The Great British Sewing Bee Series 7 2021 Sewing Patterns & Shopping List | Sewing Tips, Tutorials, Projects and Events

The Great British Sewing Bee Series 7, which aired in 2021, introduced viewers to a new line-up of talented sewists, once again hosted by Joe Lycett with judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young. Across ten weeks, contestants faced a variety of challenges including designing children’s clothing, reworking old denim, and mastering complex techniques like lingerie and outerwear construction. The series mixed technical skill with creativity, celebrating resourcefulness in transformation challenges and flair in the made-to-measure rounds. With plenty of emotional highs, imaginative sewing, and entertaining moments, it was Serena Baker who ultimately claimed the title, becoming the youngest ever winner thanks to her precision, style, and consistently polished garments.

Series 7 Episode 10: The Final

We can't quite believe it's the Sewing Bee final already. What on earth will do on a Wednesday night without Joe's quips, Esme's necklaces and Patrick's impeccable tailored suits? As always the standard was super high and the Bees were pushed to their limits.

The Pattern Challenge: A Bridesmaid Dress

Yikes what a big ask under such time pressure! The Bees were tasked with sewing a bridesmaid dress including bound buttonholes, a lined bodice and puff sleeves.

Sewing with delicate, luxury fabrics and attempting couture techniques is no mean feat and our very own Angela knows this only too well having sewn many wedding dresses and bridesmaids dresses including mine!

Angela's top tip is to never be frightened of sewing with silk, it is tough and presses incredibly well.

Here are the beautiful dresses Angela created for mine and Ed's wedding 11 years ago:

Sewing Bee Patterns and Fabrics

Here's a selection of children's bridesmaid dresses, this Simplicity 9246 design is very similar to that sewn by the Bees.

Simplicity 9246 Children's Dress Sewing Pattern

Other gorgeous children's designs fit for a princess:

We also just hadto include some of our favourite adult bridesmaid dress sewing patterns starting with a Royal wedding inspired Butterick B5710

Here are some more dreamy designs for that special day.

We also have a great range of wedding day worthy luxury fabrics including our John Kaldor Duchesse satin, which comes in a beautiful range of colours with complimentary John Kaldor Tocca lace options too.

We love the fuchsia Duchesse satin:

John Kaldor Duchesse Satin Fabric in fuchsia

You might also like these other special occasion fabrics:

Sewing Bee Tutorials

If you're sewing with slippery fabrics you may find our top tips tutorial helpful for getting professional results. You can find it here.

Transformation Challenge: Homeware Items into Summer Festival Outfits

We couldn't wait to see the fun designs created for festival wear in the transformation challenge.

We're thinking hot pants, tassles, head dresses - more is more!

Made to Measure Challenge: Glamorous Off the Shoulder Evening Gowns

More precision sewing working with copious amounts of fabric and attempting to create the perfect fit in the made to measure challenge.

Who would sew the most red carpet worthy gown and steal the Sewing Bee crown for 2021?

Sewing Bee Patterns and Fabrics

Sewing Bee Patterns

There are so many off the shoulder gown sewing patterns to choose from, this Vogue 1655 design is a serious show stopper and would look beautiful sewn up in one of our luxury fabrics mentioned above:

Here are plenty more off the shoulder inspired designs to choose from:

Rebecca's McCalls 7683 dress
Similar to Serena's acid yellow dress New Look 6507
Vogue 1426
Vogue 1533
Vogue 1742
Vogue 1624
New Look 6615
McCalls 7926
McCalls 7896
Vogue 1604
McCalls 7835

So there we have it, another Sewing Bee competition all sewn up (sorry not sorry!) We hope you've enjoyed our pattern and fabric picks and tutorials to help you sew along with the Bees and here's hoping for another series soon.

Series 7 Episode 9: 1940s

Who doesn't love a trip down memory lane, especially when it involves fashion and dressmaking? We couldn't wait to see how the Sewing Bees fared with the vintage themed challenges.

The Pattern Challenge: Oxford Bags

For the first challenge the Bees had to Oxford bags are a type of trouser popular in the 1940s and perfect for swing dancing.

