I don't have much to show for myself today - a bunch of failed bodice fittings and a half-finished jumper - so I thought I'd write about the Great British Sewing Bee second series episode 1! I might do this for the other episodes too.
I found out about this show when the first season aired last year - while my parents were in England they happened to see an episode on the TV and knew I'd love it! The second series is slightly different - 10 contestants instead of however many there were last time, and much harder challenges.
There were three challenges this week, based on three natural fibres: cotton, wool, and silk. Challenge 1 was to make a cotton top from a pattern, no alteration or decoration. I think that was mostly to see if there was anyone who *really* shouldn't be there. There were some lovely cute tops, all sleeveless and with a facing - which had to be made in 2 hours! Fast!
The next challenge was to take a plain grey wool maxi-skirt and alter it in some creative way. Basically everyone made it into a mini-skirt with some detail. I think I would have kept the fabric in one piece but made horizontal pleats to shorten the skirt and add interest. Can you believe that one guy made a welt pocket in like 30 minutes?? We did that at CIT last week and it took us 3 hours!
The last challenge was to make a fitted silk nightgown for a model. I learned some tricks about cutting slippery silk - best to do it with a rotary cutter because scissors make the fabric shift. Some of these nighties were spectacular (some sucked) and I was just so impressed. It made me want to make a nightie!
This show has inspired me to get back to sewing. After a few failures recently, I've given up and now I have a big pile of unfinished things and patterns to make. But failure is just a step on the road to success I suppose, I'd better get back to it. Totally watch this show! It's the best!
<3 p="">
I found out about this show when the first season aired last year - while my parents were in England they happened to see an episode on the TV and knew I'd love it! The second series is slightly different - 10 contestants instead of however many there were last time, and much harder challenges.
There were three challenges this week, based on three natural fibres: cotton, wool, and silk. Challenge 1 was to make a cotton top from a pattern, no alteration or decoration. I think that was mostly to see if there was anyone who *really* shouldn't be there. There were some lovely cute tops, all sleeveless and with a facing - which had to be made in 2 hours! Fast!
The next challenge was to take a plain grey wool maxi-skirt and alter it in some creative way. Basically everyone made it into a mini-skirt with some detail. I think I would have kept the fabric in one piece but made horizontal pleats to shorten the skirt and add interest. Can you believe that one guy made a welt pocket in like 30 minutes?? We did that at CIT last week and it took us 3 hours!
The last challenge was to make a fitted silk nightgown for a model. I learned some tricks about cutting slippery silk - best to do it with a rotary cutter because scissors make the fabric shift. Some of these nighties were spectacular (some sucked) and I was just so impressed. It made me want to make a nightie!
This show has inspired me to get back to sewing. After a few failures recently, I've given up and now I have a big pile of unfinished things and patterns to make. But failure is just a step on the road to success I suppose, I'd better get back to it. Totally watch this show! It's the best!
<3 p="">
Wow that show sounds so fun! I'm going to try to find some episodes!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to get into sewing!