Great British Sewing Bee is back on 15th July

[BlackAmericanoNoSugar]

I'm looking forward to it.

Are you thinking of Vivienne Westwood?

I probably am.

I didn’t say it was unfair to put her on the show, I said it was 'really a bit unfair on her' - because she’s the kind of quiet, unassuming, very old-school sewist, a bit like Ann who won the very first series, who has excellent skills but doesn’t perform for the cameras. It’s not that kind of show any more.

There is a huge gulf between Gaynor's dress and whacky. Just some simple tone on tone applique or fabric flowers or leaves at the waist would have elevated it from simply nicely made to great.

I do this sort of thing all the time. Amazed recently to discover that Eva Marie Saint (On the Waterfront, North by Northwest) is still alive at 101. That's by the by.

I was so sorry to see Dan leave. He attempted far too much but he was trying to make a proper dressing up outfit, and not all the others were. He got garment of the week last week! The standard is really high this year, though, so it was probably only a matter of time.

I can't see Gaynor lasting much longer. What she made last night was so lacking in ambition I even wondered if she'd done it on purpose to get kicked out. It must be very tiring and she's not in her first youth. It was beautiful but (a) not dressing up really and (b) not demonstrating creativity as well as skill.

Shirring. It's very narrow thread like elastic sewn with a sewing machine. You wind it on the bobbin reel.

But Kit is also really good at sewing. He deserves to be in the final with Caz.

Kit has only been sewing for a year, which is amazing!
I thought Caz should have gone home tbh...she was bottom in the 1st 2 challenges and her made to measure wasn't great finish wise.
I felt for gaynor...she's very good at sewing, but doesn't have the creative flare of the some of the others ...although I did think she could have used the time at the end to add wings or something.
I was shocked Caz didn't just turn her kids jacket into a waistcoat? 🤷‍♀️
I liked Dan, but he really tried to do too much.
I rarely agree with the GoftW and this week was no different.
I thought Stuart had a shocker, too.

At least Gaynor's WAS lovely this week, unlike last week's.

I love Caz. Can't warm to Kit but he is no doubt a fabulous sewer. Don't know what went wrong for him this week, he should have been in last place with that dishrag outfit.

I only just caught up today. Someone just mentioned Stuart's shocker and I can't even remember what he made. It must have been underwhelming. I loved GOTW though.

The Polar outfit with the weirdly-thumbed mittens

Stuart - Polar explorer
Kit - Elton John
Dan - ringmaster
Orla - beekeeper (lovely outfit, I thought)
Gaynor - snowdrop
Caz - Zandra Rhodes
Yasmin - politician

The one and only fancy dress outfit I ever remember from my own childhood is one my mother made for me (major achievement, she's not gifted in the sewing department either) by taking a red magic marker and turning a bolster into a pretty good attempt at a tube of Colgate's toothpaste. I think I had a little hat covered in red crepe paper for the top. I won!

Oh yes I remember now. Thanks.

The politician's outfit was very uninspired even if that's what Yasmin really wanted to be at the time. What child would want to dress up like that? I would have made something up.

I said to my DS that I'd have thought of a good outfit (deep sea diver, fireman, ice skater...) then pretended that's what I'd wanted to be. I can't remember as a child wanting to be anything. Later on, I fancied Landscape Architect or Air Traffic Controller (without really knowing what either of them were). How could you make a fancy dress costume for either of them? And I think the world should think me for not becoming an Air Traffic Controller - I'm so indecisive I'd have been terrible!

I said to my DS that I'd have thought of a good outfit (deep sea diver, fireman, ice skater...) then pretended that's what I'd wanted to be.

Surely this is what everyone does?

Loved the bee keeper costume.

Well, in that case I definitely wouldn't have pretended I'd wanted to be a politician.

Stuart's mtm was dire. And then beyond dire. Dan's outfit was much better.

Kit's transformation was a waste of time and electricity. Should have been last.

What child knows Rhodes, or John? They know ballet and most definitely bees.

The brief wasn't to make an outfit children would choose. It was supposed to be personal to the sewer not the general child population. That's why the judges responded so positively to Yasmin's politician outfit. She completely fulfilled the brief in my eyes.

I thought Yasmins was interesting and a truly personal reflection of her interests as a young person.
It was also well made, but it didnt look much "fun" to wear

The outfits were for children much younger though. As a teenager I would love to wear Jasmine's outfit. And would certainly have got other more out there references, such as Dan's outfit.

I agree that Yasmin's wasn't obviously 'fun' for the age of the model. But it made me smile seeing a mini politician It reminded me of a current advert for a bank (can't remember which) where there are young children dressed as adults having adult conversations about finances, like splitting the bill in a restaurant.

Yes, I thought a collar or a short cape of leaves would have livened it up a bit and added some difficulty.

I think Gaynor probably should have headed down the flower fairy route. I'd imagine she'd do.a very good job of making wings

Pretty sure at one point I wanted to be a fairy or at least a ballet dancers so she could have made it fit the brief.

Find I'm still sticking up for Gaynor - she was middle of the pack on both the earlier tasks and her mtm was beautifully executed and on time, so it would have been unjust to have sent her home. And her mtm was matched to the photo of Gaynor as a small child dressed as a snowdrop. She could have done a very simple "angel wings" cape type thing with elasticated wrists as snowdrop leaves though.

Shame Dan went as a big personality to the programme. But they do get to practice their mtm's, so I don't know how he got the timings so wrong.

Caz had a horror of a first day there, but her mtm was striking. I was reminded when watching that one of my classmates went straight from school (1977) to working for Zandra Rhodes; I met her in North End Road W14 around the corner from my (photo studio) office and her Zandra Rhodes office. Just looked her up on Instagram ... photo of her from last year with Zandra Rhodes!