Monday 4 July 2016

The Great British Sewing Bee - Week 7



Week 7 and the semi final was all about puzzles. Basically the sewers had to show their understanding of patterns and how they come together. Quite a hard one I think and the most challenging so far. On the other hand out of all the series I think this is the episode which has let the contestants free with their creativity (as free as they can be).

Just a reminder that these images came courtesy of the BBC


First up was the pattern challenge and the sewers were given a Japanese style skirt to stitch. The skirt was done in two pieces which were cut in a wave pattern which were then carefully fit together. One misstep could lead to an uneven stitch and a skirt that didn't flare in the right places. The winner was Charlotte with this lovely blue piece. I preferred Jade's choice in a grey wool material but this was by far the best finish.


For the reconstruction challenge the sewers were given a duvet cover which they had to reconstruct into a garment without wasting any of the fabric. They were given little mini manikins to practise on with the pillow covers. I loved this idea which is used a lot by designers (learn something new every day).


Charlotte won again with this dress she created. Patrick raved about it stating that it was his favourite garment to date and it even won garment of the week. I think best garment ever is pushing the boat a little but it was the best of the four. I quite liked her choice in duvet cover too.


For the final piece the sewers had to construct a dress. They were given a block pattern and from that they had to go away and design their own. I liked this idea and the three dresses were very different. Each of them took their own take on it. My favourite was Jade's skater dress. I love a skater dress and the fabric choice was lovely. It was even considered for garment of the week which guaranteed Jade's moving on to the final.


At the end it was a toss up between Tracey and Joyce as to who would be leaving. I don't think there was much between them really. Although I think in the end that Joyce is the better of the two sewers which is largely due to her experience. Tracey on the other hand is more able to let go and try new things. Tracey is the bubbly one of the group and I think she will be missed but at least she made it almost all of the way through.

Tonight you lucky lot will get to watch the final while I will have to wait and hope that I don't come across any spoilers. At this point my money is on Charlotte. While I would like Jade to win I think that her experience will let her down at this point. You never know though. It would be a shame to dismiss Joyce entirely but while she is brilliant at sewing I think she steers towards a more dated style which shows in her fittings as well as her fabric choices.

I was going to add some links at the end here but I have night shift to prepare for. Something for you to look forward to when I blog about the final.

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