Kids week is a regular feature on the Great British Sewing Bee, and this year the sewists were tasked with making a children’s sequinned bomber jacket, turning old towels into fancy dress, and creating an outfit inspired by a childhood photo.
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 2nd July on BBC 1.
Episode 6 recap
This post is a recap of the sixth 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
The first challenge this week was sparkly! The contestants were asked to sew up a children’s bomber jacket, but in a fun sequinned fabric. Have you ever sewn with sequins before? As you can imagine, all of the little shiny discs stitched onto the fabric can make sewing tricky.
The sewists also needed to attach a ribbed cuff to the neck, sleeves and hem of the jacket. It was a lot to do in a short amount of time, but I loved seeing what ribbing and fabric combinations everyone chose.
The transformation challenge
Kid’s week always has a fun costume involved, and this year it formed part of the transformation challenge. The sewists had to transform old beach towels into animal-themed fancy dress – the more creative, the better! I was very impressed with the standard of costumes that the sewists were able to create in the time. I know I would have loved Ailsa’s Dalmatian costume as a child! Pascha’s crocodile stole the show, though.
The made to measure
Last week’s tailored pattern challenge had the sewists draw inspiration from a childhood photo to create a brand new outfit – which they then had to fit to a child on the day. Patrick and Esme were juding the makes on their fit, their creativity, and how well the final creations embodied the spirit of the inspiration photograph.
Did you have a favourite? I absolutely loved Luke’s space inspired jumpsuit, and that he sewed all of those embroidered badges onto the suit. He utterly captured his childhood fascination with space travel, and finished the details so neatly.
We said goodbye to Georgie this week, though it was a close run thing between her and Suzy. I was sad to see Georgie go – I think she’s an excellent sewist, but Patrick said her made to measure this week just wasn’t quite good enough.
What’s happening next week?
Tune in tomorrow (Tuesday 2nd July) for lingerie week, with a pyjama pattern challenge, a shapewear transformation, and a made to measure featuring a fitted bustier! This is always quite a technical sewing week, and definitely one of my favourites.
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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