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feather_ghyllIt’s series 11, and Sara Pascoe has returned to present. The theme of episode one was ‘shapes’, and as ever, I know I didn’t take everyone’s names in, but they seemed to have selected a variety of contestants, from youngsters who liked using chains in the outfits they’d created to older people who’d been sewing for decades, with a mix of blindspots.
The first pattern challenge seemed tough, a blouse needing lots of gathering, a peplum, and ribbons to hold it together. It was soon obvious who would be in the most trouble, having picked the wrong material and been the last to finish cutting out. I get that there was a lot of emphasis on choosing the right material to have the right shape, I think that Patrick erred on the emphasis of the choice of ribbon. Thanks to not finishing, it was obvious Saffie would be last. Kit came first.
The transformation challenge was a circle skirt to a striking outfit. There was a general tendency to make tops – I wasn’t sure what Kit was doing until it was completed. The judges were quite happy with most of them, although a top that wouldn’t cover your breasts very well came last. I didn’t love the batwings blouse from Caz that came first. One of the contestants, Glendora, had been taken ill and didn’t hear the judging, and she was unable to compete the next day for the made to measure round, which I think is a first.
The challenge was a dress with pleats, emphasis on the shapes those pleats made. The people who’d done poorly in the first two rounds knew they had to impress. Some people sounded far too ambitious – ‘Oh, I’ve drafted the pattern, the first time I’ve done that’ also worried me. On the other hand, Welsh Gaynor did not seem to have been ambitious enough.
A couple of people were well out of time, but at least one of the ones in trouble, Saffie, had done enough to keep her safe. The judges liked Orla’s unusual pleating more than I had – I thought the bit in the chest area hadn’t quite come off, but I thought she was in the running for the first garment of the week with Novello, who’d used white satin for really unusual and structurally interesting pleats, or Peter, who had engineered some amazing pleated gold sleeves for his black dress. He won it, to his surprise.
Because Glendora hadn’t competed in the made to measure, they decided not to send anyone home (although Jess might have been in the most danger, having come last in the transformation challenge, second to last in the pattern challenge after an ironing mishap and not finished her untidy made to measure.) Two would be leaving at the end of the next episode, we and the contestants were informed.
The theme of episode 2 was athletic wear, and they were still introducing the contestants to us. The first pattern challenge seemed really tough, although I think they all got it done in time: a seven-piece baseball cap, with sewing on a curve, using mesh, binding and topstitching. Kit seemed really confident, but more because he’d used mesh than having done caps in the past. Other people had never done topstitching before. Orla had to unpick, Jess got something wrong with the underside. I wasn’t sure who would come first, because the judges had criticisms for everyone, but it was Kit (again.) Jess came last.
The transformation challenge was three cycle shirts (garish patterns, stretchy materials) into a party outfit. Some people had a definite idea, others were flailing – Dan, I think, changed his mind about the bottom with thirty minutes to go, and Saffie seemed to be adding a ruffle to the wrong portion of her outfit as it was so short. I didn’t love anything, I might have reordered the top five, although the more wearable the outfit looked, the less it had been transformed. I didn’t massively disagree with Kit coming first again, because the shape and colour worked so well. Saffie came last for doing what was basically a top and was clearly in trouble.
The made to measure was ‘athlesiure’, which had to be explained to us, Sara and some of the contestants. A lot of diversity of outfits (from roller derby to rugby), but quite a lot of people were doing some version of trousers, bra top and a hoodie (usually not covering the torso.) Quite a few people seemed to have given themselves too much to do with three outfits (and in Saffie’s case, a top that transformed into a bag.) Peter was winging it, ignoring the judges’ suggestions, such as measuring his model. Gaynor’s use of Welsh confirmed that that’s her first language (I thought it had to be given her accent.)
On the runway, quite a few of them had impact, including Glendora’s linen yoga wear, (she came over as an interesting person with her own ideas, so it felt like a good thing that she’d recovered and was able to continue.) Obviously, when the judges gave them a closer look, they’d point to errors. Except for two: Stuart’s tennis outfit must have come close to getting garment of the week, but it was always going to go to Orla, because of the degree of difficulty of what she’d done.
Saffie hadn’t finished hers or redeemed herself; time management seemed to be her big problem. The decision to send Peter home seemed to be mainly based on this week’s made to measure (he won GotW last week!) where the skateboarding engineer’s decision to wing it on the collar, cuff and measurement front did for him.
Week three’s theme was icons. The pattern challenge was a version of the wrap dress, where experience with the overlocker might help. A couple of people, including Jess, went wrong early, with Dan, who was familiar with working with jersey, helping her. But Jess caught up. Glendora decided to add interfacing, which turned out not to help her. Stuart was in trouble as one of the contestants with the least experience of what was required. Caz (who had had time to fix her issues with the neck collar) came first, and Jess came second with her leopard print.
