The Great British Sewing Bee will be back on our screeens on Tuesday, May 21! We love the Sewing Bee and the chance to enjoy the sewists' highs and lows.
The Great British Sewing Bee returns to Sunny Bank Mills in Leeds to celebrate its 10th series with a dozen more stitchers competing to be named Britain’s Best Amateur Sewer. Ghosts star Kiell Smith-Bynoe – himself an alumnus of the celebrity edition of the show – takes on hosting duties while our regular presenter, comedian Sara Pascoe, is on maternity leave. Designers Patrick Grant – part of the BAFTA-nominated reality favourite from the beginning – and Esme Young are back as judges.
From outlandish made-to-measures to trickier-than-ever transformations, The Great British Sewing Bee offers lashings of sewing room drama with the eagle-eyed judging we've grown to love from Patrick and Esme.
Why not join us by doing a Great British Sewing Bee series 10 sweepstake? Simply click on this link for a pdf of all the contestants, print out and cut out! Let us know who you pick on social media @simplysewingmag.
Photos: BBC/Love Productions/James Stack
Your complete guide to the 2024 Sewing Bee!
Looking for something specific? Jump straight to our Sewing Bee sections to learn more.
Everything you need to know about the Bee:
- When is the Great British Sewing Bee on?
- New book alert 2024! The Great British Sewing Bee: Back to Basics
- Who is the new presenter of the Great British Sewing Bee 2024?
- The Great British Sewing Bee FAQ
The Great British Sewing Bee Season 10:
- Sewing Bee 2024 episode guide
- Sewing Bee patterns
- The Great British Sewing Bee's 2024 themes
- Download our free Sewing Bee sweepstake card!
- What can we expect from this year's Great British Sewing Bee?
Meet the Sewing Bee Season 10 cast:
Meet the Sewing Bee judges and presenters:
When is the Great British Sewing Bee 2024 on?
It's official! The Great British Sewing Bee Series 10 will return to BBC One on Tuesday 21st May 2024, 9pm.
What channel is the Great British Sewing Bee on 2024?
The Great British Sewing Bee is shown on BBC One.
Where can I stream the Great British Sewing Bee?
All the past Sewing Bee episodes are available on iPlayer shortly after they've aired. The show can also be streamed on the Sky Go app.
The BBC has made all of the past eight series of the Great British Sewing Bee available on iPlayer, so you can catch up on any series that you've missed.
Watch the Great British Sewing Bee
New book alert 2024! The Great British Sewing Bee: Back to Basics
Get yourself a copy of the brand new The Great British Sewing Bee: Back to Basics: Create Your Own Capsule Wardrobe With 23 Dressmaking Projects. The book is available to pre-order and is out on the 18th April 2024. Subscribe to Simply Sewing magazine today and receive a copy of this book with your subscription! Sign up today to receive a copy direct to your door.
Who is the new presenter of the Great British Sewing Bee 2024?
There's a new presenter in the Sewing Bee studio! The lovely Sara Pascoe is going on maternity leave (congratulations Sara!) so the incredibly talented Kiell Smith-Bynoe will be taking over the reins.
Kiell will be hosting the upcoming series 10 in 2024.
Read the full interview with Kiell Smith-Bynoe
2024 Sewing Bee episode guide
Watch this space! Every week we're going to be sharing our thoughts, feelings and favourites from each episode of the Sewing Bee. We'll see the perennial favourites – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Week, Holiday Week and Kids Week – alongside other themes. These include: sport, lingerie, design icons, diva, and India.
Back to Basics Week kicks off the series with a new spin on the tasks from the very first episode of Sewing Bee which aired on 2 April 2013. The Pattern Challenge is a denim skirt. The Transformation Challenge asks the Bees to repurpose an oversized garment altering the neckline. And the Made-to-Measure is a casual day dress.
We'd love to know what you thought of each episode too! Chat with us over on Simply Sewing or Gathered's Instagram.
There will be spoilers!
