The Great British Sewing Bee: Children's Week

May 13, 2021 2:54 AM - Season 7, Episode 5

For children's week, the sewers' skills are tested by romper suits, Under the Sea-themed fancy dress and raincoats for mini models.
posted by ellieBOA (11 comments total)

Go Farie! Three in a row! And poor Adam, Joe will be bereft too!
posted by ellieBOA at 2:55 AM on May 13, 2021

I couldn't help thinking - and I'm surprised the judges didn't pick up on it - how impractical it would be in the rain to have a big plait of fake hair hanging off the back of the child's coat. It would just get soaked and be a PITA until it was dry. I thought Andrew's coat was great, and showed more skill than Farie's, so for me his was the winner.

But Adam! Nooooo!

Also, I'm loving Damien's backchat to the judges and his sort of can't-give-a-shit attitude. When Esme pulled him up on not reading the instructions properly in the pattern challenge, his response of "I read more than I usually do" made me laugh out loud.
posted by essexjan at 6:03 AM on May 13, 2021

essexjan, definitely thought that about the plait!
posted by ellieBOA at 6:12 AM on May 13, 2021

The mane was kind of cute, and I think it might have been removable, but it still really didn't make sense for a raincoat.

Andrew's coat was more difficult, and it looked like he did a fantastic job. I would have picked him to win. And the CRAB. I loved the crab!
posted by Akhu at 6:49 AM on May 13, 2021 [1 favorite]

The children's challenge must be one of the hardest to do because all the bits are so damn small. Considering he said he'd never made anything for a child before I think Andrew did astonishingly well with that coat. Farie's stuff was wonderful, but she does have kids, and had made clothes for them before. I think she even said that she had actually used the romper pattern before, and making a pattern the second time is a complete doddle compared to the first! Andrew definitely seems to be getting better at this - his crab was fantastic!

So sorry to see Adam go, but we are now getting into the phase of the show where even the good sewers (argh) are being weeded out.
posted by Fuchsoid at 10:57 AM on May 13, 2021 [1 favorite]

I think Andrew should have won this week. His jacket was really great--heck, his crab could have won garment of the week. I'm really sorry to see Adam go and I think Adeena should have gone instead based on her romper problems and her underwhelming transformation. She seems to have trouble nearly every week, while Adam just had one bad sew. Also, she made exactly the same mistake Cathryn made last week, covering up her print fabric with something opaque that you couldn't see the fabric through.
posted by ceejaytee at 11:20 AM on May 13, 2021 [1 favorite]

I know, right? The moment she said she was covering the cute fabric with another layer, I was like "didn't you hear Cathryn's feedback last week?!" Although in her case some of the fabric was still visible in the lining, and the aquarium/foggy window effect was kind of a nice concept.

I'm guessing Farie's mane was plastic strands? That would make it lighter and less at risk of waterlogging. Still I was surprised she won over Andrew; maybe her stitching was just that good (it's hard to tell from the brief glimpses we get, but it looked like her pockets were sewn on beautifully right on the edge). But I wish they explained these decisions more - it does a disservice to the winners that they don't. I was glad they showed Patrick saying he thought Adam could have gone all the way to the final. He probably could have.

I thought at first the fact that Farie had made the coat before was problematic, but then again they do all get to practice their garments beforehand.

I keep going back and forth on Damien, and I'm a little surprised they let him get away with just sticking the magnets on instead of sewing them in. (The stick-on magnet tape I've used tends to start coming loose at the edges.) But I did really like the chutzpah of just using a shower curtain, and then going the extra step with that lining. And it's a small thing, but I was also a little surprised they didn't say anything about Andrew giving definition to his crab claws by... drawing on them with a marker. But I guess maybe that's nitpicking.

I wonder if the black-and-white dress with the long side zipper in the preview was Adeena's, and if she drafted that pattern. It looked nice.
posted by trig at 4:01 AM on May 14, 2021 [1 favorite]

Adaaaaaam :((((

I felt Andrew should have won garment of the week but it is entirely possible that there were sewing elements we just didn't see that made Farie's triumph. I am glad Farie seems to have worked out the timing issues and is finishing things!
posted by Anonymous at 7:44 AM on May 14, 2021

I just wanted to add that my friend Peter is one of the men in the Pride rainbow romper suits in Raef's photo.
posted by essexjan at 3:44 PM on May 15, 2021 [3 favorites]

That's wonderful - if Raph wins he can take partial credit for providing practice. Was he pleased with the fit and stitching quality??
Someone pointed out that since that romping was in 2018 it seems Raph has been sewing for at least a little longer than just since the pandemic, which I guess is a relief to non-overachievers everywhere.
posted by trig at 4:20 PM on May 15, 2021

He was just delighted, trig, that he could still fit into it!
posted by essexjan at 4:27 PM on May 15, 2021