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feather_ghyllThe Great British Sewing Bee is back (COVID secure) and here are my thoughts on the first four episodes.
Week 1 – everyday staples. I think that having lived under coronavirus restrictions for months had made the contestants even more nervous (two accidents in the first round, two tearful breakdowns in the third) and ordering material online may make material selection even more of an issue in the made-to-measures (although you should know that broderie anglaise has holes in it if you’re putting yourself forward for this show, but then, as always, it seems that some people really haven’t prepared themselves for the transformation challenge or other Sewing Bee staples.)
It’s going to take me even longer to get people’s names right, let alone the spelling. Two cat ladies, two very nervous young‘uns, a few gay men Esme may have to explain the concept of sexy women to… The young ones proved they had skills in the first round. Damien seemed to be a producer’s gift, steaming ahead without taking in the instructions in the first round and picking yucky colours and leaving a gaping hole in the second round, but he did produce a good garment in the made-to-measure, so we weren’t entirely in ‘What are you even doing here?’ territory. Actually a lot of the dresses looked good (and left me, as someone who can’t sew, who has only brought a wrap and leggings over the past year feeling out of it.)
I don’t blame Patrick for having hysterics at the garments. In particular, putting that colour in that spot with the harem pants was very unfortunate. (I think he and Esme too were suffering from ‘Whoa, social contact!’.) But by not attaching the skirt at all and having been the second worst at the transformation challenge the burlesque dancer whose name I didn’t take in was the obvious candidate to leave. I missed the judges’ talk with Joe giving a hint of where they’re heading, but this opening episode had to introduce all 12 contestants.
Week 2 – summer. I didn’t get the paper bag shorts, well, certainly not the hem even after all the explanations and seeing people succeed (Raph and Serena) and fail (Julie) at it.
Given the luridness of the shorts, the transformation challenge was more about shape for me than the rapture over colour choices from the judges. Adam seems really lacking in self-confidence, so it was nice that he won.
The made-to-measure round again made me miss new clothes, although I’d never buy a button-up dress personally. Damien’s print and buttons were cool, and he’s redeemed himself to get to the middle of the pack. Farie failed to finish again, but Julie’s overall performance told against her. I didn’t quite agree with the judges on some of the things they loved (didn’t like the two red waistlines in Adam’s dress, thought Lawreta’s yellow dress was too tight,) but appreciated their explanation for why Andrew’s dress’s waist looked hinky. Adeema’s ambition paid off with the asymmetry (and drafting the pattern herself. Perhaps if she could dial the ambition down a notch, she’d be more confident in her finish?) Her bursting into tears because Esme reminded her of her mum felt as if it were stronger because it was during these times.
Week 3 – Gents Classic or classic gents. Joe succeeded in confusing me about the theme of this episode, but it was essentially menswear, which some people hadn’t really done, and the first challenge (a hat!) was a novelty, and one that pushed them all, even confident Andrew. Raph’s choices looked stylish from the off and some of the colour choices worked better than others, but all that fiddly work, sometimes through layers and layers of thick wool seemed particularly tough for most of them.
I think they’ve done the jacket to women’s dress transformation challenge before; some of the talk about using the details rang a bell. Farie’s dress seemed to stagnate, while others had a solid structure. I didn’t expect Adam to do quite as well, although it looked stylish, and although I thought the location of the pocket was silly, good on Serena for finally getting first (even this early, she’s been coming second A LOT.)
Nearly all the made-to-measure jackets looked better than I’d expected - Adam’s was less camp than I feared, the patterned ones looked good, plus even the ones with the contrasts, with Andrew (unlike Raph) fixing the sizing issue and somehow getting away with doing eight pockets. Adeema also got inspiration from somewhere, while it became quickly apparent that Lawreta’s snappers were not going in and the sewing just unravelled thereafter. It was very 2021 that she couldn’t get a badly needed hug. As we’d already heard that seven contestants were in trouble, we knew it all depended on this round, and the Patrick and Esme confab had a bit more of an edge.
Of course Esme would talk about carrying a grenade in one of those pockets, Esme is no doubt the toughest.
Joe Lycett seemed to be wearing a jacket inspired by those workmen’s jacket in his appearance on the HIGNFY that will go down as being more offensive than funny about the Welsh language.
