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  1. Blog post: Episode 3 - The Great British Sewing Bee 2022

    Posted on

    Sadly this is the last week of my Sewing Bee Blog as I'm heading off on a field trip abroad where I can't get BBC at all..booo! However, our friends over at Sew Essential are running a blog and emails following the Bees for the whole series - join them here. They sell a fantastic range of patterns and fabric too.
    Hope to see you in a sewing class soon! All the best, Claire x


    17th May 2022

    THE GREAT BRITISH SEWING BEE - EPISODE 3 

    Written by Claire Nilles, Marketing Assistant at Sew In Brighton Sewing School and Improver level self-taught sewer

    For anyone new to this blog post, Sewing Bee has nothing to do with bees but as you may have guessed it has everything to do with sewing! Just like last week (you can find the second blog post here), I will be recapping this week’s episode and giving you some ideas of how to try the different challenges at home - or you can bring them to our ‘Stitch! General Sewing/Dressmaking Classes - any level/project’.

    If you are wondering where and when the Sewing Bees sew - the show airs every Wednesday at 9pm on BBC1.

    SUMMER WEEK 

    We are back with this week’s blog post! Wondering what’s on the menu this week? Flowers have started to blossom, BBQs have been pulled out of the shed, it’s SUMMER! The Sewing Bees channelled and celebrated everything summer on this week’s episode.

    1. THE PATTERN CHALLENGE - Shirred Midi Dress

    This week’s task was to make a shirred midi dress as depicted in the picture above. Esme Young (one of the judges) gave clear instructions: pig puff sleeves, the body needs to be shirred (more on shirring below!). The sleeves should be gathered and the dress should be midi length. A tip given here by Patrick Grant: it is important to choose fabric appropriate to the season and to take into consideration how the fabric will look once it’s shirred. The idea is to use lightweight fabric that will gather nicely. The Sewing Bees were given 3.5 hours to work their magic! 

    The whole shape of the body is coming from the tension within the elastic on the shirred section. 

    Now the question that some of you might have is: what is shirring?

    So you essentially sew with elastic on the bobbin underneath and thread in the needle on top.  As you are sewing it gathers the fabric up, making the fabric elasticated - so you can stretch it out again when wearing it. It is very important to get the tension right here, use a long stitch (stitch length 4), sew the rows of shirring straight with the spacing even.

    The front and back pieces are gathered with 15 lines of parallel shirring. This body is then sewn together at the side seams. The bottom part is sewn together and an elastic is inserted at the waist (which is a bit tricky as you might end up sewing on the elastic which takes the stretchiness away).

    The sleeves are shirred at the cuffs and elastic is attached at the shoulder and as a final step they are attached to the body. 

     

    Sounds very straight forward, let’s see what the Sewing Bees got up to?

    Wearing matching puffed sleeves to this week’s first challenge, the shirred midi dress was right up Brogan’s alley. 

    Man Yee is tricking the system by using fabric that has already got straight lines. Clever! This definitely helped her get some straight shirring on the body part done by just following the lines.

    The Sewing Bees quickly realised that if the tension on your sewing machine isn’t high enough, the result will be no shirring… Some had their tension on 7!

    If you are reading this and wondering how on earth to adjust tension and stitch length, you sound like a candidate for our Learn to Use a Sewing Machine course, on which you will learn these and all the other essentials of machine sewing! You can learn the same in Stitch Classes - we can also show you how to do shirring in Stitch Classes - more ideas on this below.

    End results of the first challenge - 10 Shirred midi dresses:

    Here are some of their dresses close-up:

    Brogan’s dress.                     Angela’s dress.

    Cristian’s dress.

    Who clinched gold this week? It’s Brogan, of course :) 

    Now onto the fun bit, some patterns that you can use to sew your very own shirred midi dresses at home or in some of our ‘Stitch! General Sewing/Dressmaking Classes - any level/project’ at the Sew In Brighton classroom in Hove. Contact us if you need help working out how many classes to book for your project/pattern.

