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feather_ghyllGood grief, it’s the eighth series!
Week 1 – the theme was allegedly ‘a capsule wardrobe’.
Having done the Christmas specials had settled Sara Pascoe who seemed more relaxed than the nervous contestants, willing to pun as much as required. The mustn’t-call-them-sewers slowly differentiated themselves. The show made a big deal of there being FOUR men, a couple of whom—oh, fancy that, the weakest ones—had taken sewing up over lockdown…against much more experienced folk (mainly the women) who weren’t fazed by the materials or other requirements.
The pattern challenge was a wool miniskirt, with pockets and piping. Angela’s determination to ignore the premade piping and make her own was justified, and though Patrick and Esme didn’t say as much, it’s what I think brought about her win over Marni. Steve had problems, but Mitch had more.
Transformation was loungewear – top and bottom – to going-out top. Lots worried whether their top was glitzy enough and a few ought to have worried more. Mitch’s work to save the topline improved the garment, but he deserved to be at the bottom. Just above him was Angela, the traditional reversal. Some of the younger women who hadn’t been so strong in the pattern challenge were well capable of creating a top they’d go out in. To her surprise, Marni won, which makes her One To Watch.
The made to measure was a wrap dress that was supposed to be something you could wear anywhere, but most of them went for glam. I thought that Chichi, who wanted to have a back cut-out and was using satin, was storing up problems for herself, but the judges were more horrified about the choice of organza. Two people didn’t finish. I thought Mitch had done enough, but his dress was very short, so he was the first to go. There were a lot of dresses that were highly praised. Debra (da ferch) despite her doubts, was rewarded for excellent sewing and a classy look, although, as Patrick said, there seemed to be a lot of lack of confidence floating around, unnecessarily. A couple of them have to get control of their nerves, though.
Week 2 – sports week
A couple of new people came to the top this week…Sara continues to be willing to dress up and use props (they really didn’t think through the orange slices) as required and she connects with the contestants, mostly.
The much hyped ‘a first for the sewing bee’ pattern challenge was high top trainers! It seemed a bit rough, with a lot of different techniques for a SHOE that most people hadn’t done before and so had no idea how to construct. It was a surprise so many of them did two properly. Man Yee just pipped Annie, while eyelets did for Angela, and Chichi only finished one trainer.
After four hours of THAT, and pattern challenges don’t normally take that long, the transformation challenge seemed kinder: netball outfit to something to go out in with pleat detail(s). Only of course some people seemed challenged and was it Annie who was at the bottom with her raw edges and confusion? Robert’s culottes become britches become shorts just made me laugh. Brogan shone, with everything coming together for her, Debra came second for structural work and consistently good Marni came third.
So you felt that the made to measure was where it could be lost. They were asked for sporting jackets with a story to tell, and some interpretations were more inventive than others: I very much liked the idea of the Serena Williams jacket following the curve of the ball, and on first impression it looked good. We had a pair of tributes to Tom Daly – Cristian pulled off a better jacket than Richy’s, although Richy’s was the most inventive. He didn’t quite seem to agree with Patrick (Patrick!) that the jacket was too tight. We also had a pair of tributes to Flo-Jo, and though Steve had made a hole at the last minute, Chichi had just given herself too much to do and the dreaded words ‘bad sewing’ were uttered.
There were two who rose to the top and could have won garment of the week, a big group who had done well but had at least one or two details the judges critiqued, but Chichi went, while Richy now feels like he’s on borrowed time, but I think Steve is also in trouble. Marni won garment of the week and got some very high direct-to-camera praise from Esme, and so has to be the favourite, but a lot of them have made their mark.
Week 3 - summer week
Although Sara seemed fine after the dunking, and was clearly prepared for it, I muttered ‘mean’.
The pattern challenge again seemed challenging, while everyone acknowledged it was made for Brogan, who seemed the most confident about shearing and using elastics. Although we had a nice explainer that cited Bridgerton as the reason for the latest resurgence of this trend, those bodices remind me of childhood dresses.
Anyway, most people not named Brogan struggled. Steve expressed the most lack of experience, Richy said the word ’freestyling’ a lot, but Cristian, easily the best chap, soared, , Marni did well and Brogan, who’d been doling out advice, exceeded the high expectations of her.
Transformation: turn a hammock and hammocky details into an adult summer outfit that doesn’t look like a hammock. Because a hammock is a rectangular strip of material, they managed that, mostly going for sun dresses. Steve was desperate to impress, but his top was awful. I thought they were harsh on Marni, the colours had caught my eye in a good way, but the more you’d done with the rope or macramé, the more they liked it, Richy’s was saved by it, covering the not great asymmetry. Brogan would have to be satisfied with second - I was glad, I liked the pattern she’d chosen but the overall effect was too busy – to a surprised Angela, who’d judged her details the best.
