Sewing Bee

[white_hart]

It is too hot to sew, so I spent several hours this afternoon on the sofa reading Victoria Goddard's The Hands of the Emperor and then thought that if I couldn't sew, maybe I'd watch some old episodes of The Great British Sewing Bee on iPlayer.

I went back to the first series, which I watched some of at the time but gave up on because I was a very new and unconfident sewer and watching people struggling to sew under time pressure just made sewing seem even more stressful. Rewatching from the point of view of a much more confident sewer, I thought that the first series, at least, didn't really seem to get the balance right, and spent much more time showing the contestants looking like they were on the verge of breaking down than looking competent and like they actually enjoyed sewing.

Also, I'd forgotten that Tilly from Tilly and the Buttons was on the first series. Her complete inability to deal with fitting her model's not actually very large bust explains quite a lot about her patterns. Also, how does someone who considers themself to be good enough to apply to go on a sewing-themed TV show have no idea how to add a patch pocket to a garment???

Comments

[nostalgia]

I remember that me and my friend I watched it with couldn't stand Tilly D:

[white_hart]

She is so very, very twee.

[sfred]

I have been rewatching old Sewing Bee too, and only realised yesterday that Tilly was that Tilly.

[white_hart]

I think that part of the reason I tried watching it when it was first on was that she was a Big Name in the sewing blogger community, but I had forgotten over the intervening years!

[angelofthenorth]

What sewing channels on YouTube do you recommend? I've never seen sewing bee, but I do like Evelyn Wood

[girlyswot]

I watch The Sewing Bunny, Stitched Up, and Sewn on the Tyne.

[white_hart]

I don't watch YouTube at all, I'm afraid, so can't really recommend anything!

[fencesitting]

I watch Bernadette Banner, Morgan Donner, and Abby Cox. They are are all in some way concerned with historical garment making/sewing although do both hand and machine. The latter two have fewer recent videos on sewing, so go further back.

[nineveh_uk]

It was very, very hot. I hand-sewed a seam that needed repairing, and I think that was about it in terms of achievements for the day.

[white_hart]

Frankly that sounds pretty impressive!

[antisoppist]

I knew Tilly was on the first series but couldn't remember anything about her on it. From your account, this is possibly for the best. I do thank her website for being soothing about embarking on stretch fabrics and I have made her long-sleeved stretch top twice now. But everything else would be shapeless on me so I am grateful for the top and have moved back to less stretch and more darts.

[white_hart]

The long-sleeved stretch top is probably the only thing of hers I would consider making, but there are lots of patterns for long-sleeved stretch tops anyway. I find most of her stuff annoyingly twee.

[girlyswot]

This is why I have never bought or recommended her patterns. She was laughably bad for someone who thought she could be a pattern maker. I do, however, shop at Lauren’s shop from time to time and I’m glad she seems to have made a success of that. The whole show improved massively imo when Esme replaced May.

[white_hart]

I definitely prefer Esme to May. I don't think I've ever ordered anything from Lauren's shop but it is one I check when looking for higher-end stuff rather than going to the discount places.