Transformation challenge – soft furnishing (heavy on the tartan blankets) into a Vivienne Westwood inspired outfit. Jess and Yasmin wanted to show off their fandom. The men enjoyed it. Suddenly there was a scramble to do the top or bottom. Overall, the outfits were good. Glendora came last because she’d put this nothingy green top over a decent base. Gaynor was second from last because her outfit was deemed too safe. They were positive about the top six or so, Novello had gone overboard by making four or five items of clothing. The deserved winner was Kit, who had shown a real sense of style.
Made to measure was something inspired by Versace. Some people went Greek, there was lots of black and gold, some were referencing specific collections. Glendora knew she was in trouble, but had to fiddle with her fit and was always behind. Kit had to deal with a change of model midway, after the person he'd fitted to fell ill! Patrick wore a blonde wig to be Donnatella to Sara’s interpreter/time caller.
Some of the outfits looked better on the model, some looked better on the runway than when the judges starting looking closely at them. Stuart had redeemed himself enough with a black and gold lace combo. Orla had done a very classy job (perhaps too classy). Yasmin’s outfit maybe lacked impact, and she hadn’t quite finished. Meanwhile, Caz had decided to put her very own twist on the brief, using Versace references (the most obvious being bondage-inspired straps) for a take on The Wizard of Oz Dorothy’s pinny. She would get Garment of the Week, partly because it was one of the best sewn and because she’d won the judges over in a good week for her.
They tried to build tension in the judges’ chat with Sara, but Glendora had been the weakest overall, when you took all three rounds into consideration, and not only had she not finished her made to measure, but the fit wasn’t great, and it wasn’t all that ambitious. She knew it was coming and that she’d been outclassed. Maybe don’t add interface to everything?
Episode 4 was Korea week. A Korean designer was guest judge and the pattern challenge was for a variant of a traditional Korean top. The key word was ‘flat’ for the collar. Novello, Gaynor and Dan were behind from the cutting onwards, but everyone found it challenging in terms of time. Collars and ties had to be fastened, hemming came last and divided the finished from the not. Gaynor more or less sat out the last minute, having realised she couldn’t do what she needed in that time. Novello, Dan and Gaynor were last in reverse order. There was some mild tension about who’d come first, but it was Kit.
Transformation challenge was a taekwondo suit plus five belts into an outfit. Dan had got a black belt in taekwondo and demonstrated some kicks, which may have made him get a high at the start of the challenge. Gaynor was going to try to go out of her comfort zone, although she seemed to know what the judges would say at midway point (when she could have done something about it.) Kit used Sarah to sketch out his idea. Orla was doing something interesting with the belts, perhaps the most interesting thing, but when she said it was held together by one thread, she was bringing up its weakness. Dan had been inspired to go K-pop (the music that I presume was being played all episode) and had enough time to make that obvious with a tag.
Like the judges, I really liked the top 5 or 6. The people who hadn’t used all five coloured belts were punished, and Novello’s outfit was very basic and thus deserved to be last. Gaynor didn’t gain much from trying not to play it safe. Dan was towards the top, but it was Kit who won again, having found a way to create volume and impact. He’s hoovering up the top places.
Made to measure was ‘an interpretation’ on a specific Korean outfit that had military origins, but has been changed into something that women also wear and reimagined by designers. This came through in the competitors’ designs, the same basic shape, with collars and pleats to contend with, but a variety of materials, colours and moods. Novello seemed to be going ambitious with a brocade material, and there would also be dragons to symbolise her Welsh heritage (I’d heard a bit of it in her accent when she first appeared, but discounted it). Dan, who also knew he needed to impress, was using a padded material, which was going to be very thick to sew, and although the colours meant one thing in Korean culture, it would look Christmassy. Caz was going to use neon lace, because she was going for military meets Elvis – by this point, my reaction to her inspirations is ‘You do you.’
Kit was self-drafting the only outfit for a man, Stuart was doing something inspired by a British raincoat, Jess was doing something voluminous, Orla was going in the opposite direction, Yasmin had detachable sleeves, and everyone looked stressed when Sarah shouted out the time.
I liked the impact of most of them, actually, but the judges honed in on the errors – Dan’s collar, Jess’s hole, Kit’s self-drafting not quite working. There was praise for a lot of the rest too, reiterated when the judges had a chat with Sarah, but it was fairly obvious that Caz’s bright outfit had come together and did work, giving her GotW. There was, as ever, an attempt to ratchet up the tension around Dan and how Korean collars were his nemesis, but he had done enough in the transformation challenge to stay in, while Novello had been consistently weak this week. She was ready for it.
