Sewing Bee is coming back!

[NutellaEllaElla]

Wednesday 27th April, 9pm, BBC 1.

I'll be away for weeks 2&3 which is unfortunate.

What a tough week! 3.5hrs to make knickers and a functional bra is seriously demanding. They all did so well to finish.

ManYee deserved gotw in my opinion , as her handling of the slippery fabric was excellent. And she did the most work to a high standard.

It was sad to see Gill go , but definitely the right decision at this stage. They really all are so talented so it must be hard to choose between them.

As a side note , I've made underwear - Some basic knickers in floaty jersey and a light support cropped top to wear at home. To make a supportive bra means stretching all of the elements in the right places and sewing different shapes together. It's really hard if you're new to it! The knickers are easier but still tricky as sewing with small pieces that curl and move around is something you could do without! They're really pushing them this year.

Gill was great and such a warm and funny person. I'll miss her in the sewing room. It wasn't going well for her from the start of the show and Cristian deserved to stay.

Annie's become such a contender for top spot and cheerfully gets on with things. I still really like Man-Yee as I think she has ambitious ideas and I'm really glad she won GOTW.

I think Brogan is an excellent sewist but seems to play it quite safe. She had a very distinctive personal style and she doesn't deviate much from it. I love Debra. I didn't love the collar on the PJs though and thought the fabric was a bit too thick and bouncy for it. Great pattern though.

I am really looking to 30s week. Looks like there will be awesome gowns in the made to measure.

I love the program but wish they would show how to do things. It’s just sew this Piece to that piece and voila a wedding dress! Why not explain how to pattern match, do a French Seam, read a pattern, make button holes etc?

Yes, I agree. When they showed Cristian's (I think it was his) 'hairy' seam, it might not have made sense why it was like that and what a French seam is supposed to do - ie catch all those raw edges neatly inside the seam.

A couple of people mentioned they were doing them during the banter bits with Sara P so they could have slipped in a v quick explanation there and just had a little bit less of the joking around. I think they used to do more explanatory bits and they’ve been quietly phased out tbh.

@Halsall I agree with you both. However gdsb was pulled after series 4 and took a few years to return. They may have been more successful since they added more silly content to the show and are afraid to make it too serious.

Brogan sort of explained what a French seam is but only in a very basic way.

I learnt what they were when I was about 9 or 10 and made a lampshade at Girls Brigade 😂😂

The standard is quite uniform, it's small mistakes going home not half finished stuff or really terrible designs.
I do like that there isn't a clear standout every week every round. They've all had some bad rounds.
And I loved the variety of designs in the PJs.

There is no clear winner this year. Or even clear finalists for that matter!

I like the fact that there's not a clear 'winner' (well a lot of us thought it would be Marni but she had a bad week and that was that). It makes it more exciting for this season. So they've all had very 'off weeks' now (possibly with the exception of Brogan?). I can imagine it's probably a bit like with cooking (or any other 'test' type challenge) that if you're generally feeling a bit off for whatever reason, you could easily underperform?

I agree that Brogan has much more of a clearly defined style which makes her more limited in some ways?

That's what my husband said - and he's never worn it as far as I know!

I don't know anyone who wears beach Co-Ords so, to me, what Brogan made looked exactly like pyjamas.

Gosh that episode was peak Brogan. My husband imagines her with bluebirds flying round her head a la Disney Cinderella.

So sad to see Gill go and that speech was lovely and made a grown woman cry here. It was the right decision though.

Well. So he says

I'm going to stick my neck out and say Annie will win. She's showing lots of imagination and pushing herself to try different things.

😄

I’m still not warning to Brogan. There is no doubt the lass is talented with a needle and pirn, but I’m not loving her garments at all. And yes. Peak.

Those wee bras might have done for my chin. Any further south and I’d be needing scaffolding.

Annie and ManYee are still shining for me. Shame to see Gill go. And aye, I’m still sad Marni went.

Was it Annie who had a bad week an episode or so ago though?

I guess though that much as I'm rooting for Cristian, he's not won a challenge yet, has he? So his chances of going all the way to the final are probably slipping unless he aces 30s Week?

Annie and Cristian are my current faves. I started off with Man Yee but I've not been amazed recently.

Brogan just seems to do everything in her own style that she'd like to wear and doesn't seem to be able to deviate. It's just not interesting to watch, no matter how good at sewing she is.

I agree with pp about Brogan - I think she tends to stick to a style, so it'll be interesting when she tackles the 30s look, which is in contrast to the Little House on the Prairie style she favours. I didn't like her transformation challenge - she's very talented though. I agree as well about Man Yee and Annie - if they're a bit more consistent, they could be finalists. I miss Marni and I'll miss Gill.

She has a child's voice - it drives me crackers!

The description of her with Disney bluebirds is spot on - she sounds like she lives in a fairy tale.

The accent? East Midlands, I thought.

Brogan's surely got a Scottish accent? It is very light and probably perfect for the classroom (assuming she's a primary school teacher).

I thought she was secondary!

She's a secondary languages teacher

Well I got that very wrong!

She's originally from Edinburgh, but teaches French and Spanish in Swadlincote, South Derbyshire.