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The Great British Sewing Bee: from Stitch to Style

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224 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1611

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Wendy Gardiner

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Displaying 1 of 1 review
306 reviews3 followers
August 25, 2021
Another book from the Great British Sewing Bee series and it's a good one. Lots of really useful patterns for all the family.

Three pattern chapters and lots of useful information in the introductory pages.

Intro:
Forwards by Esme and Patrick
Know Before You Sew - essential kit and the nice to have
Sewing Machine Basics
Pattern Size / Using Paper Patterns / Pattern Tracing and Cutting Out / Fit Tips - yay for talking about the difference between the high bust and bust measurements, how to move and fit bust darts, and crotch length and depth so things that are made fit well and are comfortable to wear.
Terms and Techniques / Hand Sewing Stitches
Fit and Style Solutions - little bit on flattering various shapes but then 'The beauty of sewing for yourself is that there are no rules. Wear patterns and colours that make you happy and feel confident.' (Pg 32) Yaaaassss! (Also a shot of part of the haby collection from the show - I wish!)
Fabrics

1. Foundation - Patterns to build basic skills with the lots of tips and the relevant core skill at the end of the pattern. I much prefer this to the back of the book.
Patterns:
- Bias cut top (Should have been a V neck, just saying)
- Child A-line skirt
- Jumpsuit (Looks so elegant on the model I am almost convinced)
- Babygrow
- Child's cape
- Kimono

2. Inspiration - Furthering skills and influenced by different cultures and era (but the kimono...?)
- Breton top with s/s and dress hacks
- Peplum dress with wiggle skirt hack
- Dress from sari fabric (Cut on sleeve and pleated skirt)
- 1960 Mondrian style dress and top hack (Awesome!)
- Palazzo pants with culottes hack
- Chinese inspired top ie Qipao or cheongsam (I love these, utterly beautiful in embroidered silk, you can usually buy the frog fasteners).

3. Exploration - Challenging fabrics or cut and drape techniques
- Japanese style top (The example is a bit ho-hum - Japanese pattern books have better patterns and the diagrams are so good you don't need to know the language if you can't find a translation)
- Child's dungarees
- Cycle top (Not sure why they say men's with that level of stretch)
- Soft Cup Bra (Shown on a small busted model but allegedly goes up to a bust size of 116cm / 45 1/2 inches... which makes me go hmmmm)
- Asymmetric Skirt (Why was this not a contrast fabric so you could really see the complexity???)
- Sequin Cocktail Dress with spaghetti strap hack
- Camisole Top and Shorts
- Pintuck Shirt

Patterns included in finished measurement ranges (excluding children's patterns) from:
Bust = 89 to 140.5cm
Waist = 79.5 to 123.5cm
Hip = 94.5 to 140.5cm
But highly variable dependent on the pattern, both stretch and woven. Approx UK sizes 8-20.
Displaying 1 of 1 review

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