The tricky elements for the contestants to master included tackling large sewing pattern pieces, sewing a fly front zip and sewing even pleats.

Sewing Bee Patterns and Fabrics

We have lots of wide leg women's trouser patterns on a similar theme if you would like to sewalong (see below).

Hot off the press this brand new Simplicity pattern is super chic and would look great sewn up in our Prestige crepe fabric:

There are plenty more along a similar theme to choose from here:

Sewing Bee Tutorials

If you're tackling a fly front zip for the first time, there's a step by step tutorial here:

Transformation Challenge: Old Parachutes into Glamorous Dresses

This is a task that is close to our very own Angela's heart. When she was on holiday as a little girl in Minehead someone gifted her Mother with a yellow and white parachute and it was used to create a dress for her!

It was certainly a tough task for the Bees with such a short time frame and such slippery fabric, but we were blown away by Serena's effort.

Made to Measure Challenge: Dior's New Look

In order to pull off this iconic look the Bees had to use masses of fabric and focus on accentuating the female form, think cinched in waists, peplums and voluminous sleeves.

Once again Rafe and Serena excelled and produced truly stunning garments.

Sewing Bee Patterns and Fabrics

Sewing Bee Patterns

There are lots of vintage inspired sewing patterns to choose from on our site, here are a few of our favourites including jackets, skirts, dresses and tops:

If you're really feeling in the vintage mood don't forget to check out our Simplicity vintage range of collectables including picture frames,tote bags, pattern organisers, tea towels and more.

It is such a super pretty range and will bring a splash of vintage style to any sewing space.

We love these gorgeous pattern storage solutions:

Sewing Bee Fabrics

There were lots of plain fabrics featured in this week's episode and we have some Dior worthy John Kaldor crepes and cotton sateens that would be ideal for these looks:

We're super excited for the final - who is your money on?!

Series 7 Episode 8: Music and the Movies

Time for more glitz and glamour on the Sewing Bee this week with the theme 'music and the movies'. As the five remaining contestants really come into their own and step up those sewing skills I couldn't wait to see what delights they created.

The Pattern Challenge: Baby's Dirty Dancing Dress

What a dream come true sewing the iconic Dirty Dancing dress for the pattern challenge. The hours I spent watching that film over and over and dreaming of dancing with Patrick Swayze! I couldn't wait to see how the Bees got on.

Sewing Bee Patterns and Fabrics

If you want to join in the fun and sew a Baby themed dress with a fitted bodice and full skirt we have so many patterns to choose from.

My personal favourite is this vintage McCalls pattern:

And there are plenty more along a similar theme to choose from here:

We have lots of Baby dress worthy fabrics to create them with, check out our:

Sewing Bee Tutorials

If you want a perfect finish on an invisible zip check out our clever invisible zip tutorial here:

To get a perfect fit on the bodice you may find the following tutorials useful.

How to lower or raise a bust dart:

How to make a small bust adjustment (a full bust adjustment is the opposite and mentioned in the video too)

Transformation Challenge: Old Curtains into Play Clothes for Children

The Bees needed to channel their inner Julie Andrews for this task. Some of the fabrics might be rather tricky to work with, especially when sewing such small and intricate shapes and sizes, however, there was plenty of fabric to work with.

Made to Measure Challenge: a Dreamgirls Inspired Disco Dress

Another super fun challenge for us to feast our eyes on, the contestants had to sew a 1970s influenced dress for ultimate Saturday Night Fever vibes. The dresses should skim the models' body so no room for error with fit and I couldn't wait to see what they came up with and if music from the cult movie was used for the models to strut down the catwalk!

Sewing Bee Patterns and Fabrics

Sewing Bee Patterns

We spotted this super glamorous number sewn up in red satin and lace, you could use our John Kaldor Duchesse satin backed crepe or Mystique satin backed crepe to recreate the look.

Butterick evening gown dress sewing pattern

Here are some other disco diva dress and jumpsuit patterns to choose from:

Sewing Bee Fabrics

You are spoiled for choice with our disco diva fabrics, I love this red stretch fabric with sewn on sequins, perfect for dancing the night away:

Here are some more to choose from:

John Kaldor plain glitter jersey in navy (this is also available in teal and ivory)
Sequin fabrics
Stretch velvet
Crushed taffeta
Satin

Sewing Bee Techniques

Scroll down to last week's blog post for video and written tutorials on sewing with sequins, sewing with slippery fabrics and sewing with velvet.

