Join in our fun little sew-along challenge for each week that the new series of the Great British Sewing Bee is on, and expand your skills while getting the chance to win money to spend on sewing goodies! 

#mysewingchallenge Week 3: Stretch Fabrics

We hope you are getting into the swing of things now with your sewing challenges - are you ready for week 3? This week we were so inspired by the amazing hoodies and dance costumes from the Sewing Bee children's week that we decided it was a great time to practice sewing with stretch fabric.

A lot of people find this a tricky one, but once you know how, it's not as bad as you think! Jersey is the most popular stretch fabric, but there's loads of other stretch fabrics available from stretch cottons and satins to sweatshirting. Whether you start small and have a go with something low-stretch like sweatshirting or french terry, or challenge yourself a bit more if you've sewn stretch before and pick a fine-stretch or high-stretch fabric, it's time to brush up those skills!

How it works

Don't forget to share your make on Instagram or Facebook with #mysewingchallenge and to tag us so we can see your entry!

You have one week to make your garment and share/tag us on social media, we will pick our first winner on Tuesday next week before the show... and they will receive a £25 gift voucher to spend on sewing goodies of their choice! We will be looking for originality, effort and beautiful projects, so don't be put off if you're a beginner - it's not about being the best, it's about having a go and pushing yourself!

Need some inspiration?

For our stretch project, Angela took the reigns this week and made up the jersey dress that our lovely teacher Joan teaches in the shop, in our jersey dress class. It's a wonderful slightly-fitted shape that clings in the good places and skims where you need it! Using the New Look 6428 pattern and some stunning Art Gallery jersey, with a reasonable stretch, she tackled not just sewing with the stretch fabric but putting in and top-stitching darts, setting in sleeves AND mastered putting a zip into stretch fabric too - phew! It was finished with an overlocker on the insides, and Angela's first time testing out a twin needle - she's very happy with the results and can't stop wearing her new dress now!

Not sure what fabric to go for?

Take a look at some of our favourite stretch fabrics below...

Art Gallery Jersey - Wild Gatherings

Le Tissu Cotton Jersey - Clouds Grey

Stof of Denmark Jersey - Bears in Stripes

Lady McElroy Lightweight Jersey - Mustard Floral

Organic Printed Cotton Jersey - Deer Floral

Melange Ribbed Knit - Dusky Pink

Organic Double Knit Jersey - Melange Mint

Ponte Roma Jersey Plain - Mustard

 

More Inspiration

Each week, we are also putting together a Pinterest board full of ideas on the theme of the challenge to help inspire you and give you some project ideas - check out our sewing with stretch board here!

Don't miss our fantastic Sewing Bee Steals...