When is the Great British Sewing Bee 2024 kicking off?
It is finally that time of year again where we are all super duper excited to tune into some great sewing based telly. Yes you guessed it, the Great British Sewing Bee is making a grand return and once again they kept us waiting to announce the new series! It is finally starting on Tuesday 21st May, at 9pm on BBC1 which will be the first of 10 weekly episodes.
The GBSB Series 10 Contestants
(Image Credit BBC/Love Productions/ James Stack)
This year as usual,12 contestants will battle it out at the sewing machine testing their creativity, sewing skills and ability to work under pressure - hopefully they will be whipping up plenty of inspiration for the rest of us in the process. This year's hopefuls include people from all walks of life with varying degrees of sewing experience. Some were taught by their grandmothers while for others, they have only been sewing a few years. There are just so many reasons to be excited....
Who are the GBSB Season 10 Host and Judges?
(Image Credit BBC/Love Productions/ James Stack)
This year, we are excited to see new presenter, Kiell Smith Bynoe who replaces Sara Pascoe for Series 10 as she was on maternity leave during filming.
Kiell acted in popular TV sitcoms Ghosts and Stath Lets Flats. He not only presented the Christmas Special Sewing Bee last year but was also a contestant in the 2021 Christmas special, so should know exactly what the contestants are up against.
Kiell will be presenting alongside seasoned judges and sewing Pin Up Patrick Grant together with the gift that keeps on giving, Esme Young. (By the way, we featured Esme in our blog on 5 Inspirational Women in Sewing. )
GBSB: what we know so far…..
Just as in previous years, there will be 3 challenges each week. The pattern challenge, the transformation challenge and the made to measure round, all testing the sewing bees' skills to the limit.
In Episode 1 the judges task the new sewers with challenges inspired by the very first series. The first Pattern Challenge is therefore a denim A-line midi-skirt.
For the 90-minute Transformation Challenge, instead of altering the neckline of a T-shirt, they have to transform the T shirt into a completely new garment.
Finally, in the Made-to-Measure challenge, the sewers work with their models for the first time to make their own design of a casual day dress.
We can feel the pressure already and can't wait to see how they cope with Patrick and Esme's on point critique.
GBSB Highlights from last year
There are so many highlights from last year to even remember so we had to remind ourselves with our handy GBSB 2023 pattern and challenge round up blog.
But a definite Team FG favourite was Episode 4 in the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle week when in the Pattern challenge, the contestants had to make zero waste trousers and make sure no scrap of fabric was wasted. At Fabrics Galore we have dedicated a blog to Zero waste fabric and patterns.
ZW Block Pant Pattern
So many highlights and plenty more to look forward to this year.
GBSB: Stay Up to Date
Worried you might miss out on an episode? Well, not only will we be sending you our usual weekly newsletter with highlights from the Sewing Bee and any pattern and fabric recommendations inspired by the show. We will also have a Sewing Bee Collection on the website, which we will update regularly to include suitable fabrics for that week's tasks. So you really will never miss a thing….
Discover our Great British Sewing Bee Collection
The team at Fabrics Galore London will be following the new series avidly and will be featuring fabrics for each of the weekly challenges with the odd promotional discount to celebrate the return of the beloved Great British Sewing Bee! In the meantime, please browse our range of latest fabrics for all your own Sewing Bee projects!