Episode one
The Pattern Challenge: A denim A-line skirt Transformation challenge: Transform a t-shirt The Made-to-Measure: Day dress
It's Sewing Bee's 10th birthday so the first challenge pays homage to the very first ever Sewing Bee challenge. The sewers are tasked with making a denim A-line skirt with a button-up front. It might sound simple but it's a deceptively tricky challenge.
It proved difficult for the sewers to finish in time, several skirts were missing buttons, and had unfinished top stitches.
Suzy came last with her unfinished skirt. In first place was Pascha! Her skirt was almost complete and was complimented for being precise and neat!
In the transformation challenge, the sewists will be updating a t-shirt! The sewists have an hour and a half to transform their chosen t-shirt. The t-shirts will need to be made into an entirely different garment with a new silhouette.
There's lots of variety in the transformations across the sewers. Lauren is making a mini skirt, as is Don whereas Ailsa will be creating a jacket. Marcus is going for a more unusual design with a reversible bucket hat.
In last place is Neil, Suzy was the winner with her inventive plaiting of the fabric.
The final challenge of episode one is the Made to Measure, and the sewers will be making a casual day dress. The dress must fit a real model, and be the perfect fit! The dresses must also not be too flashy, without embellishment and something that can be worn during the daytime.
Again there's such a lovely mixture of designs! Neil opted for a 1970s-style day dress using orange patterned fabric. Comfort is opting for a cacoon dress, and Lauren is going for a maxi dress with spaghetti straps. Ailsa is going for round two with denim and Suzi is upcycling a duvet cover into a dress.
At the one-hour remaining mark, the pressure was on! Lots of the sewists were rushing to get finished in time. Don's dress impressed the judges with it being almost perfect, but the end wasn't hemmed. Suzy also impressed with her use of contrasting duvet fabric. Patrick said the dress was "terrific"!
Garment of the week is Suzi's contrasting duvet dress!
Sadly, going home this week was Neil.
Sewing Bee-inspired pattern of the week
Do you want to have a go? Try making your own button-up midi skirt with our beginner-friendly patternless skirt.
Get the look: Button-up midi skirt
Discover your favourite Sewing Bee patterns
Want to make garments like the ones you've seen on the show? Each week we'll be updating our Sewing Bee patterns roundup with projects inspired by the episode's theme.
The Great British Sewing Bee 2024 themes
This is where we'll update the themes from each episode!
Meet the Great British Sewing Bee 2024 contestants!
Here's this year's Great British Sewing Bee contestants:
AILSA, 28 (she/her)
- GLASGOW
- Freelance Events Planner
Ailsa, a proud Scot, grew up in a small village in the Scottish Highlands with her Mum. Ailsa’s Mum worked as a seamstress and in the local greengrocers that was owned and run by Ailsa’s grandparents.
Sadly, her Mum passed away in 2016 after a five-year battle with breast cancer. Ailsa loved the tiny village, but being queer she felt she hadn’t met her people and eventually moved to Glasgow to study Fashion Marketing. She has stayed there ever since and has an amazing group of friends around her who are like chosen family and all really support each other.
Ailsa learnt the basics of sewing as a young child from her talented Mum. After years of feeling self-conscious, sewing has helped grow her confidence in herself and her body by allowing her to make garments which suit and fit her needs and that reflect her identity. She describes her sewing style as contemporary, sustainable, modern and experimental. Sewing also allows Ailsa to make positive and sustainable choices through the clothes she wears. Most of the fabric she uses is dead stock or second hand. This year, Ailsa set herself a challenge of only buying second-hand or making her own clothes and has stuck to it so far!
Ailsa loves crafty workshops including life drawing classes and recently completed a ceramics course, making her own breakfast-themed fabric weights and buttons. As much as the Scottish weather will allow, Ailsa likes to roller skate as often as possible and enjoys cycling to Loch Lomond for wild swimming.
ALEX, 32 (she/her)
- DERBYSHIRE
- Copywriter/Editor
Alex was born in Manchester and moved to Cambridge when she was four with her parents and younger sister, where she lived until she went to university. Alex moved to London in 2012 after graduation and worked as a Copywriter for a fashion brand. Five years ago, Alex left London and moved to Derbyshire with her partner of 10 years, Ollie in a house they renovated together. She is a Copywriter/Editor for a major UK homewares brand and loves her job.
