It was lingerie week on the Great British Sewing Bee last week. I particularly enjoyed this week – it’s quite challenging sewing, and I think it really shows off the sewists’ ability to be precise and fit their pieces to real life models. It’s a fun episode too, with creative underwear designs and luxurious fabrics to play with.
For lingerie week we saw the contestants tackle a pyjama pattern challenge, a shapewear transformation, and a bustier made to measure! If you fancy sewing along with this week, why not have a look at William Gee’s lingerie haberdashery?
Haven’t seen it yet? You can catch up on BBC iPlayer whenever it suits you, and tune in for Episode 8 at 9pm on Wednesday 10th July on BBC 1.
Episode 7 recap
This post is a recap of the seventh 2024 episode – there are spoilers underneath, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know what happened last week!
The pattern challenge
Now we’re in the seventh week, the tasks are more challenging, and the judges are looking for particularly well finished makes. This came in the form of a pyjama shirt with piping details. Piping is the contrast edging you might have seen on smart pyjama sets.
Piping can make the pyjamas look luxurious and elegant, but it also runs the risk of looking messy if not attached neatly – especially as it’s a finishing detail. It’s the classic test that the Bee’s judges like to throw into a pattern challenge!
The transformation challenge
This week’s transformation was a combination of shapewear and lace, with the traditionally challenging timeframe of 90 minutes. Creativity was abound in this episode, with an array of lacey contraptions brought forward for the judges to rank.
The made to measure
I’m not sure if there’s a better test of sewing a made to measure than fitting a bustier to a real life model. In case you’re not familiar, bustiers are a close fitting form of underwear, tailored to fit around the bust and often featuring boning as support for the 3D structure.
I’ve seen a number of sewing patterns with bustiers recently. The Rose Cafe Bustier Dress by Daria Patternmaking is popular, and has been on my list for a while.
Do you fancy making your own? William Gee stocks plenty of haberdashery for making a bustier (and your own lingerie).
Pascha won garment of the week for her bustier dress – she’d really thought about the fabrics and the fit was exceptional. We said a tearful goodbye to Marcus though, who Patrick said had been a delight to have on the show. He was a delight to watch in the sewing room too, and he’ll be missed.
I was blown away by the sewists creations. It was a wonderful showcase of their technical skills and creativity.
What’s happening next week?
Tune in on Wednesday 10th July for Diva Week, where the remaining sewers celebrate the diva. They’ll sew up a fringed dress, tackle an animal print transformation and create a stage outfit for their favourite performer.
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.
We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve partnered with Tree Nation, the platform to reforest the world & fight climate change! Home to over 90 planting projects in 33 countries, Tree Nation is a non-profit organisation that helps people & companies offset their CO2 emissions.