Series 7 Episode 7: Winter Week

Winter week on the Sewing Bee and (sadly) it couldn't be more appropriate for the weather here in the UK right now! The Bees had to tackle lots of different fabric types and we couldn't wait to see the party dresses created in the made to measure challenge.

The Pattern Challenge: A Man's Flannel Shirt

You can't beat a tailored shirt for a satisfying sew, but I'm not sure I'd want to rustle one up in the time allocated for the Bees!

Sewing collars and cuffs can be tricky thanks to the precision required to line the edges of the fabric up evenly not to mention sharp corners and buttonholes.

Sewing Bee Patterns and Fabrics

Luckily we can sew along with the Bees at home and take our time to really perfect those techniques.

Here are some men's shirt patterns, my personal favourite has to be this men's shirt and jacket pattern:

Simplicity 8475 men's shirt and jacket sewing pattern

We don't have any flannel, but we do have some gorgeous ex designer shirting fabrics, I love this subtle grey stripe shirting cotton:

You can find more shirting fabric picks here:

Shirting Fabrics

Sewing Bee Tutorials

The Sewing Bees had to sew the shirt yoke using the burrito method - a method which lines the yoke with no hand sewing required. Super neat, super professional and super easy if you follow our YouTube tutorial:

Transformation Challenge: Old Scarves into a Wearable Garment

As someone with a lot of old scarves I never wear I was interested to see what creative ideas the Bees came up with for this challenge. Depending on the size of scarf it might require rather a lot of sewing to create a whole garment.

Made to Measure Challenge: a Festive Winter Party Dress

Oh my goodness how do we all need a good old splash of sequins, glitter and party dress after the year we've had?! We have SO many gorgeous party dress patterns and luxurious fabrics perfect for this task too.

Sewing Bee Patterns and Fabrics

Sewing Bee Patterns

Once again Rafe's dress was simply stunning, you can create your own with this New Look pattern:

Here are some other top pick party dress patterns, but if we haven't got you ready to crack out the party poppers do check out our website for thousands of other designs:

Sewing Bee Fabrics

We have so many glorious party worthy fabrics to choose from - glitter jerseys, silky soft satins, intricate lace, stretch velvet and sequins to name but a few. We've added some links below, but this John Kaldor glitter jersey has to be one of my all time favourites:

Here are some more to choose from:

John Kaldor plain glitter jersey in navy (this is also available in teal and ivory)
Sequin fabrics
Stretch velvet
Crushed taffeta
Satin

Sewing Bee Techniques

We've got lots of tutorials to help you with some of those trickier fabrics too:

Check out our article and video on our top tips for sewing with sequin fabric:

Find out how to sew with slippery fabrics like crepe de chine and satin here:

Sewing with slippery fabrics sewing tools

Here are our top tips for sewing with velvet:

Series 7 Episode 6: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Week

This week the Sewing Bees will face the challenge of reusing and recycling soft furnishings and charity shop clothes into a whole new look requiring not only excellent sewing skills, but also exceptional levels of creative thinking.

The Pattern Challenge: A Man's Waistcoat

The Bees had to create a man's waistcoat from second hand clothes. The judges were looking out for appropriate fabric choices and precision sewing - the waistcoat should match up neatly at the front opening, any buttonholes had to be sewn accurately, linings should not be poking out and corners needed to be crisp and sharp.

Sewing Bee Patterns and Fabrics

We have a number of men's waistcoat patterns to choose from listed below, some with mini options for younger children. We love this slim fitting Vogue design (click the image to view)

Vogue 8987 men's waistcoat sewing pattern

We have some great suiting fabrics to choose from, our favourite is the grey Prince of Wales check (click to view)

You can find more suiting fabric picks here.

Sewing Bee Buttonhole Tools

For perfectly spaced buttonholes you can't beat our Simflex sewing gauge:

If you're sewing a buttonhole on an uneven or bulky surface a bulky seam aid is a useful piece of equipment, you slip it under the back of the foot to give it something to work against.