We finally got a candid judges talk to presenter after day one, where Patrick and Esme stated the obvious, Richy’s pattern challenge had been bad, but Steve, by coming bottom twice was in the most danger unless the made to measure saved him…
The made to measure was another ‘trend’ that’s passed me by and doesn’t much appeal, a co-ordinated patterned two piece for summer. There was a lot of variety within that brief, with Steve and Cristian being the only ones to do menswear, but although a couple of the younger women went for bralets, the trousers varied so much that it was more about how everyone managed the challenge they’d set themselves, Brogan and Richy with their materials, Annie with the fit. Steve was focused while he gave Esme the opening to casually boast about past ‘dressing diCaprio’ achievements.
Richy had drafted a pattern that made the judges pause and admitted to not having practised it, and it just got worse from there as the top was too tight, he had to give up on his many, many pleats, and although Angela had also not finished, her outfit wasn’t the catalogue of errors Richy’s was. Obviously, there were degrees of success, but most of the rest were in a group who had finished and were praised, give or take quibbles either about the sewing or the design. But the judges had had no harsh words for Debra’s sailing shorts and top, only compliments – she’d been earnestly talking about pleating carefully to make the most of the pattern and was praised for doing unexpected things well Unlike her, I wasn’t surprised that she got garment of the week (again.) (Rhagorol!)
I was fairly sure the balance had tipped Richy’s way, because his fault was not using the preparation time to practice and spot the problems with the pleating and the material then. Others had sensibly gone for less ambitious patterns and sewn them well. Esme seemed more fixated by buttons than bows.
Week 4 - reduce, reuse and recycle week
I’m not qualified to judge, but this series’ pattern challenges are more demanding than ever before, surely. This week’s was ninety-six pieces to quilt to make a jacket involving mitring. Everyone seemed pressed for time. Nobody was filmed being breezy about it. As she’d got the best comments, Debra was easy to call for first place, although she seemed shocked at her first pattern challenge win. Brogan came second because of a corner, and it all seemed fair, with Man Yee suffering from having taken too much time planning the patterns (for all the judges comments when they talked to Sara about what they’d like to see, being random didn’t hurt,) while Steve, who definitely hadn’t done any of the techniques before, didn’t finish and came last.
Transformation: turn two coats into one wearable one, and use the word 'deconstruct' a lot. I didn’t quite follow what people were doing until I saw the final versions. Once you saw them all, it did seem as though putting Debra last was fair, there was nothing wrong with the idea of having a cape (even if it stretched the definition of ‘coat’) but they’d asked them to use the details from the originals, and she hadn’t and so was let down by execution. Despite sucking up to Sara, Marni was penalised for not doing enough of a transformation, and then came Steve, while Man Yee’s coat made me gasp in a good way when I first saw it, and from the comments, her coming first, Annie second and Brogan (embracing the puff sleeves again) did well.
As observed in the between-days chat, Debra and Man Yee had exchanged top and bottom, Steve was (again) relying on doing a good made to measure AND someone else’s going badly. Meanwhile, in GBSB tradition, Sara would end up fake conversing with a mannequin in this ep.
Made to measure was duvet set to maxi dress, and everyone went their different routes, from something that they had lying about at home to something they’d got in a charity shop. There was talk of gathers and ruffles, chevrons and various details that they hoped would make theirs stand out. Time flew.
I didn’t think any dress was a knock out personally. I favoured the darker ones, I liked Annie and Cristian’s dresses especially. I didn’t love Gill’s, it just felt too costumey for me while I was not in the mindset that could have worn Brogan’s. Patrick was obsessed with wishing belts didn’t break up the lines. Based on the comments, it was fair that Gill won the made to measure – to her surprise – they’ve been fairly lowkey about it, but I now realised part of one of her arms is missing, Man Yee would later say, probably rightly, that her excellent transformation saved her, because she had been overambitious and unable to do everything she wanted or do what she did well, but Steve hadn’t quite saved himself as well as he had the previous week, and as Patrick said, he’d run out of second chances. He seemed to have had a positive experience.
There were several broken needles in this episode!
Since looking up the contestants’ names, I've learned that some of the women – Gill! – haven’t been sewing all that long, so perhaps I was a bit too judgy about the men, although I recently heard in a work management course that men in general only wait until they have sixty five per cent of the requirements to put themselves forward for a promotion, while women generally wait until they’ve got a much higher percentage.
Da ferch = good girl/well done, lassie
Rhagorol = excellent
I have seen the next episode, but I’ll post about it with a later batch of episodes.