    PATTERNS:

    The patterns for these 3 different dresses can be found here:

    https://www.sewessential.co.uk/misses-dresses-mccalls-pattern-m7946 

    Here is another one:

    https://www.sewessential.co.uk/misses-dress-with-shirred-bodice-simplicity-pattern-9141

    Or if you prefer to make a jumpsuit:

    https://www.sewessential.co.uk/misses-womens-dresses-jumpsuit-mccalls-pattern-8209 

    General tips when applying the shirring technique:

    • Use cotton mix fabric, fairly lightweight - you can get in a wide range of colours at Sew Essentials website

    • You will need some shirring elastic, which you can get in either black or white,

    • as well as ordinary polyester or cotton sewing thread.

    TIP HERE:

    Don’t try and wind the bobbin in the usual way with the sewing machine, but hand wind the shirring elastic onto the bobbin making sure you don't stretch the elastic as you wind it!

    Also:

    Make your stitch length longer than usual, stitch length 4 and you may also need to adjust the tension. Test on scraps of your fabric until you are happy with the results.

    You don’t need to push or pull the fabric, just let elastic do its job and sew in the normal way.

    NEXT UP:

    1. THE TRANSFORMATION CHALLENGE 

    This week the Sewing Bees had to turn old hammocks into adults’ summer garments. Additionally they were given fringing, rope and macrame they had to work incorporate into their very own designs.

    Here are some inspirations from the Bees on how to transform your old hammock that’s been lying in back garden shed, into a nice garment:

    Angela’s winning macrame dress.     Cristian’s festival summer jacket.

    Annie’s beach dress and Brogan’s jumpsuit.

    1. THE MADE-TO-MEASURE CHALLENGE - SUMMER TWO-PIECE

    A trousered co-ord - a matching top and bottom, is the idea for this week’s made-to-measure challenge. The Sewing Bees were given five hours to perfectly fit their garments onto the given models. The challenge involved coordination in fabric and the way the two pieces looked.

    And here are some of the results:

    Steve’s tropical beach co-ord.

    Gill’s shell top co-ord.

    Debras’ sailing co-ord.

    Brogan’s Spanish inspired summer co-ord.

    Marni’s ribbed crop top co-ord.

    Pretty much any top and bottom sewing patterns could become a Co-ord outfit if sewn in the same fabric. In fact, you could even use a stretch fabric top and non stretch bottom half in the same print if you buy your fabric from online fabric printing companies who print a variety of prints (including your own!) onto a range of different fabrics in small quantities - try Prinfab, Contrado or Spoonflower

    Sew in Brighton classes:

    In case you are thinking of making your own two-piece, transforming some old hammock into a popping summer dress or making a garment from scratch following a pattern, you can find us in Hove and book your sewing class online. See you there!

    A new blog post will follow each week’s episode of the Great British Sewing Bee, so stay tuned for some more content and sewing inspiration!

    See you next week and until then sew, sew away….

    Browse Sewing and Dressmaking Courses and Classes here: (https://www.sewinbrighton.co.uk/viewclasses)

    Browse free sewing tips and tutorials here: (https://www.sewinbrighton.co.uk/viewclasses/cat_1650825-Video-Lessons-Advice-Sessions.html)

     

  2. Blog post: Episode 2 - The Great British Sewing Bee 2022

    Posted on

    8th May 2022

     

    THE GREAT BRITISH SEWING BEE - EPISODE 2 

    Written by Claire Nilles, Marketing Assistant at Sew In Brighton Sewing School and Improver level self-taught sewer

    For anyone new to this blog post, Sewing Bee has nothing to do with bees but as you may have guessed it has everything to do with sewing! Just like last week (you can find the first blog post here), I will be recapping this week’s episode and giving you some ideas of how to try the different challenges at home - or you can bring them to our ‘Stitch! General Sewing/Dressmaking Classes - any level/project’.

    If you are wondering where and when the Sewing Bees sew away - the show is on every Wednesday at 9pm on BBC1.

    Source: https://www.thegreatbritishsewingbee.co.uk/  These are the 2 judges (left: Esme Young, right: Patrick Grant) and the moderator and comedian Sara Pascoe (middle).

