GREAT BRITISH SEwING BEE SSN 8: EPisode 7

Lingerie week - who got their knickers in a twist,  who was waving their kickers in the air, and was anyone caught napping in their luxury PJs!

This week it was all about underwear, with a bra and knickers pattern challenge, thermal sleepwear transformation, and a luxurious pyjamas made to measure. 

But which contestants could sleep peacefully after these challenges and who just made too many boobs!! Read on and all will be revealed, metaphorically not literally obviously😉!

The contestants were tasked with using the tricky fabrics of lace and power mesh for the bra and knickers challenge and the colour coded goldfish bowls were back to house the small pieces of fabric and haberdashery needed for construction.  

I must say I found the pattern design of the bra rather strange with a particularly wide centre piece between the cups, it certainly didn’t look to be a good fit on the mannequins.  Our GBSB Stitch Sewcial chat members agreed that the fit was rather odd to say the least.  That aside this was a complex pattern in its own right.  Whilst the knicker construction was reasonably straightforward, using a burrito method to attach the gusset, the bra was much more tricky with lots of small pieces requiring precise stitching.  But this was episode 7 and the challenges really do need to test the contestants at this stage.  Debra did have a bit of trouble with her knicker construction and ended up with a ‘lumpy gusset’ which raised a few eyebrows and prompted her response of ‘I need to rethink her gusset construction or go to the doctors - or both!!’.  

Meanwhile Sara suggested to Man Yee that maybe she could bribe the judges by using her gusset as a hidden pocket and putting a lollipop in there which sounds a bit dangerous to me on both counts!  Most of the sewists did pretty well with their knicker making, but the bras were an altogether different story.  I always say that sewing is indeed a form of engineering, and although Man Yee explained the mechanics of bra fastenings to Cristian, he struggled with the symmetry of his bra cups!    Brogan again demonstrated her ability for exquisite sewing in this challenge, but lost some attention to detail by attaching her straps to the outside of her bra.  However it was Gill who found herself in last place with her pleated bra cups, definitely not a good look for wearing under a T-shirt!  

So it was Annie who was victorious in the first challenge this week. 

​Her white lace bra and knicker set - rather difficult to see on the mannequin it must be said - Esme said she had done a ‘really good job’. 

The transformation challenge was to make going out clothes from thermal sleep sets, or as Patrick put it, to turn them from ‘Nanna to Rhianna’!!  Some of the contestants were very quick to grab the garments they wanted from the clothes rail   Sara told Man Yee ‘I was so impressed with how much you took from the rail I was like ‘that’s a girl who knows how to shop’’

I’m not sure Brogan quite got the ‘Nana to Rhianna’ idea as she said she was embracing the ‘granny chic’.  In typical Brogan style this involved using pretty pastel colours, frills, and sparkly buttons on her bibbed milkmaid dress.  She divided the judges opinions w, with Patrick rather liking the Little House on the Prairie look, whilst Esme was not so enamoured. 

After his wonky bra cups in the last round Cristian continued the asymmetrical theme with sloping tiers on the hem of his dress and used metres and metres of daisy trim.  However Cristian did leave some trim in the haberdashery, and I think Man Yee managed to get hold of three or four daisies to adorn her bondage style dress.  This was a dress which required a lot of use of the glue gun, Man Yee reminded us that it was a transformation challenge rather than a sewing challenge, strange as I thought the main premise of all of the challenges was sewing!.  But after her heroic efforts to pick and stick the flowers it was an adornment which the judges felt wasn’t necessary.  

Debra won this challenge with her rather prim but fairly sophisticated two bowed (how to please Esme!) and trimmed top, which Patrick felt had a nod to Chanel style. 

Sadly Gill again fell foul of the judges with her gathered skirt and top combo with one statement sleeve. Unfortunately Esme’s view was that the top should have had two sleeves and this left Gill in last place going into the final challenge.  

So Gill needed to massively impress the judges in the made to measure challenge, which this week was luxury pyjamas, think Noel Coward, or maybe Hawaii Five-0…yes Brogan!!


Cristian and Annie channelled the Noel Coward vibes with paisley patterned silky fabric. Whilst Annie won high praise from the judges for her piping, although her front and hem seams were a bit wobbly.   Cristian's sleeves were much too long and the execution of his french seams was not good, as his lack of trimming created a hairy leg! 

Brogan also got high praise for her piping and sewing detail, but she used cotton lawn and the print and style made it a bit more ‘beach co-ord’ than pyjamas for Patrick - think Hawaii Five-0! 

Debra also made a shorts set and whilst this was fairly simple in construction her choice of satin fabric and contrast piping was beautiful. Although Patrick felt the fabric was maybe too stiff for luxurious pyjamas.  However her pattern matching and pattern placement, especially on the collar, was perfect.  

According to the judges Man Yee’s pyjamas were the very height of luxury. 

The contrast colours she used for the trim and piping were beautiful and neither Patrick nor Esme had any criticism of the pyjama set. 

​She had also included an applique of a bee on the pocket, and maybe this helped her fly high 🐝 (sorry!!) and win Garment of the Week!!

Gill’s Chinese inspired pyjamas with a collarless neckline were not a disaster by any means, but the quality of the sewing just didn't quite match that of the other contestants this week.  Sadly Gill didn’t do quite enough in this challenge to redeem herself and therefore failed to make it to the quarter finals and became the seventh Bee to leave the sewing room.  

So next week it’s quarter finals week and I am genuinely sew sew excited for the theme of the golden era of 1930s glamour.  There will be bib-fronted, sailor inspired women’s trousers, men’s shirts to transform into 1930s style women’s blouses, and my absolute dream of a made to measure with a bias cut 1930s evening  reminiscent of outfits worn by Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis. I’m swooning already.  

Don’t forget the brilliant people at the Fold Line have a round up of sewing patterns if you feel inspired to make your own luxury lingerie.  And please join us in Stitch Sewcial for next week’s chat, it’s always so much fun to watch the Sewing Bee with this wonderful group of like minded sewing enthusiasts who are all sew lovely 😍

But I want to end this week’s round up with a focus on what Gill said as her sewing bee experience came to an end.  There wasn't a dry eye in the studio and I suspect in not in the Stitch Sewcial group chat either when she said what she did. 

I’m not ashamed to say that my eyes leaked again as I wrote Gill’s words below: 

‘It’s been life-changing for me in a completely unexpected way. 

​Before coming into this I would always wear a prosthetic limb, and I have done for the whole of my life. 

And coming into this I knew that I wouldn’t be able to do that.  It’s kind of made me realise that I don't need to do that any more so you’ve … set me free on a whole different level’.  

Those of you that have read my previous blogs and social media posts will know that I passionately believe that sewing can set you free; free from so many of the constraints that society, other people, and we ourselves can put around us. 

​Gill totally reinforces that belief, sewing is so much more than a needle and thread .💓💓💓