All About Fabric

A Great Start for The Great British Sewing Bee

The Great British Sewing Bee

I don’t know about you guys, but yesterday our office was abuzz with excitement about ‘The Great British Sewing Bee that aired at 8pm on BBC 2. (If you missed it you can find on BBC iPlayer here.)

We weren’t disappointed.

The second season of The Great British Sewing Bee kicked off to an amazing start and I for one already have a favourite contestant, Julie. The west Yorkshire mum of three has shown a no-nonsense attitude to sewing… even under pressure. Her nightgown, made out of silk was named as garment of the week. If you want to try your own, you can find some perfect for the job here. We think that the ‘Racing Silk Red’ would be perfect, especially with a lace trim.

If you want to make a garment in the style of David’s patterned nightgown, why not try our ‘Carnival’ fabric and look pretty in pinks and blues.

As part of one challenge the contestants were asked to transform a woollen skirt that they had bought on the high-street. While we saw it transformed into various different skirts, Jenny decided to think outside the box and change the skirt into a pair of dungarees. Personally,while woollen dungarees may not be your thing, you can’t help but love wool as a material both for the varieties of textures and designs available.

I have to confess that while I LOVE sewing I don’t yet feel confident enough in my skills to try altering any of my own wardrobe. So I’m going to try making something from scratch- that way if it all goes pear-shaped I can at least be safe in the knowledge I haven’t mangled any of my own clothes.

I’m still debating what to make (I’m currently Googling patterns!) but I think that the ‘Hoots mon’ woollen fabric would be amazing as a pencil skirt worn with a plain white shirt. It would be ‘office-style’ meets the checks recently seen at the Tommy Hilfiger show for New York Fashion Week A/W 2014

While the fashion world might be focusing on their Autumn/Winter collections, the first obstacle that the contestants faced last night was making a simple cotton top. Looking towards summer, most of the contestants made their tops sleeveless. Cotton is the perfect material for summer due to its light feel, which is why we have recently brought in some fabulous new cottons!

The ‘Love me do- Eastern Promise’ cotton on the Croft Mill website would make a lovely top and would incorporate the ‘global traveller’ trend that always surfaces in spring and summer. For those wanting a subtler cotton, you can find many more here.

Although I liked all of the contestants I’ve got to admit that I was a bit underwhelmed when nobody was sent home (maybe I’m just mean?) yet I can only guess it was due to Cliff’s surprise exit for health reasons.

If you have any thoughts on The Great British Sewing Bee’s first episode you can always let us know on our Facebook page and on Twitter!

 

 

 

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