If you want to avoid that heart wrenching experience of slicing through a buttonhole too far we would always recommend using a buttonhole cutter, you can find out range here.

Sewing Bee Techniques

You can find all of our top buttonhole sewing tips in this video:

Transformation Challenge: Army Clothes into a Stylish and Wearable Garment for Women

You can't beat a bit of military influence in fashion. Utility jackets and trousers in khaki, dessert shades and even camo print have been popular on and off for years, which will have given the Bees plenty of inspiration for the transformation challenge.

Made to Measure Challenge: Old Jeans to Create a Made to Measure Dress

One of the first projects many sewers tackle is to refashion something from denim, perhaps a bag or jeans to a skirt. The judges were looking for the Bees to take this concept further and create a perfectly fitting dress in the made to measure challenge this week and it's safe to say the contestants well and truly rose to the challenge.

If you're taking up the denim challenge this week don't forget your denim and topstitching needles and top stitch thread. We also have a great range of denim hardware.

Sewing Bee Patterns

We loved the halterneck dress produced and thought you could use this lovely pattern to produce something similar:

You could recreate an asymmetric design with buttons rather than a zip with this Butterick pattern:

Don't forget we have literally thousands of other dress patterns to choose from on our site too, you can find them here.

You can find our full range of denim fabrics here.

Series 7 Episode 5: Children's Week

The competition is really hotting up now and I always think this is the point where we start to see some really accomplished sewing amongst the Sewing Bees.

The Bees were tasked with sewing a toddler's romper suit, transforming wet suits into under the sea themed fancy dress and creating a children's raincoat.

The thing I was looking forward to most was seeing Patrick or Joe donning the fancy dress efforts.

The Pattern Challenge: Toddler Romper Suit

The small pattern pieces of a children's romper suit are challenging in themselves, throw in an elasticated back, cross over straps and snap fastenings at the crotch and the pressure was really on.

Sewing Bee Patterns and Fabrics

Here are some sewing patterns which would work well for a toddler romper suit, we are positively cooing at the cuteness factor!

The image below is Simplicity 8894 tap to view.

Simplicity 8894 romper suit sewing pattern

These patterns are a mixture of knit and woven fabric patterns so do check patterns and fabrics for details.

The fabric in the image below is our cotton woven butterfly print fabric, click the image to view.

Here are some more super cute fabric picks:

Jersey Fabrics

Woven Fabrics

Snap and Tools

Image below: Prym Love vario pliers and piercing/coloursnaps tool, click image to view.

Sewing Bee Techniques

Our top tips for using snaps:

Always make sure you have a few pairs of snaps spare for testing on your fabric before you apply them to the garment and in case you have any mishaps.
It can be helpful to set the snaps out in pairs of one male on female before you start.
If you aren't using a specific snaps tool to create the holes in your fabric make sure you don't make the holes too big!

Transformation Challenge: Wet Suits to an Under the Sea Themed Fancy Dress Costume

The thought of sewing with a wetsuit would strike fear into the heart of many a home sewist.

Having to transform with a fancy dress costume idea and doing it under severe time pressure makes it even more terrifying.

I'm sure the Sewing Bees were relieved once this challenge was over!

Made to Measure Challenge: a Child's Raincoat

Another tricky fabric to sew with the Sewing Bees had to whip up a well fitting , fully waterproof child's raincoat - eek!

We love this Burda design with the option for a full length puddle suit (click the image to view)

Sewing Bee Patterns

Sadly we don't have any fabrics suitable for this challenge, however we do have a tip for working with fabrics like vinyl or anything similar where you sewing machine struggles to feed the fabric through due to the 'stickiness' - use a roller foot or Teflon foot in your machine.

Pictured below is the Pfaff non-stick foot for IDT system (click to view). This foot is only compatible with certain Pfaff machines, check our compatibility information provided for details.

These feet are also available for other brands of machine you can find our full range of sewing machine accessories and feet here. Always check our compatibility charts and information to ensure compatibility with your machine.

