It’s December, it’s starting to feel festive, and the Great British Sewing Bee have announced the line up for this year’s Christmas special! Judges Esme Young and Patrick Grant are setting the challenges for this year’s celebrities, as they sew a variety of festive projects. This year they’ll be joined by Sophie Willan, after Sara […]
I love autumn, and I want to savour every last moment of it before moving fully into the winter season. November flies by quickly, though, so I do like to start a little bit of festive making. Some of these ideas make great gifts, but are also lovely things you can make for yourself to […]
It was the final week of this year’s Great British Sewing Bee last week, which meant we were down to the last three sewists. Caz, Orla and Yazmin competed over three sewing challenges to win the Series 11 title. The final always features dramatic and seriously creative designs, and this year was no different. The […]
It was the semi-final on the Great British Sewing Bee this week, and it’s come around quickly! Caz, Kit, Orla and Yasmin competed for a spot in the final, over three 1920s inspired challenges. Don’t read on if you haven’t watched Episode 9 yet I love to follow along the episodes with weekly recaps and […]
Episode 8 of the Great British Sewing Bee was Movies Week! Perhaps to get us in the mood for the upcoming spooky season, many of the challenges were inspired by horror films. There was a Hitchcock themed pattern challenge, a cinema curtain transformation, and a horrifying made to measure.. Don’t read on if you haven’t […]
It was Arts Week on the Great British Sewing Bee last week, which was all about combining creativity with solid sewing skills. The sewists created a baby-doll dress inspired by Grayson Perry, transformed a pair of used painter’s overalls and made a garment embracing the bold designs of pop art. Seven episodes have flown by, […]
It was Kids’ Week on the Great British Sewing Bee this week, where the judges set three challenges inspired by childrenswear. It’s always a really creative week, often featuring fancy dress costumes and playful transformations. Don’t read on if you haven’t watched Episode 6 yet I love to follow along the episodes with weekly recaps […]
Last week’s theme on Sewing Bee was ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’ week, where the sewists worked on no-waste patterns and championed reusing discarded materials. It’s important to bear these principles in mind all year around, although it’s always good to see the Bee highlighting fun ways to achieve this in the themed episode. In this […]
The new episode of the Great British Sewing Bee is on tonight. Have you see last week’s? I’ve put together a little recap of what happened in case you missed it. Last week’s sewing on the Bee celebrated the rich fashion history of Korea, with guest judge Eudon Choi joining Patrick and Esme as the […]
This week on the Sewing Bee was all about design icons. There were designer wrap dresses, punk-themed transformations and a made to measure inspired by avant-garde Versace runways. There were some seriously cool makes this week – read on for our little summary! The pattern challenge This week’s pattern inspiration was the iconic Diane Von […]
The new series of the Sewing Bee has arrived! Episode 1 aired on Tuesday night, and brought Esme Young, Patrick Grant and Sara Pascoe back to our screens, along with twelve new contestants. Have a look at our previous post for more details about the Bee and this year’s contestants. Don’t read on if you […]
Like many other sewists, I’ve been patiently waiting for news of this year’s Great British Sewing Bee. Once the official Bee book was released in May, fans of the much-loved sewing series thought Episode One might be just around the corner. Excitingly, we now have a release date to look forward to! The new series […]
YouTube is a great resource for instructional videos, which I use all the time if I need a bit of guidance on a sewing or knitting technique. But beyond tutorials, there’s also a whole world of craft-loving YouTube podcasters out there. I love finding inspiration from other sewists, and watching podcasts is a great way […]
Elasticated trousers can be a fun and relatively straightforward sewing project, and there are lots of patterns to choose from. I wear them constantly during the spring and summer – they’re so comfortable in a woven fabric like linen or cotton. Sometimes it can be hard to know where to start, so I thought I’d […]
The sunny weather where I am in the UK this week has me feeling excited for some spring sewing. I didn’t think I’d ever quote Charles Dickens on a sewing blog, but.. ‘It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the […]
I’ve put together a list of some fun sewing project ideas that use small amounts of meterage – most of them under a metre or less! They’re quick and easy makes which will help you use up leftover pieces of fabric, or keep the cost down with only buying remnants. Have a browse through this […]
All I want for Christmas is the The Great British Sewing Bee special! Luckily, we can look forward to another episode this December. It’s such a fun, festive watch – I can’t wait to see what they all get up to this year. Judges Esme Young and Patrick Grant are setting three challenges for this […]
Sewing yourself a coat might seem like an overwhelming idea – but there are some lovely, accessible sewing patterns out there. Like any sewing project, there’s a range of difficulties and styles. Choose from a simple and cosy quilted jacket, a classic lapelled coat, or a more technical topstitched anorak. Sewing a coat is still […]
We start sewing for all sorts of reasons. Some of us learned in school, were taught by grandmothers, or caught the bug after watching programmes like The Great British Sewing Bee. Perhaps you were tired of high-street options and wanted control over your own wardrobe, or you wanted specifically to move away from the reliance on […]
The evenings are getting chillier, the leaves are changing and pumpkin flavoured drinks are back on coffee shop menus – which all means that autumn is just around the corner. I don’t know about you, but I find that my inspiration for sewing, or ‘sewjo’ as it’s often referred to on social media, returns with […]
How has the final for the 2024 Great British Sewing Bee come around so quickly? What a 10 weeks it has been – we’ve seen judges in Anna Wintour wigs, outfits made from cricket whites and show stopping lingerie-inspired bustier gowns. The finals for the Bee are always spectacular, and this one was no different. […]
With just four sewists left, it was semi-final week in the Great British Sewing Bee! The judges set three challenges inspired by world renowned fashion design houses – Balenciaga, Gaultier and Chanel. Episode 9 recap In this post I recap the ninth 2024 episode – there are spoilers underneath, so don’t read on if you […]
It was the quarter final this week on the Great British Sewing Bee. I can’t believe we’re at the 8th episode already! The sewists spent Diva week drawing inspiration from their favourite stars, ranging from Mariah Carey to Elton John. When I heard Diva week was coming, I instantly thought of previous Bee winner Annie’s […]
It was lingerie week on the Great British Sewing Bee last week. I particularly enjoyed this week – it’s quite challenging sewing, and I think it really shows off the sewists’ ability to be precise and fit their pieces to real life models. It’s a fun episode too, with creative underwear designs and luxurious fabrics […]
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