Alex has been sewing since she was very young, when she would make her own stuffed toys and fill them with rice and she hand-sewed a lot during her time in the Brownies and Girl Guides. Her Mum is also a very creative person and Alex’s biggest inspiration, known in the family as the ‘DIY Queen’. Alex is very passionate about sustainability and likes to reflect her personality through her clothing style. She loves to see a project progressing and gets joy and body euphoria from her sewing. She believes that comfort is key and sews oversized garments with androgynous looks. She prefers a plain fabric over patterns and likes to mix dark and light colours in her wardrobe.
Outside of sewing, Alex likes to keep fit, she loves and teaches yoga, wild swimming and running, she’s even taken part in ultra marathons. With her partner Ollie, they like to grow their own vegetables in their garden.
COMFORT, 33 (she/her)
- SOMERSET (originally UGANDA)
- Self-Employed Designer and Business Manager
Comfort grew up in Uganda and moved to Tanzania to study Architecture at University at 19. One of four siblings, her Mum died when she was six years old, and she was raised by her Dad and Step-Mum. Comfort met her husband Paul, whilst studying in Tanzania and they have two children together. It was Paul who bought Comfort her first sewing machine in 2018 and has encouraged her creativity ever since.
As a trained architect, designing and making is at the heart of everything Comfort does. She started to sew after giving birth to her first child as she felt she was lacking creatively. Comfort is incredibly proud of her East African heritage and strives to embrace every aspect of its vibrant culture. She is passionate about the art form Batik and designs her own fabrics. She has taught workshops in Uganda and nurtures new artisan makers. She loves how she can skillfully transform a plain-looking fabric into something with a dynamic pattern. Comfort aspires to showcase her East African heritage and love for vibrant colours and patterns.
Outside of sewing, Comfort’s priority is spending time with her young family and her relationship with God is what keeps her eternally upbeat.
DON, 84 (he/him)
- CHESHIRE
- Retired Research Physicist
Don grew up in the small village of Leuchars in Scotland but often moved around because his father was in the RAF during the Second World War. He went on to study Physics at St Andrews and then to Imperial College London for his PhD. He worked in scientific research for the electrical supply industry until he was made redundant at 57, so he retired early. Don met his wife, Karen, 25 years ago at a Quaker meeting and between them they have eight children and 11 grandchildren scattered across the world.
Don was taught to sew over 70 years ago by his mother on a hand-cranked sewing machine. He began sewing seriously around 60 years ago, initially making clothes for his girlfriend in university and continuing from there. Having four daughters kept him on his toes, and he would make their dresses for university formals and even made wedding dresses for three of them. He drafts many of his own patterns and considers himself to be an ‘advanced non-professional’. Don holds himself to a very high standard and aims to produce garments that are better made than store-bought clothing. He is a perfectionist, and likes to create things which are unusual, but still simple.
As well as sewing, he enjoys making jewellery through silver smithing and copper beating. He volunteers at the Storyhouse Theatre in Chester, helping in the costume department for their summer plays and Christmas shows and is also an avid amateur photographer. Don was a keen offshore sailor and acquired a Yachtmaster Ocean certification. He spent time sailing his own boat to the Isle of Man, the Hebrides, Ireland and even La Rochelle.
GEORGIE, 40 (she/her)
- ISLE OF WIGHT
- Club & Festival DJ
Georgie was born in Lewisham in South London and lived there with her parents and two sisters until she was 5 years old. Deciding the London life was not for them, they moved to the beautiful Isle of Wight where Georgie still lives with her partner of 17 years and two children. In a past life, Georgie was a police officer and although an incredible experience she much prefers her current job as a Club and Festival DJ.
Taught the basics by her mother and grandmother, Georgie has been sewing on and off for 10 years and has been consistently making garments for the last two years. She started out by making curtains and roman blinds followed by handbags and cushions. She describes her style as a smorgasbord of casual chic, grungy boho and ‘earth mother hippy’. She’s passionate about sustainability and not contributing to fast fashion. She often makes dresses and blouses out of tablecloths and jackets and trousers out of quilted blankets.