Series 7 Episode 4: International Week

I was particularly excited to see everyone demonstrate their creative flair in the made to measure challenge inspired by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

Plus the all important - what will Joe be wearing and how will he be embracing the international flavour this week?

The Great British Sewing Bee brought us sewing challenges from around the world in this week's episode.

The Pattern Challenge: French Breton Top

This week the Bees faced a challenge many of us home sewers will have tackled before - a French Breton top.

The judges were looking for matching stripes, a smooth boatneck neckline and a neat button placket.

Sewing Bee Patterns and Fabrics

Here are some sewing patterns which would work well for a French Breton inspired top, both woven and knit designs are included so check the patterns for details:

Tilly and the Buttons Coco Dress and Top Sewing Pattern

We have a number of striped fabrics you could use to create the look, these are all knit fabrics so check your pattern details:

Sewing Bee Techniques

Here's a stripe matching example from my handmade wardrobe and my top stripe matching tips:

Fold fabric carefully before cutting out and make sure the stripes are aligned. You can insert a pin along a stripe through the two layers of fabric to check they are lined up correctly.
Use the notches on your pattern pieces to make sure the stripes will line up when sewn together.
Pin at right angles to the raw edge to keep the stripes in place as you sew.

Transformation Challenge: Sarongs

I always say I think I'd really struggle with the transformation challenge, but this week's challenge I could get on board with. The sewers had to use bright, bold sarongs to create something entirely different.

Sarongs gave the contestants a good sized piece of fabric to work with, but it meant the judges were looking for even more creative flair in their finished garments.

I thought our blog post on sewing with slippery fabrics might come in handy for sewing along with the Bees on this challenge. You can find it by clicking the image below:

Made to Measure Challenge: a Frida Kahlo Inspired Garment

Frida Kahlo was a Mexican artist known for her beautiful paintings and was also renowned for her personal style.

To honour Frida's style the Bees would need to embrace bold colours and rich mixes of textiles with a folk inspired theme.

Sewing Bee Patterns and Fabrics

This recent Zandra Rhodes Vogue pattern would lend itself beautifully to a Frida Kahlo inspired dress:

Here are some other ideas for Frida Kahlo inspired designs:

Think bold, bright colours for your fabrics (our speciality) you can find our full range of dressmaking fabrics here.

I think this Samba crepe fabric would work brilliantly for this theme:

Series 7 Episode 3: Gent's Classics Week

As a selfish sewer only sewing for myself, I'm never too excited about gent's classics week, however, I was intrigued to see how the Bees got on with a baker boy cap and have been thinking about making myself a utility jacket for a while.

The Pattern Challenge: A Baker Boy Cap

The baker boy cap looked like a tough challenge working in very small areas with such bulky, thick, fabric and precision was key. Lots of the Bees seemed to struggle with the self cover button and I thought how useful our self cover button tool would be for this task, you can find them here.

Sewing Bee Patterns and Fabrics

There isn't a huge demand for this style of hat, however, Simplicity do have a baker boy design which comes with a selection of other options to try, click the image to view:

Transformation Challenge: Men's Jackets and Blazers

This week the Bees had to transform a men's jacket into a garment for a woman, which reminded me of the refashioners challenge on Instagram a few years ago.

One of the most remarkable things about a challenge like this can be the intricate details and tailoring techniques you can discover when unpicking one of those garments to refashion it.

Made to Measure Challenge: A Casual Utility Jacket

What a great challenge for the Bees to get their teeth into and I loved some of the designs produced. There were a few mishaps as always, but in some instances these even turned into a happy accident.

Sewing Bee Patterns and Fabrics

The Ilford jacket by the Friday Pattern Company and pictured below (click to view it on our website) is gender neutral:

There are also a number of women's utility jacket patterns here, my favourite being the Sienna Maker jacket by Closet Core Patterns (click the image to view):

Here are some more designs to choose from too:

We also have a great range of denim fabrics perfect for sewing up these jackets, which you can find here.

Although some of the Bees struggled with them, you might have more luck and can find our range of snaps here.

Series 7 Episode 2: Summer Week

The Bees seemed excited to embrace summer week choosing bright, bold fabrics for the challenges and sporting some rather jazzy numbers themselves.

