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 pattern suggestions, so don’t read on if you don’t want to see what happened in the last episode.
The pattern challenge
We had ‘plus fours’ as the pattern challenge this week. You’d probably recognise them once you saw them – they’re a type of smart trouser with a fitted waistband and pleats, ending just below the knee. I’ve always associated them with vintage golf outfits.
The trousers were classically made with wool fabric, and often tweed or checked. Many of the sewists opted for the same, but the thing with choosing a checked fabric is having to be very precise with your pattern matching. Patrick made it clear to Yasmin (with some strong facial expressions!) that it would be a bad idea not to pattern match.
It was a technical sew, involving a zip fly, buckles and fitting a waistband. Making a pair of trousers (even if a little short) in five hours is quite the achievement!
The transformation
The judges gave the sewists five polo shirts each to transform into a colour-blocked garment. Patrick tells us polo shirts were first designed in the 1960s as a tennis shirt.
Kit took inspiration from Esme’s iconic Amorphus Dress, while Orla created a swirled applique crop top.
The made to measure
I was happy to see a celebration outfit was the brief for this week’s made to measure. There’s so much scope for beautiful, glamorous designs inspired by this era.
Yazmin made an incredible LGBTQ+ sailor dress, and Orla created a flapper-style masterpiece from beautiful green fabric (a colour suffragettes often wore).
Yasmin won garment of the week for her sailor outfit, and we sadly said goodbye to Kit. They are an incredible sewist, and I can’t wait to see what they do next!
If you missed this week, you can catch up on BBC iPlayer when it suits you!
What’s happening next week?
Next week is the final! Tune into BBC 1 at 9pm on Tuesday 16th September to see challenges including a bias cut dress, sheer fabrics and trompe l’oeil. Of course, at the end one sewer will be crowned the winner!
Want to sew along with the Bee?
The Sewing Bee always inspires people to start creating their own wardrobe. Seeing the contestants experimenting with different fabrics and styles is a lovely way to think about how you might tackle your own projects.
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