    SPORTS WEEK

    Episode 2 was all about SPORTS. You might think this only relates to this week’s theme but some consider sewing as a high-intensity sport! If you ask Sewing Bee Man Yee, she will tell you that she sweated more during the first challenge than during any other sports… So, be ready to get down and sweaty to take on this week’s challenge of sports shoe making 😅

    1. THE PATTERN CHALLENGE - A pair of high top trainers

    This week kicked off with the Sewing Bees having to make a pair of high top trainers from scratch. Btw this has been a ‘first-ever’ on the show! Have any of you ever tried to make a pair of high tops? Personally, I have never even thought about sewing my own shoes but would give it a go now 😁

    So the candidates were given a pattern, some fabric, a hand eyelet puncher and only 4 hours to make these high tops. Here are some of their results which look pretty good for a first try in only 4 hours:

     

    Alright, so I went off and did some online (Google) research to find a high top pattern and I was not able to find any that weren’t £50 or over…

    So if you end up finding one or making a pair of high tops, please let us know as we would love to see the results! 

    Also if you struggle pressing those eyelets into the fabric, Sew In Brighton has an industrial eyelet puncher which saves you a whole lot of hassle and produces perfect eyelets every time. Just pop by to one of our ‘Stitch! General Sewing/Dressmaking Classes - any level/project’ to use it.

    NEXT UP:

    1. THE TRANSFORMATION CHALLENGE 

    The Sewing Bees were given old netball kits (including netball bibs and sports tops) with the task to transform them into a glamorous day-wear garment. In order to make it a little bit more challenging, the garment needed to have some pleated elements in it. During this challenge, the judges are not in the room with the Sewing Bees so they don’t know whose is whose in the end, which makes it a bit more interesting. 

    On your marks, ready gooo! 

    Brogan’s winning dress for the challenge!

    With only 1 hour and 30 mins at hand, this is a pretty impressive result! Even the judges were blown away by the details and imagination the Bees used to transform old netball bibs into a very wearable dress. Well done to Brogan!

    So if you have any old bibs or sports shorts lying around at home, bring them to one of our Sewing classes and challenge yourself to make it into a night out skirt or nice headband. Who knows what the result will be?

    1. THE MADE-TO-MEASURE CHALLENGE - Sports jacket

    Each Sewing Bee is given a mannequin for the last event of the Sports week, they take their measurements and fit their choice of sports jacket pattern onto them. Pretty challenging hey! For this week’s task each Sewing Bee chose a sports personality that they admire and made a jacket inspired by their sports hero. Amongst their sports heroes, were Freddie Flintoff (cricket player), Nicola Adams (boxer), Serena Williams (tennis player) and Jain Kim (climber).

    The sewers were given 5 hours to complete this task. Let’s see what they managed to put together (Personally, these were my favourites):

       

    Gill’s jacket inspired by Nicola Adams.

       

    Annie’s jacket inspired by Serena Williams.

                           

    Man Yee’s jacket inspired by Jain Kim.   

                         

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Marni’s jacket inspired by Heather Stanning.

    And the winner was Marni! Maybe not a surprise at this point as Marni has been acknowledged as a pretty good and spot-on sewer - yet still a well deserved win 🏆

    So what does Sew In Brighton have to help you create amazing garments and increase your dressmaking skills to Sewing Bee level (so you can apply to be in it next year!)?

    OUR NEW Tailored Jacket course is up and going!

    The idea is to make yourself a modern, tailored lined jacket that fits you beautifully and have the pattern to take away to use again and again - as is or tweaked to different shapes and styles and in a variety of fabrics. 

    We also have a huge range of workshops and courses in sewing and dressmaking for all levels including complete beginners to sewing - view them here (https://www.sewinbrighton.co.uk/viewclasses).

    A new blog post will follow each week’s episode of the Great British Sewing Bee, so stay tuned for some more content and sewing inspiration!

    See you next week and until then sew, sew away….

    Browse Sewing and Dressmaking Courses and Classes here: (https://www.sewinbrighton.co.uk/viewclasses)

    Browse free sewing tips and tutorials here: (https://www.sewinbrighton.co.uk/viewclasses/cat_1650825-Video-Lessons-Advice-Sessions.html)

  3. THE GREAT BRITISH SEWING BEE IS BACK!

    Posted on

    3th May 2022


    THE GREAT BRITISH SEWING BEE IS BACK!

    Written by Claire Nilles, Marketing Assistant at Sew In Brighton Sewing School and Improver level self-taught sewer

    Knock knock, it’s Season 8 of the Great British Sewing Bee! And guess what, I will be providing you with the necessary ins and outs of each week’s challenges so you can level up your sewing skills and maybe just maybe be the next Sewing Bee.

