It was Sports Week on the Great British Sewing Bee last week, which saw the sewists making garments over three challenges inspired by sports. They tackled stretch fabrics and an ‘avant garde’ transformation.
You can catch up on BBC iPlayer whenever it suits you, and tune in for Episode 3 on BBC 1 at 9pm on Tuesday 4th June.
Episode 2 recap
This post is a recap of the second 2024 episode – there are spoilers underneath, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know what happened on Tuesday night!
The pattern challenge
This week’s pattern was a half-zip fleece with a collar and zipped front pocket. It was designed to be a colour block pattern too – not only a classic sportswear look, but also an opportunity to demonstrate their creativity.
The pattern challenge in Episode 1 left lots of sewists struggling to finish their makes, but this time we saw lots of beautiful, finished fleeces! Sewing with stretch fabrics can be tricky, but with a little practice (and the right tools!) you can open up a world of active wear.
The sewing bee contestants used a coverstitch machine for a professional finish, but you can also do this on an overlocker/serger, or even a robust zigzag stitch.
The transformation challenge
The Bee is always coming up with new things to transform into garments for this challenge, and this week it was right on theme: the judges asked the sewists to make a two-piece outfit from traditional cricket whites! I’m not sure where I’d start with this one, but I imagine you could create some interesting structures with the different textures.
The made to measure
This challenge is always designed to highlight who is able to adapt their chosen pattern to a real life model. It’s not only a sewing challenge, but a fit and tailoring challenge too. All bodies are different, and patterns often need to be adjusted or graded between sizes to achieve a good fit.
This is particularly important in garments with negative ease – where the clothes are smaller than your measurements, so they stretch and have snug fit – often used for sportswear!
Given the Olympics are coming up, the sewists’ challenge was to make a stage-worthy outfit, representing a country.
Comfort made her little brother a Ugandan rugby outfit, which she was so proud of. It was her time to leave the Bee though, as the finishing of her collar wasn’t particularly neat. She said it had been a joyful time, and we loved watching her create her makes.
Georgie won garment of the week – both the fit and and finish of her stretchy sportswear was fantastic!
What’s happening next week?
Tune in on Tuesday 4th June to watch Holiday Week! The episode will feature a transformation using embroidered tablecloths (I’m sure Georgie will love this one!) and a nautical-themed knapsack.
Ready to start your sewing journey?
The Sewing Bee has made sewing accessible, and inspired the nation to start creating their own wardrobe. Seeing the contestants experimenting with different fabrics and styles is a lovely way to think about how you might tackle your own projects.
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