Outside of sewing, Georgie spends her time growing her own fruit and vegetables on her allotment and volunteering for her community as an elected Town Councillor. She also loves to knit and is slowly working towards making her entire wardrobe self-made or second hand. She’s been a local Radio DJ, done some part-time modelling with her family and also makes electronic dance music and even hopes to release tracks in the future.
JANET, 75 (she/her)
- DONCASTER
- Retired
Janet was born and bred in Yorkshire where she raised her 3 sons. She has taken on many roles throughout her working life including; a market trader, a dog groomer, doctor’s receptionist, and she owned a private hire taxi company, she is now happily retired. Janet met her partner, Adrian, at 68 at a dance and they are both enjoying retirement together.
Janet started sewing when she was 12 years old, as soon as her mother let her use the sewing machine. As a teenager she’d get a dress length of fabric for 10 shillings at the market and made shift dresses and her skills and creativity grew from there. Janet sewed for her family to save money when her sons were young and recalls making 6 pairs of trousers every month but now, she enjoys making nice clothes for herself. Janet loves making formal, glamourous dress for her dancing classes and holidays, and says there no such thing as being overdressed. Her Mum once told her, ‘Always dress up and never down!’
Janet is very active, she loves to dance and does Rock and Roll, Salsa, and Sequence dancing. Oil painting is also a passion of Janet’s and displays a lot of her artwork on the walls of her home. One day she’d love to create a masterpiece, to be able to leave something behind for her children and grandchildren.
LAUREN, 36 (she/her)
- MANCHESTER
- Finance Administrator
Finance Administrator Lauren was born in Hackney but has lived in Manchester since she was 5 years old. She currently lives in a flat in South Manchester and is single, she comes from a big family and boasts 15 nephews and nieces and a few godchildren.
Lauren has been creative from a young age and even used to make Cinderella dresses out of newspapers for her niece. She learnt sewing basics from her Mum, a reggae singer who used to make her own outfits for some of her shows. Lauren later found out that her grandmother also sewed, this inspired her to take her sewing more seriously around 6 years ago. Her skills ramped up in the lockdown of 2020 when she had lots of time to practice, and she taught herself how to draft patterns. Lauren now self-drafts the majority of her garments to make them truly unique, her sewing style is simple, but fun and classy with a pop of colour. She’s inspired by 1980’s fashion and loves the bold aspects of the era, like adding in shoulder pads to her garments whenever she can. Creating garments for all occasions (for herself and loved ones) for a fraction of designer prices is important to her.
Lauren inherited a huge passion for music from her parents and is a talented singer. She also enjoys keeping fit, knitting, making keepsakes as gifts for family and going out with her friends.
LUKE, 33 (they/them)
- MANCHESTER
- Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion Director
Luke grew up in Wilmslow, Cheshire, with their Mum Janet and sister, through whom Luke has a close relationship with their niece and nephew. Luke now lives in Salford, Manchester with fiancé Jesus, who is originally from Gran Canaria. They have been together for 5 years. Luke is queer and non-binary and uses they/them pronouns. Luke is extremely passionate about their job, they work with large organisations to make diversity, equality and inclusion a fundamental part of their business and not just performative, tokenistic or box ticking.
Luke is a creative force and was taught the basics of sewing at the age of 8 by their grandma and was always inspired by her to embrace arts and crafts. She helped Luke when they started to perform in drag in their early 20s, often helping to construct their outfits. Luke’s drag persona is called Selma Skreams, they perform at club nights and private parties both in the UK and internationally. Luke’s garments used to stick to a more neutral, muted colour palette but now they like to incorporate Selma into their everyday wear, using bold colours in outfits and designs. They also like to create impressive garments that have an element of surprise. Luke tries to break gender stereotypes with their garments and finds it uncomfortable that the majority of high street clothing is gendered and loves that sewing allows them to express their gender identity more authentically.