At the moment, Kit and Caz are very strong, but it’s rarely the early favourites who win this.
The first pattern challenge seemed tough, a blouse needing lots of gathering, a peplum, and ribbons to hold it together. It was soon obvious who would be in the most trouble, having picked the wrong material and been the last to finish cutting out. I get that there was a lot of emphasis on choosing the right material to have the right shape, I think that Patrick erred on the emphasis of the choice of ribbon. Thanks to not finishing, it was obvious Saffie would be last. Kit came first.
The transformation challenge was a circle skirt to a striking outfit. There was a general tendency to make tops – I wasn’t sure what Kit was doing until it was completed. The judges were quite happy with most of them, although a top that wouldn’t cover your breasts very well came last. I didn’t love the batwings blouse from Caz that came first. One of the contestants, Glendora, had been taken ill and didn’t hear the judging, and she was unable to compete the next day for the made to measure round, which I think is a first.
The challenge was a dress with pleats, emphasis on the shapes those pleats made. The people who’d done poorly in the first two rounds knew they had to impress. Some people sounded far too ambitious – ‘Oh, I’ve drafted the pattern, the first time I’ve done that’ also worried me. On the other hand, Welsh Gaynor did not seem to have been ambitious enough.
A couple of people were well out of time, but at least one of the ones in trouble, Saffie, had done enough to keep her safe. The judges liked Orla’s unusual pleating more than I had – I thought the bit in the chest area hadn’t quite come off, but I thought she was in the running for the first garment of the week with Novello, who’d used white satin for really unusual and structurally interesting pleats, or Peter, who had engineered some amazing pleated gold sleeves for his black dress. He won it, to his surprise.
Because Glendora hadn’t competed in the made to measure, they decided not to send anyone home (although Jess might have been in the most danger, having come last in the transformation challenge, second to last in the pattern challenge after an ironing mishap and not finished her untidy made to measure.) Two would be leaving at the end of the next episode, we and the contestants were informed.
The theme of episode 2 was athletic wear, and they were still introducing the contestants to us. The first pattern challenge seemed really tough, although I think they all got it done in time: a seven-piece baseball cap, with sewing on a curve, using mesh, binding and topstitching. Kit seemed really confident, but more because he’d used mesh than having done caps in the past. Other people had never done topstitching before. Orla had to unpick, Jess got something wrong with the underside. I wasn’t sure who would come first, because the judges had criticisms for everyone, but it was Kit (again.) Jess came last.
The transformation challenge was three cycle shirts (garish patterns, stretchy materials) into a party outfit. Some people had a definite idea, others were flailing – Dan, I think, changed his mind about the bottom with thirty minutes to go, and Saffie seemed to be adding a ruffle to the wrong portion of her outfit as it was so short. I didn’t love anything, I might have reordered the top five, although the more wearable the outfit looked, the less it had been transformed. I didn’t massively disagree with Kit coming first again, because the shape and colour worked so well. Saffie came last for doing what was basically a top and was clearly in trouble.
The made to measure was ‘athlesiure’, which had to be explained to us, Sara and some of the contestants. A lot of diversity of outfits (from roller derby to rugby), but quite a lot of people were doing some version of trousers, bra top and a hoodie (usually not covering the torso.) Quite a few people seemed to have given themselves too much to do with three outfits (and in Saffie’s case, a top that transformed into a bag.) Peter was winging it, ignoring the judges’ suggestions, such as measuring his model. Gaynor’s use of Welsh confirmed that that’s her first language (I thought it had to be given her accent.)
On the runway, quite a few of them had impact, including Glendora’s linen yoga wear, (she came over as an interesting person with her own ideas, so it felt like a good thing that she’d recovered and was able to continue.) Obviously, when the judges gave them a closer look, they’d point to errors. Except for two: Stuart’s tennis outfit must have come close to getting garment of the week, but it was always going to go to Orla, because of the degree of difficulty of what she’d done.
Saffie hadn’t finished hers or redeemed herself; time management seemed to be her big problem. The decision to send Peter home seemed to be mainly based on this week’s made to measure (he won GotW last week!) where the skateboarding engineer’s decision to wing it on the collar, cuff and measurement front did for him.
Week three’s theme was icons. The pattern challenge was a version of the wrap dress, where experience with the overlocker might help. A couple of people, including Jess, went wrong early, with Dan, who was familiar with working with jersey, helping her. But Jess caught up. Glendora decided to add interfacing, which turned out not to help her. Stuart was in trouble as one of the contestants with the least experience of what was required. Caz (who had had time to fix her issues with the neck collar) came first, and Jess came second with her leopard print.
