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How on earth is it Sewing Bee final week already?! My nine year old Son is already desperately trying to find a new excuse to stay up late on a Wednesday! Will the contestants blow us away? Just how tough will the challenges be? Let's find out.

If you're new to sewing your own clothes a list of tried and tested beginner sewing patterns is a great place to start. Simple, easy to make, easy to fit dressmaking projects that will allow you to build your confidence with some of the most common sewing techniques on easy to sew fabrics. Here's my list of the top five beginner sewing patterns tried and tested by yours truly with one important piece of advice - don't be scared just have a go.

Spring is always so full of hope and promise - sunny days, daffodils and snowdrops and sewing the Spring trends - yippee!!!! New trends are popping up everywhere and so are the sewing patterns and fabrics you can use to get those looks. My excitement levels could not be higher as I share them with you right here.

Whether you have a Mother who sews or you're a sewing Mama who wants to drop some (ahem) useful hints we've got you covered with our Mother's Day Sewing Gift Guide. A range of pretty and pocket friendly ideas whatever your budget.

It's so great when someone has a hobby like sewing and you can give them a Christmas gift they truly want to receive - right? Only problem is you need to know what to buy. For anyone out there who is scratching their head (or who wants to help someone scratching their head with a few subtle hints and a gentle nudge!) read on for our favourite Christmas sewing gifts.

You've decided you'd like to start sewing (yippee!) but what sewing tools do you need? Like any new hobby you want to have the necessary equipment to make it easy and enjoyable, but you don't want to spend a fortune in case it doesn't work out (trust us, it will!) Here's our no nonsense guide to getting that balance juuuuust right.

We can hardly believe it, but this month we celebrate 15 years of Sew Essential! From a kitchen table start up by our very own Mother Son partnership, Angela and Ed, we have certainly come a long way. As a thank you to our valued customers we're running a prize draw where you can win a whopping £730 worth of sewing goodies, including an M50 QDC Janome sewing machine. Read on to find out how you can be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize.

One of our favourite blogs/vlogs of the year is always trend spotting for the new season then scouring our site for the patterns and fabrics you can use to make them - your way. As always the focus is on wearable rather than eccentric and we've tried to think how the pieces we've chosen can work together too. Grab a cuppa and get ready for some sewing inspo.

We are less than a week away from the hotly awaited Great British Sewing Bee series 5 airing. I haven't sensed this much anticipation or excitement since surrounded by a bunch of under sevens on Christmas Eve. With a new host (Joe Lycett) and ten new contestants we are in for a real treat. Let's find out a little bit about the chosen ones and the first set of challenges they'll face...

A New Year is a great excuse to reflect and plan, especially when it comes to sewing. Ok I realise I am a little late to the party here, but surely  it's never too late to take stock and look back on how you got on with your sewing goals for the year? Find out how I got on against my plans and what I've learned from reviewing them. I love doing this every year and find it uncovers some surprising facts.