[Edited for typos 24/2/25.]
Week 1 – the theme was allegedly ‘a capsule wardrobe’.
Having done the Christmas specials had settled Sara Pascoe who seemed more relaxed than the nervous contestants, willing to pun as much as required. The mustn’t-call-them-sewers slowly differentiated themselves. The show made a big deal of there being FOUR men, a couple of whom—oh, fancy that, the weakest ones—had taken sewing up over lockdown…against much more experienced folk (mainly the women) who weren’t fazed by the materials or other requirements.
The pattern challenge was a wool miniskirt, with pockets and piping. Angela’s determination to ignore the premade piping and make her own was justified, and though Patrick and Esme didn’t say as much, it’s what I think brought about her win over Marni. Steve had problems, but Mitch had more.
Transformation was loungewear – top and bottom – to going-out top. Lots worried whether their top was glitzy enough and a few ought to have worried more. Mitch’s work to save the topline improved the garment, but he deserved to be at the bottom. Just above him was Angela, the traditional reversal. Some of the younger women who hadn’t been so strong in the pattern challenge were well capable of creating a top they’d go out in. To her surprise, Marni won, which makes her One To Watch.
The made to measure was a wrap dress that was supposed to be something you could wear anywhere, but most of them went for glam. I thought that Chichi, who wanted to have a back cut-out and was using satin, was storing up problems for herself, but the judges were more horrified about the choice of organza. Two people didn’t finish. I thought Mitch had done enough, but his dress was very short, so he was the first to go. There were a lot of dresses that were highly praised. Debra (da ferch) despite her doubts, was rewarded for excellent sewing and a classy look, although, as Patrick said, there seemed to be a lot of lack of confidence floating around, unnecessarily. A couple of them have to get control of their nerves, though.
Week 2 – sports week
A couple of new people came to the top this week…Sara continues to be willing to dress up and use props (they really didn’t think through the orange slices) as required and she connects with the contestants, mostly.
The much hyped ‘a first for the sewing bee’ pattern challenge was high top trainers! It seemed a bit rough, with a lot of different techniques for a SHOE that most people hadn’t done before and so had no idea how to construct. It was a surprise so many of them did two properly. Man Yee just pipped Annie, while eyelets did for Angela, and Chichi only finished one trainer.
After four hours of THAT, and pattern challenges don’t normally take that long, the transformation challenge seemed kinder: netball outfit to something to go out in with pleat detail(s). Only of course some people seemed challenged and was it Annie who was at the bottom with her raw edges and confusion? Robert’s culottes become britches become shorts just made me laugh. Brogan shone, with everything coming together for her, Debra came second for structural work and consistently good Marni came third.
So you felt that the made to measure was where it could be lost. They were asked for sporting jackets with a story to tell, and some interpretations were more inventive than others: I very much liked the idea of the Serena Williams jacket following the curve of the ball, and on first impression it looked good. We had a pair of tributes to Tom Daly – Cristian pulled off a better jacket than Richy’s, although Richy’s was the most inventive. He didn’t quite seem to agree with Patrick (Patrick!) that the jacket was too tight. We also had a pair of tributes to Flo-Jo, and though Steve had made a hole at the last minute, Chichi had just given herself too much to do and the dreaded words ‘bad sewing’ were uttered.
There were two who rose to the top and could have won garment of the week, a big group who had done well but had at least one or two details the judges critiqued, but Chichi went, while Richy now feels like he’s on borrowed time, but I think Steve is also in trouble. Marni won garment of the week and got some very high direct-to-camera praise from Esme, and so has to be the favourite, but a lot of them have made their mark.
Week 3 - summer week
Although Sara seemed fine after the dunking, and was clearly prepared for it, I muttered ‘mean’.
The pattern challenge again seemed challenging, while everyone acknowledged it was made for Brogan, who seemed the most confident about shearing and using elastics. Although we had a nice explainer that cited Bridgerton as the reason for the latest resurgence of this trend, those bodices remind me of childhood dresses.
Anyway, most people not named Brogan struggled. Steve expressed the most lack of experience, Richy said the word ’freestyling’ a lot, but Cristian, easily the best chap, soared, , Marni did well and Brogan, who’d been doling out advice, exceeded the high expectations of her.
Transformation: turn a hammock and hammocky details into an adult summer outfit that doesn’t look like a hammock. Because a hammock is a rectangular strip of material, they managed that, mostly going for sun dresses. Steve was desperate to impress, but his top was awful. I thought they were harsh on Marni, the colours had caught my eye in a good way, but the more you’d done with the rope or macramé, the more they liked it, Richy’s was saved by it, covering the not great asymmetry. Brogan would have to be satisfied with second - I was glad, I liked the pattern she’d chosen but the overall effect was too busy – to a surprised Angela, who’d judged her details the best.
