The Great British Sewing Bee: Quarter Final

June 11, 2020 5:55 AM - Season 1, Episode 8

Five sewers do battle in the quarter-final, where they must master techniques and styles from France, Spain and the Philippines.
posted by ellieBOA (8 comments total)

I loved Nicole's skirt. She's also seemed amazing at pulling things out of the bag with the Made-to-Measure.
posted by Anonymous at 4:31 PM on June 11, 2020

Of all the skirts, Mark's is the one I would wear, as I liked the wrap-around style and the print he chose. But it didn't follow the brief at all, as it wasn't fitted around the hips and butt and so was not a flamenco skirt at all. I also agree with the judges that he should have faced that front ruffle.

It was a surprise to see him fail so spectacularly after he's previously been one of the more successful contestants. But his choice of fabric for the terno was terrible, so it was doomed to failure from the start. His transformation of the tablecloth was dull too.

I'm glad to see Matt has survived this far. He's always slightly off-target with his choices, but somehow has been the 'second worse' week after week. I love Liz and would really like to see her win, but Nicole's flair is infectious. Claire's schtick has worn a bit thin with me now.

Also, I really want a terno now.
posted by essexjan at 8:57 AM on June 12, 2020

There was an interesting description of the Spanish version on Mumsnet:

I've been watching the Spanish version of the Sewing Bee, made by the same company but with a lot of differences. It's much longer - each episode is 2.5 hours. Much more emphasis on fashion and creativity than on the quality of the sewing. And they really ramp up the drama - they're only allowed into the haberdashery once and if you forger to pick up patterns or thread, tough shit. Team challenges to whip up competitivity between the contestants, ridiculously short time to do things - 90 minutes for a tailored jacket or ball gown. All a bit silly.

On the flip side though, the three judges are excellent and ever episode one of them does the challenge along with the contestants. Great to see how a professional would approach it. They have a VERY strong emphasis on waste, reuse, being conscious of the cost of things and not cutting out a pattern three times because you cocked it up first two times. Their version of the "transformation challenge" always reuses old clothes, second hand or weird and wacky things. They also in the past have made bags and shoes as well as clothing.

posted by paduasoy at 1:37 AM on June 15, 2020

WHERE DO I GET THAT
I WANT IT
posted by Anonymous at 12:33 PM on June 15, 2020

I love Liz! But I also love Nicole! I think Nicole could be the winner. Really enjoying this
posted by Samarium at 6:10 PM on June 15, 2020

2/3 of exotic "World" fashion is from neighbouring European countries. England got so parochial since I left
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 4:34 PM on July 1, 2020

That's been the case across the many, many, many UK-based cooking and crafting shows I've seen over all their seasons. Most contestants aren't coming from London as "exotic" is very relative to them.
posted by Anonymous at 4:50 AM on July 2, 2020

I was actually kind of relieved they went with places like Spain and France, since as much as I love the show they do have a tendency to... exotify during International Week (and some of the music choices they've made in the past for challenges around East Asia have been pretty cringeworthy). Every year I wonder how bad it'll be! Parochial is right.

(Meanwhile the segment on flamenco dresses was surprisingly short and uninformative... I'll assume it just got cut for time.)
posted by trig at 5:35 AM on July 2, 2020 [1 favorite]