Review: "The Great British Sewing Bee"
Feb. 16th, 2014 07:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebA friend turned me on to this reality show on sewing by posting the first episode on Facebook.
My favorite thing is that I end up smiling through much of it. I like all the contestants (even if one is turning out to be Wesley Crusher) because they all have such good attitudes. They are all excited to be on the show and they mostly react to their difficulties by laughing at their mistakes. They do not talk about how they are better than everyone, in spite of all the evidence--they all can see where they stand compared to the others and are wonderfully modest. It's only at the end of the show where they get stressed out from not having enough time that I stop smiling so much. Of course even then they still have UK accents, which I enjoy.
After watching two episodes, it looks like the contestants get three challenges every weekend (each episode is two days). The first challenge is to make something from a pattern (they all use the same pattern but can pick out their own fabrics and embellishments). The second is to make some sort of change to a ready-made garment (they all get the same garment). And the third is to make a specific type of garment (the first episode's was "a casual dress") for a specific person. They are each given their own model. And they can pick out their own pattern, fabrics, etc. ahead of time. And the judges explain some of the challenges for each assignment.
These are enough tasks to give everyone a real challenge. It's tempting to think that if even these guys have trouble with some of the tasks, why would I ever sew? But the thing about even these guys is that they've actually specialized a bit. So people who've made clothes only for girls have to make men's trousers. The guy who's made mostly only historical period clothes has to put in zippers.
Besides giving three challenges to each contestant, each episode also shows how to making something simple. And shows you a technique for doing something. And they share something historical. At the end of the episode, the judges pick a favorite garment of the episode.
The bad part is that there are time constraints, there is judging, and they kick two people off every show (except, I assume, in the last show of the series, where they probably just declare a winner). That means we'll get to see the creativity of fewer and fewer people in each episode. At least the judges don't make me angry. They don't point out enough of the good things, but they also don't make wacky judgements that don't make any sense. And they're mostly not obnoxious like on American reality shows.
The Cast
Hostess
* Claudia Winkleman
Judges
* Patrick Grant, a tailor from Saville Row
* May Martin, a sewing instructor from the Women's Institute
Contestants
* Sandra (aka the flower lover) - made clothes for her kids; her mom and grandma were also sewers
* Stuart - started by making things for his house--curtains, cushions, a quilt
* Ann - started with doll clothes and moved into making clothes for herself
* Tilly - started sewing two years ago and has been making clothes for herself including making her own patterns.
* Jane - makes her own clothes so she can have unique things to wear
* Michelle - grandma and mother made everything and now she follows the tradition and sews for her family
* Mark - makes 18th-century steampunk costumes, mostly for himself
* Lauren - started with a sewing kit as a kid
Season one is complete, season two is starting in a couple of days, and there was also some sort of Christmas special.
My favorite thing is that I end up smiling through much of it. I like all the contestants (even if one is turning out to be Wesley Crusher) because they all have such good attitudes. They are all excited to be on the show and they mostly react to their difficulties by laughing at their mistakes. They do not talk about how they are better than everyone, in spite of all the evidence--they all can see where they stand compared to the others and are wonderfully modest. It's only at the end of the show where they get stressed out from not having enough time that I stop smiling so much. Of course even then they still have UK accents, which I enjoy.
After watching two episodes, it looks like the contestants get three challenges every weekend (each episode is two days). The first challenge is to make something from a pattern (they all use the same pattern but can pick out their own fabrics and embellishments). The second is to make some sort of change to a ready-made garment (they all get the same garment). And the third is to make a specific type of garment (the first episode's was "a casual dress") for a specific person. They are each given their own model. And they can pick out their own pattern, fabrics, etc. ahead of time. And the judges explain some of the challenges for each assignment.
These are enough tasks to give everyone a real challenge. It's tempting to think that if even these guys have trouble with some of the tasks, why would I ever sew? But the thing about even these guys is that they've actually specialized a bit. So people who've made clothes only for girls have to make men's trousers. The guy who's made mostly only historical period clothes has to put in zippers.
Besides giving three challenges to each contestant, each episode also shows how to making something simple. And shows you a technique for doing something. And they share something historical. At the end of the episode, the judges pick a favorite garment of the episode.
The bad part is that there are time constraints, there is judging, and they kick two people off every show (except, I assume, in the last show of the series, where they probably just declare a winner). That means we'll get to see the creativity of fewer and fewer people in each episode. At least the judges don't make me angry. They don't point out enough of the good things, but they also don't make wacky judgements that don't make any sense. And they're mostly not obnoxious like on American reality shows.
The Cast
Hostess
* Claudia Winkleman
Judges
* Patrick Grant, a tailor from Saville Row
* May Martin, a sewing instructor from the Women's Institute
Contestants
* Sandra (aka the flower lover) - made clothes for her kids; her mom and grandma were also sewers
* Stuart - started by making things for his house--curtains, cushions, a quilt
* Ann - started with doll clothes and moved into making clothes for herself
* Tilly - started sewing two years ago and has been making clothes for herself including making her own patterns.
* Jane - makes her own clothes so she can have unique things to wear
* Michelle - grandma and mother made everything and now she follows the tradition and sews for her family
* Mark - makes 18th-century steampunk costumes, mostly for himself
* Lauren - started with a sewing kit as a kid
Season one is complete, season two is starting in a couple of days, and there was also some sort of Christmas special.
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