We asked our sewing community what sewing challenges they’d like to see on The Great British Sewing Bee and they didn’t disappoint! From serious technical sewing skill challenges to hilarious challenges involving cats, there were so many great ideas. If, like us, you are missing the Sewing Bee then read on for some of the best ideas direct from the FG sewing gang!
Technical Sewing Challenges
Many Sewing Bee fans in our community would like the show to focus more on actual sewing technique with less emphasis on creativity and design. For the sewing purists, the more technical challenges would be the best way to judge the contestants’ sewing ability. Many fans would like the Sewing Bee to introduce non-dressmaking challenges, (although we must admit that quilts are a notoriously long sewing project so it might need to be a mini quilt.)
- A fabric knowledge test: choose the correct seam finish or hem for sample fabrics.
- Hand sew a buttonhole and hand-sewing in general.
- Invisible Mending
- Smocking
- Embroidery
- Quilting
- Soft Furnishings
- Christmas themed items
- A cot blanket or cot bumper
- Change the threads on an overlocker
- Make a copy of an existing garment
- Adjust rather than redesign an item of clothing which does not fit the model
- Make something on an old treadle sewing machine
Our favourite idea: a fabric knowledge test of course (only if Team FG get to play along)!
Pattern and Fitting Challenges
Image Credit: Love productions
Many in our sewing community wanted the Bees to be asked to make clothes for people with particular needs or proportions, reflecting the very real challenges home sewists face when buying and making their own clothes.
- Alter an existing garment to fit a person properly.
- Outfits for athletic body shapes which don’t fit off the peg clothing. (Good for Sports week!)
- Men’s suit style trousers
- Make a pair of fitted jeans including getting the crotch fit just right.
- Make outfits for plus sized and large busted models
- Maternity and Nursing Wear (accommodating the bump and breastfeeding without looking frumpy)
- Adapt a pattern for a wheelchair user.
- A Raincoat, Trench coat or Swing coat.
- Make a jacket with sharp tailoring
- A full bust adjustment making a toile
- Make a garment into a larger or smaller size
- To alter and fit a too large garment to a model while not losing the function and design of the original
The best suggestion: contestants could be given the same garment and a model it doesn’t fit, then have to alter the garment without redesigning it. A great way to test genuine sewing ability and their understanding of the person wearing it.
Sustainable Challenges
Our sewing community had plenty of great ideas which prioritise reuse, recycle, repair and zero waste.
- Make a dog coat out of the scraps from the bins
- Mend a garment which would otherwise go to landfill
- Making a pattern out of a limited amount of fabric or from previous weeks’ offcuts without throwing anything away.
- Design a garment using a zero-waste pattern.
- Make an outfit using only haberdashery items and leftover fabric from previous challenges in the competition.
Most interesting (yet incredibly tough!) challenge: make something using only natural materials which have not been commercially manufactured, including the thread. Now that would really test their ingenuity (and possibly their sewing machines too!)
Transformation Challenges
Image Credit: Love Productions
- Turn pants into a creative beach outfit (we think this meant underwear rather than trousers, but you never know!)
- Customise jeans, for example, turn skinny jeans into wide-leg jeans.
- Make an outfit from a duvet cover
- Iconic costumes from the movies made into everyday wear
- Make a dress fit for an Oscars ceremony using cinema theatre curtains (we are pretty sure this challenge was featured in Series 11 when contestants were given red cinema curtains with tiebacks and turned them into Hollywood-worthy outfits.)
We do love this last idea for the drama - what about using old hot air balloon fabric to make a stunning gown? Just imagine all those stripes and colours.
Creative Challenges
Image Credit: Love Productions
- Make an outfit for either Patrick or Esme (with pockets and bows for Esme of course!)
- Make an item of clothing that a child has drawn working only from the child’s drawing (such a great idea for children’s week!)
- Sew the same pattern 3 times adjusting it each time to show different results from a single pattern (might need more time for this!)
- Wedding outfit in a day challenge. (The wedding theme was a very popular idea with people proposing mother-of-the-bride outfits, children’s flower girl dresses, and outfits for petite sized guests.)
- Make a bra or swimsuit (did you see Anna’s swimsuit in Series 12 Episode 1?!)
- Make 3 accessories to complement an outfit provided on the day (bags, hats, scarves, shawls, gloves)
- Make a reversible or double-sided garment or outfit
- Make an eye-catching, fabulous outfit inspired by a particular designer.
- Make an outfit from a chosen decade - judges have to guess the era.
We love the designer inspired idea but would love to see if the contestants can make a better garment than our own Team FG’s Alexander McQueen inspired dress!
Costume Challenges
- Make an Elizabethan ruff
- A proper animal costume
- An Alice in Wonderland themed costume
- Make a Victorian corset or other boned garment.
- Make a traditional kilt.
- A glamorous ball gown for a masquerade ball.
- Make a Barbie sized outfit or something in miniature like a doll’s outfit so the models don’t get bored!
Our favourite costume suggestion: make an outfit for a pantomime dame which sounds perfect for the Sewing Bee - just imagine the enormous sleeves, feathers, sequins and license to be completely over the top.
Hilarious Challenges
- Cut out patterns and fabrics using your cat as a paperweight.
- Make something your Mum made you wear as a child.
- Sew with cats in the room!
- Esme and Patrick compete to complete challenges in the allocated time!
- Sew a Bee!
- Bride and Groom outfits for Patrick and our gang member (probably in all our GBSB dreams)
There is clearly a feline theme here - do we want to see the Sewing Bee studio filled with cats? Definitely!
Which is Your Favourite Sewing Bee Challenge?
We loved this brilliant suggestion:
- Each contestant to pick a favourite pattern then put them in a hat and each chooses at random. Would they deliberately pick fiendishly difficult patterns do you think and risk picking their own? So much sewing jeopardy!
Let us know your sewing bee challenge ideas to add to the list above - we hope the Great British Sewing Bee producers read all your ideas and we can’t wait to see if any make it into the next series. Feel free to head over to our recap of Great British Sewing Bee Series 12