Transformation challenge – soft furnishing (heavy on the tartan blankets) into a Vivienne Westwood inspired outfit. Jess and Yasmin wanted to show off their fandom. The men enjoyed it. Suddenly there was a scramble to do the top or bottom. Overall, the outfits were good. Glendora came last because she’d put this nothingy green top over a decent base. Gaynor was second from last because her outfit was deemed too safe. They were positive about the top six or so, Novello had gone overboard by making four or five items of clothing. The deserved winner was Kit, who had shown a real sense of style.
Made to measure was something inspired by Versace. Some people went Greek, there was lots of black and gold, some were referencing specific collections. Glendora knew she was in trouble, but had to fiddle with her fit and was always behind. Kit had to deal with a change of model midway, after the person he'd fitted to fell ill! Patrick wore a blonde wig to be Donnatella to Sara’s interpreter/time caller.
Some of the outfits looked better on the model, some looked better on the runway than when the judges starting looking closely at them. Stuart had redeemed himself enough with a black and gold lace combo. Orla had done a very classy job (perhaps too classy). Yasmin’s outfit maybe lacked impact, and she hadn’t quite finished. Meanwhile, Caz had decided to put her very own twist on the brief, using Versace references (the most obvious being bondage-inspired straps) for a take on The Wizard of Oz Dorothy’s pinny. She would get Garment of the Week, partly because it was one of the best sewn and because she’d won the judges over in a good week for her.
They tried to build tension in the judges’ chat with Sara, but Glendora had been the weakest overall, when you took all three rounds into consideration, and not only had she not finished her made to measure, but the fit wasn’t great, and it wasn’t all that ambitious. She knew it was coming and that she’d been outclassed. Maybe don’t add interface to everything?
Episode 4 was Korea week. A Korean designer was guest judge and the pattern challenge was for a variant of a traditional Korean top. The key word was ‘flat’ for the collar. Novello, Gaynor and Dan were behind from the cutting onwards, but everyone found it challenging in terms of time. Collars and ties had to be fastened, hemming came last and divided the finished from the not. Gaynor more or less sat out the last minute, having realised she couldn’t do what she needed in that time. Novello, Dan and Gaynor were last in reverse order. There was some mild tension about who’d come first, but it was Kit.
Transformation challenge was a taekwondo suit plus five belts into an outfit. Dan had got a black belt in taekwondo and demonstrated some kicks, which may have made him get a high at the start of the challenge. Gaynor was going to try to go out of her comfort zone, although she seemed to know what the judges would say at midway point (when she could have done something about it.) Kit used Sarah to sketch out his idea. Orla was doing something interesting with the belts, perhaps the most interesting thing, but when she said it was held together by one thread, she was bringing up its weakness. Dan had been inspired to go K-pop (the music that I presume was being played all episode) and had enough time to make that obvious with a tag.
Like the judges, I really liked the top 5 or 6. The people who hadn’t used all five coloured belts were punished, and Novello’s outfit was very basic and thus deserved to be last. Gaynor didn’t gain much from trying not to play it safe. Dan was towards the top, but it was Kit who won again, having found a way to create volume and impact. He’s hoovering up the top places.
Made to measure was ‘an interpretation’ on a specific Korean outfit that had military origins, but has been changed into something that women also wear and reimagined by designers. This came through in the competitors’ designs, the same basic shape, with collars and pleats to contend with, but a variety of materials, colours and moods. Novello seemed to be going ambitious with a brocade material, and there would also be dragons to symbolise her Welsh heritage (I’d heard a bit of it in her accent when she first appeared, but discounted it). Dan, who also knew he needed to impress, was using a padded material, which was going to be very thick to sew, and although the colours meant one thing in Korean culture, it would look Christmassy. Caz was going to use neon lace, because she was going for military meets Elvis – by this point, my reaction to her inspirations is ‘You do you.’
Kit was self-drafting the only outfit for a man, Stuart was doing something inspired by a British raincoat, Jess was doing something voluminous, Orla was going in the opposite direction, Yasmin had detachable sleeves, and everyone looked stressed when Sarah shouted out the time.
I liked the impact of most of them, actually, but the judges honed in on the errors – Dan’s collar, Jess’s hole, Kit’s self-drafting not quite working. There was praise for a lot of the rest too, reiterated when the judges had a chat with Sarah, but it was fairly obvious that Caz’s bright outfit had come together and did work, giving her GotW. There was, as ever, an attempt to ratchet up the tension around Dan and how Korean collars were his nemesis, but he had done enough in the transformation challenge to stay in, while Novello had been consistently weak this week. She was ready for it.
At the moment, Kit and Caz are very strong, but it’s rarely the early favourites who win this.