We also got to know a little more about the Bees whose none sewing related hobbies range from bell ringing to gymnastics.

The Pattern Challenge: Paperbag Shorts

This week the Bees had to rustle up a pair of paperbag shorts in the pattern challenge, tackling pockets, turn ups and an elastic waistband.

Here's a pair I made using Simplicity 8651 (twice I liked them so much), which would be perfect for sewing along with the Bees.

We no longer stock the fabric, but any of our cotton lawn fabrics would work beautifully and we have so many vibrant new designs in stock to choose from here.

Paperbag shorts Simplicity 8651 sewing pattern sewn in cotton lawn fabric.

If these aren't your bag (pardon the pun!) you could also check out these alternatives on a similar theme. Some of these designs are more fitted and not a traditional paperbag effect, but have a similar aesthetic:

Sewing Bee Patterns and Fabrics

Here are our top picks for paperbag short and trouser sewing patterns:

You can find our perfect range of printed woven fabrics here.

Sewing Bee Techniques

Choosing the right fabric for any sewing project is crucial for success, check out our top tips for getting it right here:

Sewing pattern, fabric and sewing supplies

Transformation Challenge

The Bees certainly had a challenge on their hands transforming men's board shorts into a cocktail hour outfit for women!

I admire the gusto and enthusiasm they approach these tasks with, I'm sure would suffer an extreme mental block and wouldn't know where to begin!

Made to Measure Challenge: Button Down Sundresses

A big step up from a loose fitting buffet dress, a button down sundress seemed like a tricky next step for the Bees.

Perfectly aligned buttonholes and a good fit are difficult to achieve under such pressurised circumstances, but we have some great tips and advice for those of you sewing at home so you can nail those techniques.

Here is a button down dress I made, which would be perfect for sewing along with the Bees. Sadly this pattern is now only available in PDF format, although we do have a very limited number of paper copies left. If you don't manage to grab one we also have lots of other great options:

The Tilly and the Buttons Seren sundress sewn in cotton lawn fabric.

Sewing Bee Patterns and Fabrics

Check out our range of printed woven fabrics here.

Sewing Bee Techniques

Esme and Patrick were looking for neat and evenly spaced button holes plus a great fit in the sundress challenge, here are our top tutorials and tips for nailing those sewing techniques.

Series 7 Episode 1: Wardrobe Staples Week

The Great British Sewing Bee is baaaaaccckkk and what better way to open the show than Joe sailing across the Thames in a fur coat with definite Sully of Monsters Inc vibes?!

The Pattern Challenge: A Shell Top

A nice easy way for the Sewing Bees to ease themselves in they were tasked with sewing a shell top with back button fastening.

The judges were looking for a flawless finish and were paying extra attention to the bust darts, facing and hem.

Sewing Bee Patterns and Fabrics

Here are our top picks for shell top sewing patterns:

You can find our perfect range of printed woven fabrics here including the classic spot print crepe Serena chose to secure first place in the challenge.

Sewing Bee Techniques

If you need to perfect your dart sewing check out our video tutorial and top tips for how to sew darts here:

Also find a rather old, but helpful tutorial on how to line a sleeveless bodice or dress here:

Transformation Challenge

The Sewing Bees had to transform up to three Tshirts to make a single item of clothing.

The efforts ranged from dresses and playsuits to skirts and tops and some of the pattern placement lead the judges to fits of hysterics!

Made to Measure Challenge: A Buffet Dress

A fairly easy first made to measure challenge for the Bees - the loose fitting buffet dress.

I've heard referred to more commonly as a peasant dress, although I love the logic of the buffet name - plenty of room for extra helpings from the buffet in these designs!

These dresses have been hugely popular on the High Street and in sewing circles for the last few years meaning there are plenty of suitable patterns for you to choose from.

Sewing Bee Patterns and Fabrics

See my version of the Tilly and the Buttons Indigo dress here:

Check out our range of printed woven fabrics here including the fabric I used for my Indigo dress.

Sewing Bee Techniques

Lots of the Sewing Bees worked busily on gathering and ruffles find out top tips for sewing ruffles and gathers here.

Find our tutorial for using a gathering foot here: