Anyone watching the Great British Sewing Bee?

Yes watching with amazement at the waste. And envy at the vast array of fabric and haberdashery at their disposal. But I guess the time limits and pressure mean that cutting for speed rather than economy is the order of the day.
Loving the ideas and fabric choices.

Yes Lizzy my old needlework teacher used to come down on us like a ton of bricks for not placing the pattern economically and wasting material. The fabrics they use on Sewing Bee look expensive too

I doubt any of them would be so wasteful when sewing at home. It was good to see the discarded fabric being used though.

I think given the time constraints being as careful as you would be at home is not practical. Also having those great swathes of materials cast across the tables with pattern pieces in the middle does help to dress the set and make it look attractive.

At the end of the day the sewing competition concept is there first and foremost to provide tv entetainment, the sewing bit comes second and I think one of the attractions of the concept was the colour and swirl and movement brought into the programme by all the fabrics and haberdashery.

Cookery programmes get tents or white kitchens, but look how the set for TGSB is set in an old warehouse, tall ceilings, exposed brickwork, great iron-framed windows all chosen with care to provide the perfect background for the kaleidescope of colours generated by the competion.

Sounds like watching paint dry...

But very pretty colourful paint

I love the Great British Sewing Bee and wouldn't miss it. There's always a market for offcuts, going by my local charity shop, so I suspect there is some sort of arrangement.

All of the cookery and baking competitions look like they have an element of wastage so it would be interesting if they would sometimes show us some of the programme staff clearing up and find out what happens to it all. I'd like to think it goes to food banks or community cafes...or just gets passed round the production crew, rather than in the bin.

In the sewing bee, the judges are always impressed with pattern matching in a way that my mother would have found wasteful. She made lovely clothes and costumes for us out of very little indeed.

She'd also have found it funny that we are watching sewing competitions on TV. Different times.

I too was encouraged as a youngster to be careful when placing pattern pieces and think the contestants should be marked on this too. We may appear to live in a throwaway age but many of us (me included) are trying hard not to produce waste. However, it is an entertainment programme as MOnica says and maybe the colour of all that fabric is part and parcel of it.

Perhaps you should suggest they sell the offcuts for charity lizzypopbottle?
Imagine the kudos of using the sewing bee scraps, like the tennis balls that get sold after Wimbledon.

I was delighted and surprised by Juliette's win today. Delighted because she has been the outstanding sewer in this series, surprised, because on balance I think, judging on tonight's garments only, she was just pipped to the post by Leah's evening dress.

Her tailoring was impeccable. That waistcoat was perfect in every detail. So pleased that she won.

OK, I know it's supposed to be entertainment but I can't see any reason why they don't give the contestants a bit more time. The programme footage is edited, after all. Perhaps a little less of Joe Lycett! Patrick Grant wouldn't encourage such waste on Savile Row! (I suppose it's a kind of entertainment to sit getting more and more amazed by the waste....) I've recorded tonight's episode so I'm glad the person going home hasn't been revealed. I'll look back in here when I've watched the recording.

The winner HAS been revealed Lizzy so don't look at previous posts if you don't want to know.

lpb Last night was the Final.

AD but Leah won the transformation challenge, Juliet's dress barely (in every sense) met the brief - and as I said - I think Leah's dress, just, just pipped Juliet's to the post.

But it is of no matter I have really enjoyed this series, now Claudia Winkelman has been replaced, she was a real blot on the landscape -. Joe Lyceatt is so much better and they have announced that there will be another series next year - hoorah

I love Esme. She reminds of Edna Mode from the Incredibles, without the accent. 'Dahling'

?*Lully*! My favourite character! When I saw Riccardo’s dress, I loved the concept and the fabric but, sadly, the hoops made it look and move like something a pantomime dame would wear. Both the other dresses were stunning, but in terms of quality of sewing, I think the right one won. Not that I am any expert. My Austrian sewing teacher once told me “you sew like zer blind cow is walking!”

I expect the judges look more closely at the sewing than we realise.

Although everyone was complimentary about the jellyfish dress, I didn't care for it at all.

It was on at my daughters when I visited. I’ve never seen such a boring programme O went back home! ( live in next street)

I enjoy this as I love sewing. If I were to make a man's waistcoat I'd want to spend all day on it rather than a few hours.
I'm glad that Juliet won as she was a very worthy winner.

Glad you had a handy escape Twice ,
I enjoy the Sewing Bee , years ago i made most of my dresses and even made a suit ! but I too was castigated at school for my poor hand sewing . It was when we got Grans Singer sewing machine that I got to grips with sewing .
I think the right Sewer won , the yellow dress was unfinished , the hooped creation was unweareable , he was was excellent sewer and very inventive but was pipped at the post with the excellent imagination and tailoring of the winner

If you don't want to know the result, look away now
The right person won. She was so consistently good and read the instructions.
It's all done for good Tele tension which is what we got.
I'm sure any of the recent losers could have come up with an outfit just as stunning as those 3 finalists did.

Anyway has it inspired any of us to dust off our sewing machines?

I sat and watched Holby so I'm just a couch potato.

I agree that the right person won!
When I had young daughters I made all their clothes and mine plus a few things for my (now ex) husband. The only time I use my sewing machine nowadays is for alterations.

Really enjoyed the programme last night and a worthy winner. Juliette constantly produced fabulous garments.
I really hope that the programme will be back again. It's a joy to watch.

Just heard Juliette speaking on Radio 4 Women’s Hour. I loved her comment that the atmosphere there was lovely and everyone helping each other. I just love any programmes with this feel good factor. It’s a shame that it doesn’t seem to be expressed in broader society.