    Are you up for the challenge? So let’s dive straight into it!

    Great British Sewing Bee 2022 contestants | meet the cast | Radio Times

    This year’s 12 contestants.

    EPISODE 1: CAPSULE WARDROBE

    This week’s theme was CAPSULE WARDROBE. And for anyone like me who has sewn a few bits and bots, but is absolutely not familiar with any technical terms. Here is a quick glossary of the term:

    “a small collection of clothes that can be put together in different ways and includes everything you would normally need to wear”  Cambridge Dictionary

    CHALLENGE 1 - The Pattern Challenge: A WOOL MINI SKIRT WITH 2 FRONT PIPED PATCH POCKETS

    The first challenge of this week’s episode was a wool mini skirt with piped pockets at the front and an exposed zip at the back. 

    This is contestant Angela’s skirt with self-made piping for the 2 front pockets.

    NOW the big question is how can you make one (or a similar) mini skirt? Here is all the information you need to bring this week’s challenge to your home or local sewing school.

    What you will need to make your very own summer mini skirt or maybe a little longer skirt:

    • Fabric* (new or old, as upcycling is always an option!)

    *See your pattern for amount you need and always wash and iron fabric before cutting out if you plan to wash rather than dry clean the final garment (follow washing instructions on fabric, ask in shop if unsure)

    • Sewing machine & thread

    • Pattern or a skirt that you can replicate with some new fabric

    529,015 Light Bulb Stock Photos, Pictures & Royalty-Free Images - iStockTIP!

    Here is an important tip from Kat (experienced sewing teacher and owner of Sew In Brighton) when sewing with wool. If you are trying to make your mini skirt with wool fabric it is important to add some lining to the inside of your skirt. Any lining is good here - polyester, rayon, cotton. If you are wearing tights you don't want cotton, as this rides up, so people usually use a slippy lining like polyester which is readily available.

     Here are some pattern examples to get you started making skirts: 

    1. Child’s Party Skirt (GBSB free pattern)

    LEVEL of difficulty: BEGINNER (Sounds like the perfect project even for myself! I might have a go next week at the sewing classroom and see where it will take me 😁)

    sewing bee childs party skirt pattern

    This is not the same pattern as the Sewing Bee Challenge skirt, but it is an easy skirt to get you sewing if you have not made any clothes from scratch before. It involves the minimum of fitting, has no pockets and has elastic for the waist - this is a great waist elastic you could use for this skirt from Prym which which also makes great belts (super simple make, with a buckle like this) - comes in many colours

    Here is the link: https://www.thegreatbritishsewingbee.co.uk/sewing-patterns/childs-party-skirt . It's a FREE pattern provided that you can download and print at home or get printed and posted to you inexpensively at Fabulosew.com

     


    2. Reed Skirt Grainline Studio Sewing Pattern

    LEVEL of difficulty: Improving Beginner

    Although labelled as Beginner, this seems more like Improving Beginner Dressmaker level pattern. I would say try making a simple garment like the first skirt above initially if you have no or little experience in sewing. Or just jump in with this one and take your time and get help from one of our teachers if needed.
    n.b. If you're completely new to machine sewing, learn the basics first and get confident by sewing a simple bag or cushion. If you need a hand and live near us in Brighton and Hove, check out our Beginner classes and courses here

    Here is the link for the pattern: https://www.sewessential.co.uk/reed-skirt-grainline-studio-sewing-pattern-12002 

    Is this is something you are interested in making but you don’t have a sewing machine at home or you need a hand fitting the pattern and deciphering the sewing instructions? If so you book onto one of our weekly Stitch! General Sewing and Dressmaking Classes in Brighton and Hove (East Sussex, UK) if you live nearby or fancy a day trip to Brighton beach.

    Head to sewbtn.com/bookstitch so you just see availability for Stitch Classes for the next couple of weeks. Our teachers are very keen to get you going with your very own project and help you every step along the way to finalise your skirt in time before the summer hits Brighton. 

    Also for anyone new who just happened to stumble across this blog post, if you join our mailing list here you will get discounted codes, including SAVE 15% on your very FIRST Sewing class at Sew In Brighton.