Luke is a classically trained musician, training at the Birmingham Conservatoire and plays both piano and clarinet. As well as playing they love to compose music, they also enjoy travelling and are currently learning to speak Spanish.
MARCUS, 30 (he/him)
- LONDON
- Teaching Assistant & Arts Award Coordinator
Marcus grew up in London and was raised by his parents who were both Philosophers of Music. He met his wife Juliet when he was 15 in school, and they haven’t been apart since. He is a passionate Teaching Assistant who helps children one-to-one with special educational needs. He has recently taken on the role of Arts Award Coordinator; giving children who struggle academically knowledge and insight into careers in the arts industries.
While living in Canada Marcus was looking for home comforts, which is how he discovered The Great British Sewing Bee and that inspired him to start sewing. Marcus started his sewing journey making womenswear for his wife, but now inspired by 90s streetwear mainly focuses on clothes for himself. He likes to adapt patterns and describes his garments as ‘jarring, garish or kitsch’ due to his desire to make loud, outlandish statement clothing. He’s made lot of jackets, waistcoats, hats, and shorts. He also tends to repurpose garments and transform them into something else.
Marcus has a variety of hobbies and enjoys rollerblading, writing, art, building Lego and playing videogames. He has an aquarium containing frogs, large fish, and shrimp in which he takes a lot of pride. Inspired by his parents, Marcus is a big lover of music having once played in a band he now enjoys DJing.
NEIL, 52 (he/him)
- LEICESTER
- Woodwork Instructor
Woodwork instructor Neil grew up in Sileby near Leicester with his Mum, Dad and older brother and sister. He met his partner Kathy on his 24th birthday and they had a civil partnership in 2020.
Neil has a general love of making things and learning new skills. He has a passion for all things vintage and started to sew out of necessity in 2014 after learning 1940s swing dancing. At 6’4” he was unable to find vintage clothing to wear, so with Kathy showing him the basics on the sewing machine, he started with a pair of trousers. Inspired by his love for 20th century vintage fashion he makes classic, stylish garments such as waistcoats and trousers and has even expanded into womenswear. To stay true to the style, he will use as close to pure cotton and wool as possible.
Alongside a long list of hobbies, Neil leads bike tours around Leicester telling the story of the Green Bicycle Murder of 1919. He plays the sitar and before teaching performed at weddings, events and even tutored. As well as the sitar, he is also learning Flamenco guitar and currently plays for a local dance class. As an extension to his job, he enjoys restoring furniture and has also made his own ventriloquist doll called Terry Pastry.
PASCHA, 20 (she/her)
- GUILDFORD
- Student
Pascha was born in Switzerland and then lived in Greece until the age of four, at which time she moved to the UK with her parents and younger brother where they settled in Surrey. Pascha is currently studying Psychology and Innovation at Bristol University. She also has two jobs, working as a commis chef in a gastro pub and in wine-tasting events, where she plans and runs events from tastings to festivals.
Creative from a young age, Pascha used to make fairy dresses out of rhubarb leaves from the garden and made paper dresses and handbags for the tooth fairy. She first got into sewing by recycling one of her Dad’s old shirts and has self-taught herself everything she knows. Her Great-Grandma was a seamstress and her old patterns and materials have been passed down to Pascha and she uses them in her sewing today. She is passionate about the environment and sustainable fashion and has created her own versions of items she loves from unethical brands. Pascha would describe her style as subverted basics. She takes a simple silhouette, adds funky materials, and loves to experiment with making items multiway and reversible. Pascha’s proudest creation is her Marie Antoinette-style 18th century ballgown made of silk, which required using lot of new techniques. Her dream would be to wear the dress to go to a ball at Versailles.
Nature lover Pascha loves plants, foraging and growing her own fruit and veg. She has a garden in her kitchen growing strawberries, chillis, fennel and potatoes. She’s very close with her family and enjoys going to concerts with her Dad and gardening with her Mum. Another hobby of Pascha’s is fencing, which she does at university.