Week 4 – International Week
In which they got the Breton sailor top to do for the pattern challenge, and I learned that Raph is from the south of Brittany, so I’m going to assume that he’s a Celt and be pleased that he and Serena do well out of solidarity. Nobody nailed this, which shows how difficult it was. Aesthetically, I was torn between the rainbow lines (Adam and Adeema) and the ones that stuck to the two colours. The thin-lined ones were the best. Up-and-down Farie had another meltdown, Adam’s Titanic quip (which seemed less clever when I remembered he works on a cruise ship and that’s his frame of reference) seemed overblown, although he was pretty low down, while Cathryn managed holes. and we knew from early on that you couldn’t get away with two buttons, although when you looked at the completed garments, the neckline fails stood out the most.
In the sarong(s) transformation round, the contestants fell into two camps, those who had a clear idea of what they were going to do (even if, like Adam, this was because they’d thrown a sarong at a mannequin and followed a drape instead of thinking of it independently) and those who didn’t. like Serena, going from top girl to bottom. Armholes did for her and Adeema (ruining a very definite idea). Cathryn’s central idea got junked because of how she’d fashioned it, and Farie’s poor sarong selection hampered her.
I loved how the brief of the made-to-measure invited creative interpretation and the personal element. It was also up to the contestants as to how much they wanted to challenge themselves. To no-one’s surprise, Adeema left herself too much to do. Andrew also did for himself by deciding to do the time-consuming embroidery instead of cheating like Raph.
Farie pulled it off despite all the tension. Her take was really creative and her outfit was the most impactful. The judges seemed pleased with how she’d handled the material. Raph managed a stylish, modern twist, and the hint was that Serena, like Andrew, could learn from him, but in her case, it was about matching the top and bottom. I can’t critique Damien, because I’d thought of the eyebrows (I’m not familiar with Kahlo’s work.) I thought the idea for Cathryn’s dress was interesting, but as they said, the effect of that lace over that pattern was muddled, and if the sewing was not difficult, making a mistake was inexcusable, and she’d just been weak enough overall that Adeema got away with not finishing, which usually does for contestants.
Week 1 – everyday staples. I think that having lived under coronavirus restrictions for months had made the contestants even more nervous (two accidents in the first round, two tearful breakdowns in the third) and ordering material online may make material selection even more of an issue in the made-to-measures (although you should know that broderie anglaise has holes in it if you’re putting yourself forward for this show, but then, as always, it seems that some people really haven’t prepared themselves for the transformation challenge or other Sewing Bee staples.)
It’s going to take me even longer to get people’s names right, let alone the spelling. Two cat ladies, two very nervous young‘uns, a few gay men Esme may have to explain the concept of sexy women to… The young ones proved they had skills in the first round. Damien seemed to be a producer’s gift, steaming ahead without taking in the instructions in the first round and picking yucky colours and leaving a gaping hole in the second round, but he did produce a good garment in the made-to-measure, so we weren’t entirely in ‘What are you even doing here?’ territory. Actually a lot of the dresses looked good (and left me, as someone who can’t sew, who has only brought a wrap and leggings over the past year feeling out of it.)
I don’t blame Patrick for having hysterics at the garments. In particular, putting that colour in that spot with the harem pants was very unfortunate. (I think he and Esme too were suffering from ‘Whoa, social contact!’.) But by not attaching the skirt at all and having been the second worst at the transformation challenge the burlesque dancer whose name I didn’t take in was the obvious candidate to leave. I missed the judges’ talk with Joe giving a hint of where they’re heading, but this opening episode had to introduce all 12 contestants.
Week 2 – summer. I didn’t get the paper bag shorts, well, certainly not the hem even after all the explanations and seeing people succeed (Raph and Serena) and fail (Julie) at it.
Given the luridness of the shorts, the transformation challenge was more about shape for me than the rapture over colour choices from the judges. Adam seems really lacking in self-confidence, so it was nice that he won.
