The Great British Sewing Bee

There is a lot of conversation going on about this sewing programme being televised here in the UK, on all the sewing forums and through blogs.  Of course everyone has their own opinion on the show, some good, some negative.

  


I am avidly following it and enjoying it, the contestants personalities are slowing opening up, and I have now got my favourites to win, sadly they have started with 8 contestants each having limited time limits to make garments and they are eliminating 2 a week.  It all seems abit rushed and I would have preferred it  if one person  a week left and the series was longer.

I have a few points about the programme.  Firstly they have 8 people who are sewers, ranging from 27 - 81 years of age.  Some have sewed all their lives, some not, also one makes soft furnishings, not dressmaking.  I cannot see how this is a fair contest.  

Also, at the end of the 2nd episode the judges could not decide which participants should leave.  One judge chose Tilly with her sewing skills, and the other judge wanted Stuart who was showing improvement through the contest  Surely they should know what they are looking for, improvement, sewing skills  or creativity.  

I just find it send mixed messages. "Its not very creative" said one Judge to Ann who added a checked bias cut pockets  to her skirt.  Maybe not creative but it showed off her sewing skills working with a checked fabric on the bias isn't an easy task, see what I mean!

All the same a great idea for a programme especially if you enjoy sewing. 

Drama in a sleepy Village

Well its not often something interesting happens in our village, but last night something did.  

Picture the scene, we had not long finished our tea and I was just settling down to do a spot of sewing, when my daughter came through the door after an early evening jog. 
"I dont know whats happening down at the station but there are load of police vans there" I thought nothing of it, because nothing really happens in this sleepy village. 

Five minutes later my daughter comes down stairs saying her friend was stuck at the railway station, because the trains had been cancelled due to a bomb found near the railway line. More precisely the railway line at the end of our road.

By this time people were looking out of their front doors, not sure if it was all possible, traffic was blocked off.  Then the bomb squad came whizzing past.  Thankfully we were not evacuated and no one was hurt.

It turned out that the local village gardening committee had been digging up a flower bed close to the railway and found an inert 2lb bomb from WWII.
  Amazing its been there over 60 years.  Today everything is back to normal,  its almost like a dream.  

Houston, we have a problem

Ive hit abit of a mental block with bra making so I put it aside until I can really focus on it properly.

Its my husbands birthday next month and I have decided to make him a shirt and trousers, (feeling a tad guilty at the amount of space my dressmaking is taking up in our small wardrobe)

Ive had a remnant of dark brown vintage wool suiting in my stash for a while now.  Of course it was a bargain, hence the purchase £1.99, but it isnt my colour.  So I purchased Kwik Sew 3267, and started making these trousers 


I was sewing away, feeling very pleased how easily it was coming together.   The back has welted pockets, I checked and double-checked the positioning of the them sewed, pressed then stood back and looked at my handiwork. Honestly I dont know how this happened.

My first reaction was that the fabric had slipped when I cut it out, but on closer observation the left pocket is dipping  on the outer edge, also the left opening is slightly smaller, about  1/4" inch.  Of course because it is checked fabric, everything looks twice as bad, also if I made the opening bigger it would be on the outer edge where it is short, as the pocket is dipping this would  make it worse. 

From the top edge the darts are in line, Ive measured it all around N.B. Ive never used kwik sew patterns before, and I have never cut a dart open before. 

I dont know if you can see this but the buttonhole below the welt (which I havent cut) is in line with the dart.

This is the left pocket, which as you can see dips more on the left, and is a  little smaller, also not in line with the dart but the same measurement from inner edge.

I know I cannot unpick as experience has told me it would probably end up looking twice as bad. So the question  I put to you is  do I line up the buttonhole with the dart or keep it as it is, which is measured the same distance as the other.  Also because the pocket is slanting the buttonhole looks the same, twice as obvious with the vertical lines of the check, any ideas.  Should  I omit the buttonholes  altogether so as not to draw attention to the error, or would that look silly. Maybe the buttons would distract it all. 

Yes I know  that when they are made up they probably wont look as noticeable as they are now, laid flat and six inches away from my eyes, everything is visible. My  husband cant see the difference, so he wont be too bothered.   But I KNOW its there. Thanks in advance.