SUZY, 28 (she/her)
- LIVERPOOL (ORIGINALLY WIGAN)
- Waitress
Suzy grew up in Wigan with her parents and two older brothers before moving to Liverpool to study Journalism at University. She met her fiancé, Christian, 7 ½ years ago, and they recently got engaged in New York. During a trip to one of many fabric shops, Suzy was approached by a shop assistant with fabric in all her favourite colours and to her surprise, Christian had designed it ahead of time and it said the words, “Suzy, will you marry me?”. He even ordered enough fabric for her to make a dress upon their return home. Suzy recently left her corporate marketing job to return to hospitality.
Suzy has always been in love with fashion and wanted to make her own unique garments. 2 ½ years ago, after watching the Sewing Bee, she gave it a go. Regularly using charity shop curtains and bedsheets, key features of Suzy’s designs include big ruffles, lots of fabric and enormous sleeves. She made her entire wardrobe for her trip to New York. Suzy wants to create clothes that make a statement or spark a conversation and to be more like art than fashion.
Suzy considers sewing to be the first hobby she has ‘truly fallen in love with’. She also enjoys cooking and will happily spend an entire Saturday preparing to host for family and friends. She goes to the gym four times a week and ran her first marathon in 2021. Although having never danced before, Suzy recently tried adult ballet lessons. It wasn’t for her, so next up is Salsa dancing!
What can we expect from this year's Great British Sewing Bee?
Series 10 of The Great British Sewing Bee sees 12 enthusiastic amateur sewers enter the sewing room to take part in a series of fiendish challenges, which will be judged by industry experts Patrick Grant and Esme Young (no pressure!).
Each episode has three challenges: the Pattern Challenge, the Transformation Challenge and the Made to Measure.
In the Pattern Challenge, they are assigned a specific pattern to make. For the Transformation Challenge, the sewers are given some secondhand clothes which they have to turn into a creative outfit. Finally, the Made to Measure puts their tailoring skills to the test, as they have to make a garment to fit a model.
Patrick and Esme set the sewing challenges as the sewers explore clothes inspired by art, travel, fashion icons, utilitarian clothing, West Africa as well as some old favourites such as – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Week and Children’s Week.
The theme of Classics with a Twist Week kicks off the series, and the first Pattern Challenge is a top with a twist. The Transformation Challenge asks sewers to put their twist on a classic pencil skirt and blouse and the made-to-measure is an on-trend cut-out dress.
Ever wondered who composed the music for the Sewing Bee? Find out more about the Sewing Bee soundtrack with classical-music.com.
Who are the Sewing Bee judges?
The judges on the Sewing Bee are Patrick Grant and Esme Young, who are both respected fashion industry experts. Read on to find out more about Patrick and Esme…
Patrick Grant – Judge
Patrick, 51, is a designer and creative director of bespoke tailors Norton & Sons of Savile Row and its subsidiary E Tautz.
He won Menswear Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2010. He bought ailing Blackburn clothing manufacturer Cookson & Clegg in 2015, saving the factory from closure, and launched social enterprise Community Clothing to champion UK-made quality, affordable and sustainable fashion.
Earlier this year, he presented the documentary Coronation Tailors: Fit for a King. He's judged The Great British Sewing Bee since its start in 2013. Patrick lives in London.
Read our 2024 interview with Patrick Grant
Esme Young – Judge
Esme, 75, joined The Great British Sewing Bee as a judge in 2016. A designer who’s made costumes for films such as Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Trainspotting and Bridget Jones’s Diary, Esme is also a tutor at Central Saint Martins art school.
With three friends passionate about fashion, she opened the iconic store Swanky Modes in Camden, London, in the 1970s and dressed stars such as Grace Jones, Siouxsie Sioux and Cher. Their most famous creation, the Amorphous dress, is in The V&A Museum.
She’s guested on shows including: Richard Osman’s House of Games, Would I Lie to You? and The Wheel. Her autobiography Behind the Seams: My Life in Creativity, Friendship and Adventure was published last year. Esme lives in London.
Read our 2024 interview with Esme Young
The Great British Sewing Bee FAQ
Who won the Great British Sewing Bee in 2023?
The incredible Asmaa won The Great British Sewing Bee 2023. She wowed the judges throughout the competition with her skill, passion and creativity.
