Sewing Bee episode 7 wardrobe ideas
Are you watching the new series of The Great British Sewing Bee? We were thrilled that the TV show has returned with ten new contestants battling it out to be named the best sewer in Britain. This year the show has a new judge, Joe Lycett, who joins Patrick Grant and Esme Young. If you haven’t seen all the latest news about the show, take a look at the BBC’s dedicated site about all things Bee! You will find contestant profiles, interviews with the judges and episode guides. Also take a look through our blog for other sewing bee posts.
We will be continuing our blog series about the sewing bee today and each week we will be sharing our pattern picks here and also listing them in our shop for easy browsing. All the patterns have been selected for their similar design features and styles to help you recreate these looks at home for your own handmade wardrobes.
Week seven: World Sewing
Challenge 1
In the seventh episode of the show, contestants had three challenging tasks starting with sewing a pair of Indian dhoti pants.
Challenge 2
The second challenge was reusing West African men’s tunics. A range of styles were used by contestants so we have shared our favourite patterns inspired by the show for you to peruse below.
Butterick 5725
These are very loose-fitting, pullover tunics or caftans with dropped shoulders. If you were inspired by the garments used to create the refashioned outfits this could be the pattern for you!
New Look 6145
This knee length shift dress has a wide round neckline and can be made with or without a bias-cut stand collar. It also has sleeveless or 3/4, short or pleated sleeve options. Recreate Riccardo’s high wide collar refashioned look with this pattern as your base.
Vogue® Patterns 1544
We also love this fitted, lined dress with back invisible zipper and collar that extends into back tie. You could also hack this dress to recreate Riccardo’s refashioned look.
Vogue® Pattern 9008
These shorts have a contour waistband, mock fly zipper and pocket variations. Version A, B and C are semi-fitted through the hips with a button waistband and narrow hem. Versions D, E and F are very loose-fitting through the hips, have front pleats, a back yoke and stitched hems.
Challenge 3
The final challenge involved creating a origami top using Japanese pattern drafting skills. There was a range of styles featured in the final challenge this week and we thought we would share some of our favourite patterns that could be hacked to create the looks in the show.
Vogue® Patterns 9317
If you were intrigued by Jen’s origami top then we would recommend you try this pattern. It is a loose-fitting top with tucks, length and sleeve variations, and a shaped hemline. You can definitely achieve an easier version of an origami top with this pattern!
McCalls 7838
To recreate Juliet’s origami top, you could try this loose-fitting button front top with back yoke and length and sleeve variations. These statement sleeves are a real show stopper!
McCalls 7837
This loose-fitting top with dropped shoulder has neck, length, hem and sleeve variations and a back hook and eye closure. Version A has a side detail with two-part grommets and ribbon, as show below whereas Version D has the sleeve with pleat detail.
Vogue® Patterns 9285
We also wanted to share this loose fitting top with back hook and eye closure and sleeve variations. This version has lovely large sleeves, which gather into a deep cuff. The top also features dramatic pleats, which gather into a raised close fitting collar.
Don’t forget to share your latest makes with us on social media using the hashtags #simplicitybyme or #mccallsbyme. We can’t wait to see what you’ve been making. There are prizes to be won each month too!