like the way something started as a big zigzag up here, goes all the way down.

-Yes.

I love that.

-To two stitches and then one stitch.

And this Fair Isle pattern, we've seen it before.

Yes.

This is a little nod back to the very first week we had here together.

So, this is the same Fair Isle pattern I had in my tank top.

Di: Yeah.

Love the Fair Isle.

I'm not sure about the picot edge.

Okay.

Di: Just here where you go straight into the Fair Isle, it feels too loose.

Okay.

But... it is very original.

-Thank you.

-And it is very you.

It's a real knitters piece, and I absolutely do love it.

Thank you, Holger, and well done.

-Thank you.

-Thanks, Holger.

Sheila: Thank you.

COMM: After eight long weeks and 16 high stakes stitch-offs, it's finally time to announce the winner.

And to celebrate, the Yarn Barn has been packed to the rafters with knits from across the competition.

And we've welcomed back a few familiar faces.

Oh, wow.

Oh, my gosh.

Oh, look at this.

Oh, look at that!

It's making me feel a bit tearful.

It's bringing up so many feelings.

Oh, it's just, it's at the end, isn't it?

It's, um, it's been a big journey.

Every single stitch in the room represents time that people all spent together.

Simon: We're all knitters.

And that's what bonds us all.

And it always made the bonds so strong in, in the barn.

COMM: As well as some loved ones from beyond the magical Yarn Barn walls.

Yay!

Lydia: Babies.

Hi, baby.

Hi, baby!

It would mean the world for me to see Lyd win.

Yeah, the, mummy made that one.

-That's your one there, eh?

-Yeah.

Seeing how much she's sacrificed over the weeks to have got this far, it's just a truly, truly, um, a fantastic achievement.

-You made all of them.

-No, not all of them.

Oh, hello.

I think Ailsa shocks a lot of people because on the surface she does come across as quite quiet, quite friendly, but she does have this sort of fire in her belly.

We were looking at your zebra and it's just like, it's so cool.

Hello.

Holger's had a difficult few years.

This process has given him... an opportunity to just focus on himself.

Getting to the final is outstanding.

COMM: But while the celebrations kick off, it's crunch time for the judges.

Wow.

What a competition.

I really think this competition has pushed some of the boundaries with what you can create with knitting and crochet.

We've seen some great skills.

We've seen some great design.

We've seen people learning.

Sheila: Literally growing from week to week.

This final challenge has been amazing.

And all three of them have come up with ideas that really fit themselves.

So, shall we start with Ailsa?

(foreboding music) Di: The Ailsa hat.

I think it really defined Ailsa.

Quirky, funny, very detailed.

Her work is so beautifully executed and engineered.

We should probably talk about Lydia.

The stitchwork was really very good.

Di: Her hat is, is fabulous.

We expect nothing else of her.

So now, we move onto Holger.

So this is an, an entirely original design.

It's a great design and I can... I mean, it's Holger.

He comes up with really original designs.

It's incredibly difficult to judge.

So, ladies, have you decided who will be the very first winner of Game of Wool?

We have.

Ooh!

(foreboding music fades) Well done, knitters.

The time is finally here.

(suspenseful music) Over the last eight weeks, we have had a wild ride.

And I think you've really defied what is possible with two sticks and a ball of yarn.

We have been completely blown away by the ingenuity, the hard work, the incredible skills... that we've seen.

All three of you finalists should be so proud of what you have achieved.

Very well done.

(suspenseful music fades) So, the knitter winning the title... of the Game of Wool, Britain's Best Knitter, is... Holger.

(cheering and clapping) Congratulations, Holger.

(cheering and clapping continues) (mouths) Thank you.

(upbeat music) Holger.

Holger: Thank you.

I really don't know what to say.

It's... It's massively overwhelming.

Ailsa: This experience has just been absolutely incredible.

I think Holger is such a deserving winner.

Everything that he's made has been absolute genius, and he's just a real talent.

-Stephanie: Well done, sweetheart.

-Thank you.

You've done a superb job.

-You're phenomenal.

-Thank you very much.

You really are, so well done.

Lydia: This has been a really, really long, hard competition.

Having that opportunity to explore different parts of the craft, and feeling like I'm coming out a better knitter, that has been something I've really enjoyed.

Holger: I am extremely happy.

I was not expecting that in a field like we had.

I mean, to be named the winner, it feels very... very sweet.

But really the thing I take back from this is, like, the community feel and the people you meet and the friendships you form.

Sounds like a cliché, but that's really what it is.

That's, that's the, the reality of it.