Did we really host a Sewing Bee competition in Bourne?
When Alan from Wake House contacted me earlier this year with the suggestion of running a Sewing Bee competition during their Heritage Open Weekend, it seemed like an opportunity too good to miss. I had no idea that Charles Worth, the founder of haut couture fashion and the fashion show as we know it, was born in Wake House right here in Bourne, Lincolnshire. And as Wake House would be putting together a display about Charles Worth, it seemed appropriate to run a sewing competition at the same time.
Hence, the Bourne Sewing Bee competition came to life. From the outset it was intended to be run as a non-profit making event and an opportunity to promote sewing, Gather ‘N’ Sew and the facilities offered at Wake House and I am incredibly grateful to all ten of the contestants that took part.
Sending an email to our mailing list was a nerve-wracking moment. What if no one signed up? Eeek! However, my worries were unfounded as the first entry came in within half an hour of sending the email and the others soon followed. And if we’d had enough space, we could have had more contestants. Whew!
With Charles Worth being the inspiration, we asked our contestants to make a garment of their choice related to the theme ‘Paris’. They could interpret this in any way that they wished and the entry fee of £25 entitled them to a pattern and up to 3m of fabric from the shop. It was fascinating watching them come in to get their supplies and I deliberately didn’t offer any advice or ask any questions. That was really hard!
Everyone at Wake House was extremely helpful with getting us set up in the Conference Room which is a beautiful upstairs room at the back of the house. It has windows along three sides, is light and bright and therefore was the perfect venue.
Once all the contestants started to arrive it was a hive of activity and by 10am everyone was nervously watching me and ready to start. We had given permission for cutting out to be done at home and in hindsight this turned out to be a blessing regarding spacing issues and stress levels.
As they all settled in it was relatively calm. I had a selection of spot prizes to give out throughout the day and I had to be very eagle eyed to find ‘excuses’ to award them. However, the ice was broken by Janet who was awarded the first prize for being the first person to do some unpicking (that we saw anyway!). Her prize was a lovely mug set that had been kindly donated by Two Jays, a discount shop here in Bourne.
It was wonderful to see our contestants happily sewing and I was hoping to do live updates on Instagram and Facebook throughout the day, but alas I didn’t have any internet or phone signal due to EE working on our local mast. So, it obviously wasn’t meant to be and I took lots of photos instead.
For me it felt very strange to not be teaching in that environment and it also made us realize that on the TV show, without the funny antics of a presenter such as Joe Lycett, there wouldn’t be much of a show to watch. I am most certainly nowhere near that standard!
Throughout the day visitors to Wake House popped upstairs to see what we were doing and in between I found excuses to award some more prizes.
Sheryl won a pompom maker for asking if French seams counted towards the Paris theme. How could we not recognize that! Then, when spotted with his stitch unpicker, Mark won a tube of seed beads for saying that he was enjoying sewing his shirt so much that he was doing everything at least twice! The next two prizes were awarded to Amy for bringing along a beautiful sketch of the dress she was making and to Carol who received a consolation prize for injuring her finger (not sewing related).
As 4pm approached there was a heightened sense of nervousness, but it was still pretty calm. Some of that nervous energy would have been mine too as I wondered how on earth I was going to choose a winner! It was wonderful to see the garments being modelled and I was so proud of everyone. And to all of our camera-shy contestants, thank you so much for putting yourselves out there, entering the competition and letting us take photos.
With the aid of Sharon, one of our loyal customers who had popped along to see who had won, I was able to decide on a winner. Thank you so much for letting me use you as a sounding board Sharon, and fortunately we were both unanimous in our thoughts.
And ta da! Our winner was …. Susan!!
