Great British Sewing Bee 2020 part 2

[GrandAltogetherSo]

Hope I haven’t jumped the gun, but the old thread was getting quite full.

I’ve just been browsing the
www.bigcommunitysew.co.uk/
and trying to work out what sewing machines they were using at home. I always do that when a magazine has a feature about one if the contestants.
I think Therese has the same Juki machine as I have and she’s also got the mini quilter too. Lucky lass.

Also, do you think that maybe either Therese or that slightly annoying bloke Peter might have won this year as they also have Juliet, the winner from the last series in this group?

I think Matt was quite sensible to step away for a few minutes. Let it out, take a few deep breaths of fresh air, come back composed enough to think clearly. It's what I do when I'm having a mare with something.

I liked that you could hear Patrick giving him a pep talk.

Patrick seems to me to be the very model of a metrosexual man. Love him.

@TheRattleBag

Two complaints from me....

1. Madonna's conical bra was 1990 not 1980s.
2. No Adam Ant on the soundtrack!

Hear, hear. All the way through I was waiting for "Prince Charming, Prince Charming, Ridicule is nothing to be scared of"

Matt should have gone. He messed up his made to measure spectacularly and showed again that he is terrible at fitting and possibly doesn't really understand what shape women are.

Liz's dress was great. She was right to take all that time in measuring and adjusting, as it fit her model extremely well. If Liz can be more consistent in the final episodes, she will be a contender. When she's good, she's very very good, but when she isn't she can be a disaster.

The design of Clare's dress was very '80s. I remember loads of dropped waists and Princess Di herself was quite fond of them. I agree about the fabric not being right though. The fabric for the ruffle and sleeves needed to be something with more body to it, or the main material needed to be softer. I remember black velvet with bright or jewel-coloured satin accents being a big thing in the '80s so black would have worked better. Even little girls' party dresses quite often had a black velvet bodice and a big skirt in colourful satin.

Thing is, he managed to save his made to measure in the end which is a skill in itself. I imagine it was a close run thing at the bottom this week!

Loved Patrick's calming pep talk - we all need a Patrick in our lives atm!

There was one, can't remember which, that had an asymmetric hem that wasn't asymmetric enough. It looked as if they couldn't decide.

I was impressed that Matt did manage to get himself together and present a dress. Which was very eighties even if it wasn't finished.

I agree with others re Therese, she was very, very good at the things she practised, but struggled with timing on all of the pattern challenges and apart from her bunch of grapes, didn't have the flair for the transformation round.

Have been wondering if they have been editing Claire so that she doesn't look like a stand out winner, but I was disappointed with both her and Liz's made to measure dresses last night. They lacked the wow-factor.

Mark is competent, but rarely makes anything that suits his models. I wonder if they will be allowed friends and family as models in the final ?

I'm glad they picked up on the too short lining of Clare's as that leapt out at me when the dress was shown.

(None of what I say is really a criticism - I would be crap on Sewing Bee!)

Despite the fact Therese probably should've gone, I thought her last round cocktail dress was absolutely stunning. I loved it.

I would really love a hug from Patrick. I bet he gives good hugs.

Didn't like the PVC jacket effort Nicole made. Nobody I knew at that time would have worn PVC.

I’ve just caught up. Loved the soundtrack this week. Whoever put it together had so much fun with that.

I do think Clare will win.

Oh and Smileys were definitely 80s. Late 80s - early 90s

Just caught up with last night's episode. Loved the cocktail dresses and THAT fabric that Mark used: I need this in my life, where can I get it? Loved Therese's dress but think she was the right choice to go based on her previous rounds.

I think Claire and Nicole are the best dressmakers but both suffer from limiting themselves by having a "style" so Claire is immaculate sewing but sometimes playing it safe and liking retro where as Nicole is the shiny silly fabric you wouldn't be seen dard in queen. Punky woman also limits herself. I want a dressmaker whose dressmaking can suit the occasion and not be seen as a personality statement. I think the programme encourages this nonsense though.
Bows are crap. Esme is very wrong about bows.

Seen dead in

Some of them are very 'labile' in their abilities - Matt from top-rated 80s jacket to almost fiasco with his gold dress? And others have been equally inconsistent too?

I remember black velvet with bright or jewel-coloured satin accents being a big thing in the '80s so black would have worked better.

My mother has a dress just like this - she was told in the late 80s that everyone had seen her ball dress too many times, and she would have to buy herself another one. So she made a dress with a black velvet bodice and emerald (with a black pattern) silk for the puff sleeves and skirt. It was her go to ball dress for the next decade, so the person who told her she needed a new one didn't really get what they wanted!

Just found this thread.

It is getting close now. I think Therese was the right choice to leave yesterday. While she is undoubtedly very good but doesn't have the other's creativity and something seems to put her off, probably the time constraint. When it was children's week, she said how frequently she made smock dresses and then didn't do such a good job which was surprising when we knew that she could make them.

Matt surprised me last night, he did very well considering the problems he had with the dress.

I'm not sure Liz is as good as the others tbh. I don't care for her fabric choices and her garments aren't very exciting.

Claire is a very good sewer, methodical and organised but lacks flair. For me the clear winner should be Nicole. She doesn't shy away from the more difficult fabrics and patterns and when it works, her garments are incredible. I don't think they particularly favour steering away from the safe and reliable side and for that reason, I think the winner will be Claire. I'd really like Nicole to win though. Her clothes are memorable whereas the others just fade into one another.

I agree... out of the ones left, I prefer Nicole to Claire because although Claire is brilliant, she just is a bit more predictable perhaps, not sure why!

Liz, Clare and Nicole are all very good. I suppose I am biased towards Clare because hers are the clothes I would want to wear. I just love her style.

Claire is a very good sewer, methodical and organised but lacks flair. For me the clear winner should be Nicole

On so many occasions the "clear winner with flair" stuffs it up in the final and one of the steadier sewers pulls it out of the bag. I do think it is between Clare and Nicole though.

I think they were very kind to Matt with the editing tbh. I've noticed a lot this series that they've been a lot more critical of the better sewers and skipped over some absolute shockers with the weaker sewers.

For a made to measure challenge there should definitely be more focus on fit!

Matt wasn't 'pathetic'. He was upset and didn't want to cry on camera. Patrick was so sweet going after him.

Mixed episode for me. I don't think any of them really 'got' the hi-vis round or what sort of 80s aesthetic the judges wanted for that one.
But I liked the power jacket round – Matt's was fantastic –and the last round. Therese had to go; she's been on thin ice for ages. Matt needs to sort out his measuring/cutting though. Is it his maths that lets him down? He always seems to make the exact same mistake.

I think it's between Claire and Nicole as well, and have thought so for some time. I really like Liz as well though.