     

    CHALLENGE 2 - Transformation Challenge 

    Lockdown Loungewear

    The idea was to transform any old loungewear piece into a night-out top. This is a sustainable way of upcycling any of your old clothes and giving them a fresh purpose. I always find it extremely rewarding if you have an old pair of trousers that don’t fit anymore and you can repurpose it by making a pair of dungarees out of them (just throwing some ideas around here). 

    DIY OVERALL JUMPSUIT from jeans:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ9Ib7uhfvE 

     

    CHALLENGE 3 - Made to measure

    Wrap Dress

    Generally speaking, wrap dresses are a go-to sewing dress as they are easy to fit to anyone’s body shape. What might be the trickiest part however are necklines and hemming the dress. Therefore I would say this is for Intermediate Sewers who have had some experience sewing dresses before. Nevertheless, it could be fun as a personal challenge to see if you can nail those necklines and create a piece that you can add to your Capsule Wardrobe :) 

    1. Misses and Petite Wrap Dress Simplicity Sewing Pattern

    Level of difficulty: Intermediate

     

    Here is the pattern:

    https://www.sewessential.co.uk/misses-petite-wrap-dress-simplicity-pattern-8735-39193

     



    In case you want to jump onto the weekly Sewing Bee challenges, keep reading this blog each week as we will update it and I’ll see you next week.

     

    AND MAYBE WE WILL SEE SOME SEWING BEES AT OUR SEWING CLASSES! 

     

    View all our sewing and dressmaking classes, courses and workshops, held in Brighton and Hove here www.sewinbrighton.co.uk/viewclasses (we also offer Zoom 1-2-1 lessons if you're elsewhere in the world). 


    Do get in touch with any questions at https://www.sewinbrighton.co.uk/contactushere.html

  4. Great British Sewing Bee!

    Posted on

    The Great British Sewing Bee returns for an eight-part series presented by Claudia Winkleman. Ten of the country's best home sewers face three challenges to make or alter an item of clothing under intense time pressure. Each week, their creations are judged by Savile Row's Patrick Grant and sewing expert May Martin, until one of them is crowned Britain's best amateur sewer.

    BBC 2 Tuesdays 8PM or Catch up on Iplayer:

    51yookc-7pl._sl500_aa300_.png

    Series Trailer:

    Episode 1

    The contestants are tested on three core fabrics: cotton, wool and silk.

    The first episode tests the sewers on the three core fabrics in a dressmaker's cupboard: cotton, wool and silk. The surprise Pattern Challenge tasks the sewers with making a simple tunic top out of straightforward cotton. Some excel at producing the perfect top, some struggle to finish, and others cut corners - to their cost.

    In the Alteration Challenge the sewers demonstrate their ability to transform a plain high street woollen skirt in just 90 minutes, creating mini skirts with frills, pencil skirts with peplums, and dungarees.

    Finally, the sewers face the toughest of core fabrics when asked to fit a made-to-measure silk nightgown for a model.

    Episode 2

    The contestants are tested on their ability to match and combine patterned fabric.

    Claudia Winkleman welcomes the nine home sewers back to the sewing room to face three more challenges. This episode tests their ability to match and combine patterned fabric. First the judges, Savile Row's Patrick Grant and sewing expert May Martin, surprise the sewers with a pattern for a pleated skirt. The catch is that they must match the pattern of the fabric across those pleats without changing the size of the skirt, which catches a few of the sewers out.

    They must show their ingenuity by combining two patterned men's shirts into one garment - the results range from a little sailor dress to a boob tube.

    Finally, they make made-to-measure men's patterned pyjamas which must both match across the seams and fit their male model perfectly.

    Episode 3

    The contestants face the most fitted made to measure challenge yet.

    Claudia Winkleman hosts The Great British Sewing Bee as the eight amateur sewers prepare to do battle again in three challenges designed to test their ability to handle stretchy fabric.

    The judges - Savile Row's Patrick Grant and sewing expert May Martin - first give them a surprise pattern for a simple pair of leggings with resulting snug and saggy bottoms.

    Next the sewers are free to do whatever they like to turn an oversized t-shirt into a completely different garment - and they come up with some ingenious alterations, from a toddler's leotard to an asymmetric mini dress.

    Finally, they face the most fitted made to measure challenge yet.


    Inspired to get sewing yourself?

    Come to our weekly Stitch Classes in Brighton & Hove. We even use the same Janome sewing machines as used in the programme!