Great British Sewing Bee :: Series 2, week 2 Roundup: Sewing with Patterns

Wow, a week gone already, time flies when it’s school holidays!

Did you manage to catch week 2 of The Great British Sewing Bee? So many people I have spoken to are completely hooked by the Sewing Bee, even non-sewing folk!

This week was another good week with some amazing sewing skills on display!

I have added a number of pins to my Great British Sewing Bee pinterest board, but here are a few of the highlights for you….

Sewing from a Pattern: Sewing a Pleated Skirt with Patterned Fabric

Matching Patterns, be it plaid, tartan or strips, can be a tricky business. In order to get the best results make sure that you buy slightly more fabric than the pattern requests and take your time planning the placement of your pattern pieces before cutting. Once your fabric has been cut out you have very little room for maneouvre.

Check out a great tutorial from Coletterie on working with plaids and stripes

There’s also a good post from Kadididdlehopper that features a great illustration to help you with some pattern matching tips

For brilliant examples of pattern matching check out Kate Rawlinson’s work as featured on Fashion Incubator

If you would like to try your hand at inserting a lapped zip, Nicole Needles has a tutorial you should check out

Alteration challenge: Turn two men’s shirts into something new

I guess the world is your oyster if you have two shirts to work with, that’s a decent amount of fabric. Here are some tutorials I’ve found this evening….

A cute woman’s dress shirt from Leafy Tree Top Spot

How about a pair of toddler shorts? Rachael of Imagine Gnats has a tutorial

Create a Made to Measure Garment : A pair of men’s pyjamas 

Inspired to make a pair of Men’s PJs? Minerva Crafts have a selection of patterns, check out Simplicity 2317, or McCalls 6231, or finally Kwik Sew 2388

Katie of Random Crafting Adventures has done a great run down of this week 2

Have you been inspired to sew something having watched the Great British Sewing Bee? I’m teaching on Friday so have some preparation to do over the next day or so, but I’m hoping to squeeze some sewing

Week 1’s round up can be found here if you missed it.

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