The made-to-measure round again made me miss new clothes, although I’d never buy a button-up dress personally. Damien’s print and buttons were cool, and he’s redeemed himself to get to the middle of the pack. Farie failed to finish again, but Julie’s overall performance told against her. I didn’t quite agree with the judges on some of the things they loved (didn’t like the two red waistlines in Adam’s dress, thought Lawreta’s yellow dress was too tight,) but appreciated their explanation for why Andrew’s dress’s waist looked hinky. Adeema’s ambition paid off with the asymmetry (and drafting the pattern herself. Perhaps if she could dial the ambition down a notch, she’d be more confident in her finish?) Her bursting into tears because Esme reminded her of her mum felt as if it were stronger because it was during these times.
Week 3 – Gents Classic or classic gents. Joe succeeded in confusing me about the theme of this episode, but it was essentially menswear, which some people hadn’t really done, and the first challenge (a hat!) was a novelty, and one that pushed them all, even confident Andrew. Raph’s choices looked stylish from the off and some of the colour choices worked better than others, but all that fiddly work, sometimes through layers and layers of thick wool seemed particularly tough for most of them.
I think they’ve done the jacket to women’s dress transformation challenge before; some of the talk about using the details rang a bell. Farie’s dress seemed to stagnate, while others had a solid structure. I didn’t expect Adam to do quite as well, although it looked stylish, and although I thought the location of the pocket was silly, good on Serena for finally getting first (even this early, she’s been coming second A LOT.)
Nearly all the made-to-measure jackets looked better than I’d expected - Adam’s was less camp than I feared, the patterned ones looked good, plus even the ones with the contrasts, with Andrew (unlike Raph) fixing the sizing issue and somehow getting away with doing eight pockets. Adeema also got inspiration from somewhere, while it became quickly apparent that Lawreta’s snappers were not going in and the sewing just unravelled thereafter. It was very 2021 that she couldn’t get a badly needed hug. As we’d already heard that seven contestants were in trouble, we knew it all depended on this round, and the Patrick and Esme confab had a bit more of an edge.
Of course Esme would talk about carrying a grenade in one of those pockets, Esme is no doubt the toughest.
Joe Lycett seemed to be wearing a jacket inspired by those workmen’s jacket in his appearance on the HIGNFY that will go down as being more offensive than funny about the Welsh language.
Week 4 – International Week
In which they got the Breton sailor top to do for the pattern challenge, and I learned that Raph is from the south of Brittany, so I’m going to assume that he’s a Celt and be pleased that he and Serena do well out of solidarity. Nobody nailed this, which shows how difficult it was. Aesthetically, I was torn between the rainbow lines (Adam and Adeema) and the ones that stuck to the two colours. The thin-lined ones were the best. Up-and-down Farie had another meltdown, Adam’s Titanic quip (which seemed less clever when I remembered he works on a cruise ship and that’s his frame of reference) seemed overblown, although he was pretty low down, while Cathryn managed holes. and we knew from early on that you couldn’t get away with two buttons, although when you looked at the completed garments, the neckline fails stood out the most.
In the sarong(s) transformation round, the contestants fell into two camps, those who had a clear idea of what they were going to do (even if, like Adam, this was because they’d thrown a sarong at a mannequin and followed a drape instead of thinking of it independently) and those who didn’t. like Serena, going from top girl to bottom. Armholes did for her and Adeema (ruining a very definite idea). Cathryn’s central idea got junked because of how she’d fashioned it, and Farie’s poor sarong selection hampered her.
I loved how the brief of the made-to-measure invited creative interpretation and the personal element. It was also up to the contestants as to how much they wanted to challenge themselves. To no-one’s surprise, Adeema left herself too much to do. Andrew also did for himself by deciding to do the time-consuming embroidery instead of cheating like Raph.
Farie pulled it off despite all the tension. Her take was really creative and her outfit was the most impactful. The judges seemed pleased with how she’d handled the material. Raph managed a stylish, modern twist, and the hint was that Serena, like Andrew, could learn from him, but in her case, it was about matching the top and bottom. I can’t critique Damien, because I’d thought of the eyebrows (I’m not familiar with Kahlo’s work.) I thought the idea for Cathryn’s dress was interesting, but as they said, the effect of that lace over that pattern was muddled, and if the sewing was not difficult, making a mistake was inexcusable, and she’d just been weak enough overall that Adeema got away with not finishing, which usually does for contestants.