Susan took her inspiration from the Musee de Cluny (Musee National du Moyen Age) in Paris there they have on display a group of tapestries from the Middle Ages depicting “The Lady and the Unicorn”. Each of the tapestries shows a woman with a unicorn and a lion, and sometimes a monkey. So, for the competition Susan used our Glow in the Dark unicorn themed Fairy Nights fabric from Lewis & Irene to make her daughter a set of loungewear. The outfit included a pair of Tilly and the Buttons Jaimie pyjama bottoms and a top comprising of 16 panels, lace and ribbon embellishments and buttons with rouleau loops. The pyjama bottoms also featured a patch pocket embellished with the words ‘Bonne Nuit’. Susan had also put a matching necktie on the monkey. The stitching was neat and accurate, and we agreed that the whole package meant that she deserved to be the winner.
Our last remaining spot prize was given to Kate and is such a shame that she didn’t quite manage to finish her coat. However, it was an ambitious task and the pattern represented medieval Paris and the attention to detail was fantastic. We just loved the red lining that contrasted with the yellow fabric and the lacing detail with rouleau loops at the back was beautifully made, especially in the time constraints.
Alison went for a classic vintage inspired look and used our Dana blue and white stripe denim fabric to make a Sew Over It Elsie dress. She had inserted a contrasting red invisible zip and apart from not quite managing to finish the shoulder seams and hem, it was beautifully made. And just look at those fabulous shoes!!!
Although she was only making one garment in the competition, Deborah had carefully thought about the whole outfit. Prior to the Sewing Bee she had made a t-shirt and jacket to match her Nina Lee Portobello trousers. The trousers were made in a wool blend fabric and finished to a very high standard, including hand sewn hems and they were lined with a fabric that matched that in her jacket.
Mark set out to make a Thread Theory Fairfield button up shirt using our Makower UK linen texture cotton fabric and unfortunately a few issues meant that he couldn’t get it finished. We know that Mark is a very precise stitcher and that when finished the shirt will look amazing.
Sadly, Janet also had a few issues with some pesky French seams and we know that her Bardot skirt made from our Joanne navy gingham fabric will look incredible when finished. She did manage to get her waistband on and finish it with beautifully neat hand stitching.
Carol used a New Look pattern to make her stunning dress using two of our Dotty cotton poplin fabrics. The contrasting waistband was an amazing feature and the dress fitted her perfectly. With just the hem to be finished it was a dress to be proud of.
Sheryl used Minnie Mouse as the inspiration for her Paris themed Tilly and the Buttons Lotta dress. The red spot Aurora crepe de chine fabric skirt had a lovely swish and Sheryl also had time to make a matching scrunchie. For the dress bodice she used our black linen look viscose fabric and the whole outfit was beautifully made.
Amy also went for a classic vibe and used our Evelyn Tencel fabric to make a Sew Over It Eve dress. As an extra feature she had red bias binding peeping out from the front shoulder seam and the dress was stitched beautifully. The only thing that Amy had left to sew was the hem.
Nicola chose to make a Sew Over It 1940’s wrap dress from our Aurora navy spot crepe de chine fabric. The drape of the fabric was perfect for this vintage inspired dress and although it wasn’t easy to sew, Nicola very nearly got the dress finished. By her own admission she got further than she thought she would, and she should be proud. It looked amazing.
There was such a buzz in the sewing room at the end and I am so proud of everyone. I am also hugely grateful to all of them for entering our competition and making it such a fabulous event.
Huge thanks also to Alan and the team at Wake House. The house is a community centre that has quite a few rooms of various sizes that are available for hire, and we can highly recommend the venue. It was great to be a part of their Heritage Open Event and I managed to nip down to look at the displays and take a few photos to show you.
So, in summary, it was the most fabulous event and we loved every second. I don’t know about the contestants, but I was absolutely exhausted afterwards. And I didn’t even do any sewing!
Huge, huge thanks must go to all of our contestants for taking part and to Alan and the team at Wake House. It was a fabulous day to remember.
There was a general feeling that even though it was a competition, the opportunity for social sewing was greatly appreciated. It has been suggested that the Sewing Bee become an annual event. We are up for it. What do you think?
Happy sewing and until next time,
Leanne
Leanne de Lima Araujo is the owner of Gather ‘N’ Sew where she teaches popular sewing workshops.