GREAT BRITISH SEWING BEE SSN 8 - EP 4

A rubbish episode??  Definitely not!

It was Reduce, Reuse, Recycle week in the sewing room and whilst there were some errors made by a few of the contestants this was definitely not a rubbish episode. 

​The episode began with a patchwork quilting pattern challenge, with the contestants being tasked with making a patchwork quilted jacket.... using 96 separate patches

They were given pre-cut squares to choose from that were sorted into colour groups in what looked like large goldfish bowls. I thought the effect of the bowls and the colour coordination was very aesthetically pleasing, though maybe not such a good idea for storage! 

Most of the Bee’s had not quilted before but were excited by the colour choices for the patchwork.  Their patchwork designs ranged from random, to fruits, to diagonal stripes, to ombre and symmetry. 

Some of the bees were rather too excited by the patterns, and by spending way too long choosing and arranging their designs they drastically reduced their sewing time. 

I really don’t think this was the idea of the ‘reduce’ in this week's theme!!  Man Yee summed it up when she said ‘I have a problem making decisions, so when I have to make 96 decisions!!!....aghhhh’.  


This challenge also caused a bit of a stir in the Stitch Sewcial chat, with talk about wanting to make a jacket like this, and patterns and fabric choices.   I fully expect to see some quilted jackets appearing in the group very soon! 

There were some really beautiful jackets made by the contestants, although a couple were not finished, including Man Yee’s (maybe unsurprisingly given her trouble with choosing her patches and design) and Steve, who had admitted that when it came to the mitred corners ‘I don’t understand a single thing I’m supposed to be doing with the bias binding!’. 

The mitred corners caused issues for most of the contestants, with Brogan’s jacket being just one corner away from perfect. That honour went to Debra with Patrick saying the binding was ‘brilliant’ and the jacket ‘really well made’. 

Personally I loved the fact she stitched in the ditch for the bias with no visible top stitching, it was beautifully finished.

And so, on to the transformation challenge in which the Bees were asked to breathe a new lease of life into two old coats, by deconstructing them and using elements from each to reconstruct them into one new outerwear garment. 

I’m starting to think I have a lot in common with Annie, not only with our name, but we both have a penchant for leopard print.  This week not only were her jeans leopard print but she also chose a leopard print coat for this challenge. 

Annie said it may be ‘a bit Pat Butcher to be honest’ but I disagree, after all #everytingmustbeleopardprint

Sewing though such thick fabrics for this challenge meant some needles were broken, or as Marnie put it she ‘upset’ her machine.  Man Yee’s confidence seemed to have been knocked by not fishing her jacket in the previous challenge and she felt she was ‘rushing again’ to complete her garment.  After coming first in the pattern challenge, Debra decided to ‘keep it simple’ and make a cape, but when it came to judging Patrick and Esme felt this was not enough of a transformation.  They also felt the same with Marnie’s pink denim and camo combo. 

To her surprise Annie received high praise and came second, with Patrick commenting ’I think this works extremely well, it’s fantastic’, see it’s true #everytingmustbeleopardprint!!

​But it was Man Yee who pipped her to the post with her winning quilted and print combo, maybe she took inspiration from the first challenge!  The judges said her coat was cleverly thought through and well executed’. I do agree - it really was a great re-invention.

!All too quickly again we found ourselves on the made to measure challenge, and one that many of our Stitch Sewcial members could relate to!

As in our Stitch Sewcial #getsetsew challenge from last year, the Bees were asked to use a duvet cover ,in this instance to make a maxi dress.  Again there were more amazing makes, the standard of the sewists really is so high this year. 

The duvet covers were the contestants own choice and had either come from charity shops  or were old duvet covers of their own.  Many of those chosen had different fabric patterns, one on each side, and the contestants had clearly given a great deal of consideration to the placement of the fabrics within the garment.  Marnie had even dyed part of her duvet to make a contrast colour trim. Amazing attention to detail!

Brogan was in her element with pastel flowery fabric and a puff sleeved dress that even she felt ‘might be on the verge of Bo Peep’ - if you love big collars however, it was very reminiscent of the Bakerloo Blouse pattern by Nina Lee.

​Man Yee again found herself rushing to finish her dress and missed out a frill which Patrick felt let the dress down.  Steve had a problem with his zip insertion which meant his fabric did not align at the back, but his solution of ‘I could just sharpie it’ was not overlooked by the judges

Debra won over all cat lovers with the story of her dress and dedication to her cat Olive, who thinks she is a big cat but hides away when other cats come into the garden.  With this inspiration Debra made a leopard print  (yes there it is again!!) dress with a tropical print overlaying it. 

Both Patric and Esme were impressed with this dress and the neon orange trim she had used down the front. 

​However the garment of the week this week went to Gill for her red and white chevron dress with cape sleeves, which the judges thought was ‘stunning and so imaginative’.  

The Bee who did not make it through to next week was Steve.  Maybe it was that he didn't finish his jacket, or maybe the use of the sharpie, but sadly this week his time in the sewing room came to an end.  It has to be said that he had only been sewing for nine months before becoming a contestant so he has done really very well.

I actually thought that the whilst the garment of the week chosen by the judges was very impactful, for sewing quality it really should have gone to Debra for her spectacular quilted jacket. 

But, all things said, the standard of the contestants this year is incredibly high, and I love how they all become more familiar to us each week. There are some possible contenders for the title emerging but I think it’s going to be a very close call this year. 

Don’t forget to take a look at the round up of patterns this week from the wonderful Fold Line if you are interested in making similar garments. Next week we'll be halfway through this series, how is it going so quickly?  As one of the sewists in Stitch Sewciai facebook group said, the Sewing Bee hour is the quickest hour of the week…this really is so true!! 

It’s children’s week next week which includes a rather out of season Halloween transformation challenge! 

’ll be in the Sitch Sewcial GBSB live chat for it, hope to see you there

xx