In the final of the Sewing Bee 2023, Asmaa's stunning two-in-one dress won her the trophy and we think she's a very worthy winner.
Read our interview with Asmaa over in our Meet the 2023 Great British Sewing Bee winner article. She shares all her thoughts and feelings on this year's show with us.
Who won the Great British Sewing Bee in 2022?
It's Annie! Read our interview with the Great British Sewing Bee 2022 winner Annie to get to know the new sewing champion. You can also read our interview with the Sewing Bee 2022 finalists.
The celebrity Christmas special winner was Johannes Radebe.
Who won the Great British Sewing Bee in 2021?
Last year's winner was 21-year-old Serena Baker, who was a trainee doctor from Edinburgh. She was the youngest sewer of the series and produced some impressive makes during her time on the show.
What sewing machines are used on the Sewing Bee?
If you've been eyeing up the machines on the show, discover the exact make and model with our what sewing machines are used on the Sewing Bee guide.
Where is the Great British Sewing Bee filmed in 2023?
The Great British Sewing Bee is located in a former textile mill called Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley, Leeds. This was the filming location for the 2022 series too.
Sunny Bank Mills was founded in 1829 and was a working textile mill right up until 2008. It's now a business space and is home to a wide range of companies – there's even a sewing school!
The Great British Sewing Bee was previously filmed at The Chainstore on Trinity Buoy Wharf for series 7 in 2021, which is just across the Thames from the O2 Arena.
The show's former warehouse setting for the 2020 series was located in London’s Bermondsey, in the heart of the capital's historical textiles quarter. For the truly geeky among you (we include ourselves in this category), the 2019 series was filmed at 47/49 Tanner Street (also the location of Dragon’s Den!), near Tower Bridge.
What happens to the clothes made on the Sewing Bee?
All the clothes on the Sewing Bee are returned to the contestants after filming. There's no waste in Sewing Bee studio!
Past contestant, Chinelo Bally also helped to clear up this mystery for us when she appeared on our We've Made It podcast. She also revealed that contestants receive a budget to buy the fabric needed for the show.
In the episode, Chinelo talked about her experiences on the show and shared some great tips for novice sewers. You can find We've Made It on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
What does the winner of the Sewing Bee get?
The winner of the Sewing Bee receives a golden mannequin award and the title of Britain's best amateur sewer. There's no cash prize, but many previous winners have gone on to write their own sewing books or set up their own craft businesses.
Do Sewing Bee contestants get paid?
No, Sewing Bee contestants do not get paid. They just do it for the honour of taking part and the chance to be the Sewing Bee champion!
Is the Sewing Bee filmed in one day?
No, Sewing Bee contestants have to commit to taking part in 20 days of filming spread over four months when they apply to be on the show.
Has a man ever won the Great British Sewing Bee?
Yes! Matt Chapple was the first male winner of the Sewing Bee in 2015. In recent years, we've seen more men taking part in the show such as Raph Dilhan who was a finalist in 2021.
Get the 2023 Sewing Bee book
A new book to accompany the series, The Great British Sewing Bee: The Skills - Beyond Basics: Advanced Tips and Tricks to Take Your Sewing Technique to the Next Level, goes on sale 13 April. This is a great way to predict that the hit show will almost certainly be airing on our TV screens around the same time!
Published by Quadrille, the 160-page techniques book, will help you find your confidence when tackling different sewing projects and achieve that perfect finish.
Why the Sewing Bee is one of our favourite craft TV shows
The Sewing Bee has got it all: kind contestants, beautiful clothes, loveable judges and lots of incredibly creative ideas. It's not surprising that it's one of the most popular craft TV shows out there.
The best part is that the Sewing Bee has inspired lots of people to take up sewing for themselves, with some of them even appearing as contestants on the show!
Start your sewing journey
If watching the show has inspired you to start sewing, you're probably wondering where to begin. We'd recommend starting with our best sewing machine guide, which is packed with expert tips and advice to help you enjoy this satisfying hobby!
All images from BBC/Love Productions.
