| FILMING | 19th/20th September 2019 |
| AIR DATE | 29th May 2020 |
| CHALLENGE | Made to Measure – Winter Dress |
| PATTERN USED | No Pattern |
| MATERIALS USED | Old Jumpers |
| TIME ALLOWED | 5 Hours |
A new day, and a slight hangover from the bottle of wine! And because I missed filming the vox pop the previous evening, I had to film it in the morning, so I had to go through the whole miserable transformation challenge again and try and put on a smile.
For this challenge, I hadn’t really practised at home. I had practised the seams, and how it would come together, but not the whole dress. Greg had sketched the design of an idea I had and so I just had to create it from the sketch with no pattern.
The dress had to include a jumper that had some sentimental value, so I used a jumper that belonged to my mum. This formed the main body of the dress. It had to be taken in for my model to make it fit well. Everything had to be over-locked, so that the seams would stay intact and not fray.
“I just think your garment is really exciting, really original, really imaginative. I thought it was absolutely fabulous” – Esme
Once the main body was done, I started forming the skirt. Countless jumpers were used, and some were taken from the stock that other Bee’s weren’t using. The jumpers were cut into squares and these were inserted into each other. I was over-locking at speed! I needed enough jumpers to give it volume and yet not be too long. The jumpers were intricately positioned so that there was good variation.
“I think it’s incredibly impactful” – Patrick
At one point I laid the dress on the floor and I was about to straighten the hem of the dress, but something in me, and maybe a look from Patrick made me think differently and so I left it as it was. And I’m so glad I did! When Meg, my model, spun round in the dress, it majestically fanned out, it looked amazing, and I was so pleased with it. So glad I didn’t quit!
For the first time on Sewing Bee, two garments won garment of the week, and I was happy to share it with Nicole. Her dress was beautifully executed, and didn’t look like it was made from jumpers at all.
Another stressful week over and I felt lucky to have got through it and onto another week. Let’s hope things go well for me in 80’s week!
“The character of this dress is the uneven hem” – Esme
