This week on the Great British Sewing Bee celebrated India – long known for its beautiful printed cottons and stunning saris. The contestants were asked to make a traditional Nehru Jacket, transform a garment from madras check cotton and calico into a new outfit, and to create a made to measure dress inspired by the sari.
There was a special judge this week – Priya Khanchandani. Priya is a curator at the London Design Museum, and a writer specialising in South Asian culture. Her most recent exhibition at the museum celebrated the contemporary sari. You can read the book ‘The Offbeat Sari: Indian Fashion Unravelled’, which was published for the exhibition.
Haven’t seen it yet? You can catch up on BBC iPlayer whenever it suits you, and tune in for Episode 6 at 9pm on Tuesday 25th June on BBC 1.
Episode 5 recap
This post is a recap of the fifth 2024 episode – there are spoilers underneath, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know what happened last Tuesday night!
The pattern challenge
This week’s pattern was a ‘Nehru jacket’ – a traditional Indian garment named after Jawaharal Nehru – the first prime minister of India after independence. The jacket, like its namesake, celebrates the minimalism of simple design and the rejection of opulence. It’s tailored, with welt pockets, and has five buttons down the front.
Have you sewn welt pockets before? They can definitely be tricky to get neat. I think my biggest tip would be to follow the pattern markings as exactly as possible. Your snips have to be precise for the pocket to turn well – too small a snip and the fabric will bunch, too large and you’ll have a hole by the pocket.
Alex won the challenge – her jacket was beautifully finished, and looked timelessly classic in the navy linen. She said she’d wear the jacket herself, and I think I would too!
The transformation challenge
This week the contestants were upcycling Madras cotton shirts and up to 1.5m of calico cotton fabric into a new summer outfit. Madras Cotton is a lightweight handwoven cotton fabric with a plaid or checked pattern that often features muted tones. It’s a perfect cotton fabric for making shirts, or lightweight summer skirts and dresses. Calico is one of the oldest fabrics of India and is a medium weight basic cotton that’s often used for making toiles.
The made to measure
This week’s made to measure challenge was an evening dress inspired by the design elements of the sari.
Saris are a traditional garment made of one piece of cloth, worn by women in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. The most common style today is the Nivi drape, featuring a pleated skirt and part of the fabric wrapped behind and draped over one shoulder.
Inspired by by the draping of saris and over-the-shoulder traditional Scottish kilt, Ailsa’s garment is a beautiful fusion of cultures.
We said goodbye to Lauren this week – Patrick Grant said that while her ambition was fantastic, the execution let her down.
What’s happening next week?
Tune in tonight (Tuesday 25th June) to see the sewists tackle kids week, with a sequin pattern challenge and a zoology themed transformation!
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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