We finally got a candid judges talk to presenter after day one, where Patrick and Esme stated the obvious, Richy’s pattern challenge had been bad, but Steve, by coming bottom twice was in the most danger unless the made to measure saved him…
The made to measure was another ‘trend’ that’s passed me by and doesn’t much appeal, a co-ordinated patterned two piece for summer. There was a lot of variety within that brief, with Steve and Cristian being the only ones to do menswear, but although a couple of the younger women went for bralets, the trousers varied so much that it was more about how everyone managed the challenge they’d set themselves, Brogan and Richy with their materials, Annie with the fit. Steve was focused while he gave Esme the opening to casually boast about past ‘dressing diCaprio’ achievements.
Richy had drafted a pattern that made the judges pause and admitted to not having practised it, and it just got worse from there as the top was too tight, he had to give up on his many, many pleats, and although Angela had also not finished, her outfit wasn’t the catalogue of errors Richy’s was. Obviously, there were degrees of success, but most of the rest were in a group who had finished and were praised, give or take quibbles either about the sewing or the design. But the judges had had no harsh words for Debra’s sailing shorts and top, only compliments – she’d been earnestly talking about pleating carefully to make the most of the pattern and was praised for doing unexpected things well Unlike her, I wasn’t surprised that she got garment of the week (again.) (Rhagorol!)
I was fairly sure the balance had tipped Richy’s way, because his fault was not using the preparation time to practice and spot the problems with the pleating and the material then. Others had sensibly gone for less ambitious patterns and sewn them well. Esme seemed more fixated by buttons than bows.
Week 4 - reduce, reuse and recycle week
I’m not qualified to judge, but this series’ pattern challenges are more demanding than ever before, surely. This week’s was ninety-six pieces to quilt to make a jacket involving mitring. Everyone seemed pressed for time. Nobody was filmed being breezy about it. As she’d got the best comments, Debra was easy to call for first place, although she seemed shocked at her first pattern challenge win. Brogan came second because of a corner, and it all seemed fair, with Man Yee suffering from having taken too much time planning the patterns (for all the judges comments when they talked to Sara about what they’d like to see, being random didn’t hurt,) while Steve, who definitely hadn’t done any of the techniques before, didn’t finish and came last.
Transformation: turn two coats into one wearable one, and use the word 'deconstruct' a lot. I didn’t quite follow what people were doing until I saw the final versions. Once you saw them all, it did seem as though putting Debra last was fair, there was nothing wrong with the idea of having a cape (even if it stretched the definition of ‘coat’) but they’d asked them to use the details from the originals, and she hadn’t and so was let down by execution. Despite sucking up to Sara, Marni was penalised for not doing enough of a transformation, and then came Steve, while Man Yee’s coat made me gasp in a good way when I first saw it, and from the comments, her coming first, Annie second and Brogan (embracing the puff sleeves again) did well.
As observed in the between-days chat, Debra and Man Yee had exchanged top and bottom, Steve was (again) relying on doing a good made to measure AND someone else’s going badly. Meanwhile, in GBSB tradition, Sara would end up fake conversing with a mannequin in this ep.
Made to measure was duvet set to maxi dress, and everyone went their different routes, from something that they had lying about at home to something they’d got in a charity shop. There was talk of gathers and ruffles, chevrons and various details that they hoped would make theirs stand out. Time flew.
I didn’t think any dress was a knock out personally. I favoured the darker ones, I liked Annie and Cristian’s dresses especially. I didn’t love Gill’s, it just felt too costumey for me while I was not in the mindset that could have worn Brogan’s. Patrick was obsessed with wishing belts didn’t break up the lines. Based on the comments, it was fair that Gill won the made to measure – to her surprise – they’ve been fairly lowkey about it, but I now realised part of one of her arms is missing, Man Yee would later say, probably rightly, that her excellent transformation saved her, because she had been overambitious and unable to do everything she wanted or do what she did well, but Steve hadn’t quite saved himself as well as he had the previous week, and as Patrick said, he’d run out of second chances. He seemed to have had a positive experience.
There were several broken needles in this episode!
Since looking up the contestants’ names, I've learned that some of the women – Gill! – haven’t been sewing all that long, so perhaps I was a bit too judgy about the men, although I recently heard in a work management course that men in general only wait until they have sixty five per cent of the requirements to put themselves forward for a promotion, while women generally wait until they’ve got a much higher percentage.
Da ferch = good girl/well done, lassie
Rhagorol = excellent
I have seen the next episode, but I’ll post about it with a later batch of episodes.
[Edited for typos 24/2/25.]
