Anyone else going to join me on the Sewing Bee watch?

[flubba]

A bit excited about it

:o

I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would , it doesn't have the bounce of the bake off but I think that is inevitable because anyone can bake a cake if you have an oven, the ingredients and a recipe book. Sewing is a bit more serious I think and demands more sewing specific skills

It brought back lots of memories for me as one of my grandmothers was a fantastic dressmaker and I had wardrobes full of dresses as a child and barely wore bought clothes until about age 9 except the obligatory kilt sent fromAberdeen with an Arran jumper knitted by the other grandmother ( demon knitter).

I like Ann( she is on ravelry by the way as Is Lauren) but I also liked the lady from Birmingham because she was a real home sewer , altering her daughters' clothes and making things for them and the pic of her daughters reminded me of me and my cousins in matching dresses

Odd the way one person suddenly left half way through, seemed to get them out of a hole though .

I think she was ill. She's going to come back later if she's ok.

I missed the beginning. Can I ask a question about the format pls. Is it elimination or is it like 'killer' where they keep bringing new people in and it's a sort of winner stays on thing?

I think two are meant to go each week but because one was ill only one went this week , not sure if that means three will go next week . Similar format to the bake off.

It's elimination, like the Bake-Off (although this is only over 4 weeks).

Thanks. I couldn't get my head round it.

I didn't watch Bake Off.

Good Lord you didn't watch the bake off , get thee to iplayer or wherever , it's unmissable telly here !Ds1 even says loads of people watch it at Uni

Loved the Bake Off even though I'm a rubbish cook! However, I cook better than I sew

Having said that, I enjoyed the Sewing Bee very much. I like Ann and the young Scottish girl. I'd like to see Mark do well too.

I also very much liked Judge Patrick

I'm not that keen on baking. Double .

I only caught the second half of it , and loved it. Planning to watch the whole show tonight on i player.

The sewing room looks fantastic, imagine having all that room, access to all that beautiful material, massive choice of buttons, good lighting, everything you could possible need on hand; it's just wonderful an Aladdins cave of delights for a sewer.
I used to do a little sewing and hated having to keep tidying everything up so I could use the dining table for it's proper purpose! It's giving me inspiration to drag my old sewing machine out.

I was really sorry to see Michelle leave, I know the dress didn't quite turn out as planned and silk can be a bit of a difficult fabric to sew. But she was lovely, I'd definitely rather someone else had to go.

Ann is what everyones granny should be like: elegant, knowledgeable, calm, talented, graceful, resourceful.... anyone know if she is up for adoption???????

Just been on amazon and seen the book which goes with the series "The Great British sewing bee". Any tried the book yet? I was thinking of getting a copy but was wondering if it is it worth investing in.

The gadget used to make the pull cords for the laundry bag really got me excited. I hope the programme inspires me to have another go at making clothes. My first attempt, a summer top for my niece came out quite well if I say so myself. Unfortunately by the time I had finished it she had grown and it didn't fit her!

purples - I thought Ann was lovely too. A real lady with nimble fingers.

Effie

Do you cut a great long strip of material, sew another piece on for length then feed it through the machine?

Yep. Or feed through machine and then sew, the seam might be too bulky to go through. You'd have to try it, depends on your fabric.

Do you cut it on the bias and how do you know which is the bias?

Not a thick question at all! "Bias" means diagonally across the grain of the fabric. So look at how the threads that make up the fabric run horizontally and vertically, and cut your strips diagonally.

Does anyone else think this thread is going to be more useful to beginners than the program itself.

Hi Purples - I'm going to wait and see if I can flick through it in a bookshop. It will depend on how many projects it has that are what I want to make - sometimes this type of book hits the sweet spot with lots of things you want to actually make, other times it's just a read once and discard.

I thought Camp Man (Stuart?) was going out. Rather surprised at Michelle.

really like claudia - perfectly happy with her on the show - like her on radio 2 at the mo too.

much better than paul hollywood boringggg

I loved this programme. Really made me want to make something. I can crochet and I'm making cushions and blankets at the moment but I'd lime to sew something. Years ago I had a sewing machine and made very dodgy dresses but I haven't done any sewing for years.

I've been wanting a new sewing machine for some time and now I really, really want one.....

I also would like to look like Anne when I grow up and I want to find the tall, bearded man in my Christmas stocking

Crochet and sewing... I plan on making this for DD.

Good idea ChocolateCremeEggBag I think I might be visiting a book shop soon, just so I can have a little peek at the book.

Reading one review on amazon someone said that the dress challenge "summer dress" made by Stuart is included. I'm wondering what other patterns from future episodes will be in the book....
There seems to be over 25 projectsin the book, including a tea dress, summer dress, prom dress, waistcoat, a couple of jackets, a couple of blouses including Button-back Blouse, tunic, circular skirt, pencil skirt, pyjama bottoms etc...as well as homeware patterns. And also a section on basic sewing skills.
BUT bear in mind that the patterns are only for size 8 to 16!!!
ALSO another downside seems to be that several of the patterns must be scanned in and enlarged, or downloaded and printed. That sounds quite a fiddly job in itself to do even before you get to the fabric!

SoupDragon that is a seriously lovely pattern,, makes me want to take up crochet.

SoupDragon, I had one of these.
I made it out of cheesecloth, crochet and some beads.

I'd forgotten all about it, until now.
I must have been 18.

I'm wondering if I can wing it and make an A-Line skirt without a pattern or am I talking crazy? I'd been planning on doing one with some lovely fabric I have but didn't know where to begin and now feel like I could give it a go. The darts insertion bit and making the zip invisible were quite useful to see.

You need one of those invisible zipper feet to put in an invisible zipper.
I bought one after ripping the life out of a simple skirt.
Haven't used it yet!

I thought the camp guy was history too, surprised they kept him in. I liked Michelle's neckline change, where she put the beaded lace panel in. Not something I'd wear, but I thought it was a good idea, just badly executed. (Far beyond my own skills though, I have to admit.)

I'm not a fan of Claudia, I don't detest her or anything, I just wonder why she tries to hide her eyes under her fringe all the time.

I loved the cream and navy spotty dress the other guy made, I would definitely make something like that. (I rarely wear dresses but I'd like to think I would wear that if I made it.)