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Sewing Bee
If you want to shop all of the patterns and tools etc in this article in one place you can shop our sewing bee patterns here
Last night’s Sewing Bee had us in stitches – and not just the neatly matched kind! With bold prints, brilliant colour choices and plenty of clever details, it was an episode bursting at the seams with inspiration.
Even purple and brown got their chance to shine, proving there really is no such thing as a bad colour combination in the right hands. Naturally, we’ve been busy threading together our favourite patterns, fabrics and tools to help you sew your own take on the challenges at home.
For their first challenge, The Bees had to pattern match an adaptive shell top; a simple, collarless, and typically sleeveless or cap-sleeved slip-on top. This certainly tested their skills! Not only did they have to pattern match the seams and the pocket, but invisible zips needed to be inserted (upside down!) to make it adaptive.
You may have spotted one of our fabrics from last year, the stunning 'Sardinia' from Fabric Godmother, which team member Vicky pattern matched on the pocket and front and side seams into a Friday Pattern Company Donny Blouse:
A shell top is a great way of using up a metre of fabric in your stash that you've had waiting for the perfect project, so we've popped a few of our favourites below.
The Style Arc Bonnie Top View A is a simple, stylish woven top with a relaxed swing shape, flattering bust darts and a slightly cropped length. The sleeveless design and classic round neckline make it perfect for showing off a fabulous print – and an ideal addition to your summer wardrobe.
For a little more coverage, the Maison Fauve Marisa Top is a lovely alternative. It has an easy, relaxed shape with a looser fit and a longer hemline, making it perfect when you want something floaty, comfortable and effortlessly stylish.
Never attempted pattern matching before? Lucy's video on perfect pattern matching should help clear up any questions and worries you may have, and give you the confidence to give it a go and elevate your sewing skills:
If invisible zips are another technique you avoid at all costs and turn you off some of the gorgeous patterns out there, then take a look at Lucy's video on inserting invisible zips! This is a fabulous hack that helps you to insert that pesky zip easily and perfectly every time.
You either loved or hated the colour choices of episode 2's transformation challenge! But whatever your feelings on the colour combos, we have to admit they did a good job of turning those second-hand garments into something a bit more palatable.
If brown and purple are a firm favourite of yours, or you've been convinced it's not so bad after all, we've got some fab fabrics you can choose from to scratch that itch.
100% cotton 115gsm £15 per metre
100% Viscose 165gsm £15 per metre
100% Viscose 110gsm £8 per metre (available in other colours)
For the Made to Measure challenge, the contestants went all in on colour, creating eye-catching outfits in striking blues, greens and pinks (what? No purple?) Using just one shade from head to toe, they played with silhouette, texture and clever fabric choices to prove that a monochrome look can be anything but boring!
We've found some great patterns reminiscent of The Bee's makes last night, which recreate in a plain or patterned fabric - no Patrick or Esme to judge you here. Should you fancy embracing the monochrome theme, we also have a fantastic range of plain fabrics in plenty of gorgeous colours.
The garment of the week came curtesy of Adele and we thought a great pattern for a similar pair of culottes would be the Grazia Culottes Tessuti Sewing Pattern.
We loved the broderie anglaise fabric used by Lewis, and the tiered look skirt is a great summer staple. A good pattern to create something similar would be the Juliana Martejevs Abbie Skirt
If a more figure hugging dress with some stunning details is what you're after, we thought this dress from Simplicity 9370 is a great choice to replicate Minnie's version. We also have some drapey velvet in lots of colours if it's the texture you're after.
If the idea of sewing up a loose and comfortable caftan dress has piqued your interest like it did us, you couldn't go wrong with sewing yourself a Fibre Mood Christine Dress. Christine is an oversized pull-on kaftan dress with a polo-style placket and roll-up sleeves. Make it mini, midi or maxi for an easy, holiday-ready summer look.
Emma made a super technical two-piece outfit of waistcoat and drop-waist skirt. A drop-waist skirt skims smoothly over the waist and hips before flowing into a fuller, swishy shape for an easy yet polished look and we thought the Itch to Stitch Irazu Skirt was a lovely example of this.
Rebecca played around with godet's on her made to measure dress, and if you've not tried sewing these before but thought they looked like a great challenge, why not take a look at the Fibre Mood Meryll or Gabby dress? Each feature godets and Fibre Mood are lovely, easy to follow patterns.
A peplum adds shape at the waist before flaring gently over the hips, creating a flattering silhouette that feels feminine without being restrictive. If you'd like to make something similar to Heather's peplum top, the Tilly and the Buttons Leah Top is a lovely easy to follow pattern, and perfect for the summer sun.
We loved Beth's beautiful creation, and immediately thought of a few patterns featuring some of the core elements. The Style Arc Naomi Dress has that lovely deep V, cinched in waist, balloon sleeves and is a great comfortable dress to just slip on. If it's balloon sleeves you're after, Fibre Mood Doris Dress has some stand-out sleeves and can be sewn in structured fabrics for drama, or drapey for soft understated look. We would also be remiss if we didn't mention our all time favourite pattern; the Style Arc Belle Dress.
We hope you enjoed this week's episode as much as we did, and if you want to shop these patterns, fabrics and tools from the episode, be sure to visit our Sewing Bee 2026 Shop.
It's baaaack! Firstly welcome to Sophie Willan, who was a fabulous addition to the show, keeping it light and fun under pressure.
Now let's deep dive into the first episode of the series, where it was all about our great British summer - something we're certainly all experiencing at the moment.
The contestants were challenged to sew a pair of front patch pocket shorts, with a faux fly, elasticated back waistband and LOTS of topstitching. If you're looking to recreate this pattern, some of the patterns we'd recommend are:
The Tessuti Sonia shorts are a wide-leg‚ high waisted style and feature an elasticised‚ paper bag waist. They include front patch pockets extending to the forward side seams and cuffed hems.
We have some gorgeous fabrics for a pair of summer shorts, and for something like this, we'd recommend something with a bit of stability, but not too much that when the elastic gathers, it looks bulky.
The next challenge for the Bees was quite a nice one! The original item to transform was a BBQ apron, which is a nice big piece of fabric with pockets already stitched, so plenty of surface area to work with.
Fabric choices for bags can vary from cotton to leather, but some of our favourites to make a unique bag include our corduroy fabric, available in multiple colours, our heavier weight cotton twill or a faux suede available in black, khaki and tan.
All the contestants of this weeks Made-to-Measure challenge came up with something slightly different to the last, from the unusual: bloomers and fisherman's smocks, to the every day: summer dresses and comfy trousers. The biggest change this year however, was for them to be able to fit the patterns to themselves and catwalk their own creation!
We've found patterns with similar elements that will allow you to re-create some of the looks and make it your own.
If you want to shop all of the patterns and tools etc in this article in one place you can shop our sewing bee patterns here
The new series 12 of the Great British Sewing Bee 2026 will be airing on BBC One every Tuesday at 8pm from the 14th July and we are super excited to see what Patrick and Esme have in store for the next class of Bees and the new host Sophie Willan over the next ten weeks.
We already know episode one will be very seasonally appropriate and the Bees will be sewing up a pair of shorts with patch pockets for the pattern challenge and a summer outfit in the made to measure. Lots of summer sewing inspiration for us all, perfect for the heatwaves we've been experiencing.
Let's take a look at the contestants:
