Leopard Print Emery Dress

I made my first Emery Dress in late summer last year, but didn't review it here since I was waiting until I'd made another with the appropriate adjustments to compare them. But right now, my queue is so long I'm not sure when I'll get to my second version -- so here is the first.

This first Emery was intended as my muslin, and I made it from an old sheet in my stash -- a twin sheet with just enough to it to cut this out effectively, avoiding the one or two snags in the source material.

I made quite a few adjustments to the bodice, having heard that it fits some people well, and needs a lot of adjusting for others. I was one of the 'others'. In this picture, you can see the main fitting issue I need to fix.

I did my usual alterations -- shortening the bodice, taking an inch wedge out of centre front and increasing the back shoulder darts by 1/4" each. I thought I had it pretty close, but once I finished it and wore for a bit I realized I need to take the bodice up at least another inch. I'm still not sure if that inch needs to come off the waist or whether it should be taken up in the length between the shoulder and bust. I'm leaning toward dividing it between those two areas at the moment.

Nonetheless, my invisible zip went in just fine!

Other than the fitting issues, this was a fairly straightforward pattern that many people have made. There are cutesy additions like a bow belt or a peter pan collar but for myself I am preferring the plain look right now.

Eventually I plan to try again with the added adjustments, but I do have New Look 6262 in my stash which is quite similar in style and it fits me well, so not sure the Emery will become my go to for this style. I'll have to compare and see what I think!

Weekend Review: The Gown

On the last weekend of every month, I will be reviewing a non-instructional book -- a novel, memoir, poems -- that I think fellow sewists might enjoy. Here is the first, an historical novel with lots of stitching detail in that is also so very readable!



The Gown / Jennifer Robson
New York: William Morrow, c2019.
368 p.

I just finished this lovely read, a story of three women connected by family ties and friendship, centred in the Norman Hartnell embroidery workshop that created Queen Elizabeth's wedding gown.

Starting in 1947, we meet Ann Hedges, an embroiderer at the Hartnell workshop who is living alone; her parents are dead, her brother was killed in the Blitz, and her young widowed sister-in-law has just emigrated to Canada. She is getting by, but is fairly lonely.

Next we meet Miriam Dassin, a French Jewish woman who has left France after surviving the war and Ravensbruck, though all of her family was killed. She is desperate for a job, so when she's turned away from Hartnell's workshop she goes in the front door instead and presents herself right to Norman Hartnell himself, with her letters of recommendation from Christian Dior. Her training in French embroidery houses convinces the kindly Hartnell to hire her, and she begins right away, placed alongside Ann as one of the more experienced stitchers.

The two develop a strong friendship, slowly -- they are both reserved and as women alone are quite cautious. But Ann needs a roommate now that her sister-in-law is gone, and Miriam needs a place to live. They become partners both at work and in their living arrangements, depending on one another to keep their spirits up and to encourage one another in their varied pursuits. Ann loves to draw dress designs, while Miriam finds an urge to depict her past in fabric, becoming in the end a renowned textile artist -- but that is far in the future.

For now, they find out that they will be embroidering motifs for the young Princess Elizabeth's wedding gown, including the fiddly appliques for her train. The whole workroom is thrilled and anxious, as this wedding is a huge highlight in a post-war Britain still suffering from rations and austerity. Everyone is excited and wants details; the embroiderers and sewists at Hartnell are beleaguered by journalists and paparazzi style questions as they leave work each day. Giving out details of The Gown could bring them quite a lot of money -- but nobody leaks anything.

Combined with these two narrative lines is a third, modern-day one: Ann's granddaughter Heather, from Toronto, has come to England to find the truth about her grandmother's life; Ann has just died and left Heather some floral appliques that look like the ones on the Queen's wedding dress. Heather tracks down some clues that lead her to Miriam Dassin, now a world famous artist who is retired and doesn't give any interviews. But luck is on Heather's side, and by chance she is introduced to Professor Daniel Friedman, who is also Miriam Dassin's grandson...

Robson has the atmosphere of post-war London down to details; it was so engrossing to read of Ann's council house in the suburbs, and how they took the early train to work because it was cheaper, and made do with their ration coupons, and were always cold due to the lack of coal and the hardest winter in memory, and how class was still so defining, and how women's lives were constrained by social expectation even after all the changes during wartime. She also has the sewing and embroidering details to perfection. As a sewist and embroiderer myself, I really enjoyed the descriptions of the workroom - the large frames, the miniscule embroideries, the way that Ann cuts applique shapes from satin and mentions both the grain of the fabric and the way it frays and can't be turned under and basted, the beads, the importance of light, the tired feeling in the eyes and neck after a long day - it was all so realistic and evocative.

The story is 'about' two women working on the elaborate wedding gown for the Princess, but that's just the central motif, and Robson has embellished a complex story around it, weaving together two distinct lives and stories in an utterly convincing way. There is some romance in the story, but what I loved about it, besides all the concentration on sewing and stitching, is that it focuses on two women at work. It's about their working lives, the routine and the details of work and how it melds into art and into the discovery of Miriam's art form. These two friends talk about much more than men and romance, and the side characters include a lot of other women who also support each other in difficult circumstances.

If there is any weakness in the book, I think it is in the modern day component; it just isn't as powerful as the 1947 story. There is a bit of a predictable feeling in the modern day romantic thread, but there is also a lot of great description of Miriam's art and success now that she near 90. It's just hard to compete with the two fabulous characters sewing and living in postwar London. But all three narratives converge beautifully, and feel very true to life. I was thoroughly absorbed in the book, and also really enjoyed the author's note and the interview with a real Hartnell embroiderer included at the end. A great read which was historically satisfying and artistically inspiring.

(this review first appeared at The Indextrious Reader)

Literary Sewing Circle: The Painted Girls

It's time for our first Literary Sewing Circle of 2019! I'm really thrilled to have both a wonderful Canadian book as our featured read, and new this edition, we have 3 amazing sponsors too!

I'm happy to announce that our group read for this round of the Literary Sewing Circle is

The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan

Summary:

Paris. 1878. Following their father’s sudden death, the van Goethem sisters find their lives upended. Without his wages, and with the small amount their laundress mother earns disappearing into the absinthe bottle, eviction from their lodgings seems imminent. With few options for work, Marie is dispatched to the Paris Opéra, where for a scant seventy francs a month, she will be trained to enter the famous ballet. Her older sister, Antoinette, finds work — and the love of a dangerous young man — as an extra in a stage adaptation of Émile Zola’s naturalist masterpiece L’Assommoir.

Marie throws herself into dance and is soon modelling in the studio of Edgar Degas, where her image will forever be immortalized as Little Dancer Aged Fourteen. Antoinette, meanwhile, descends lower and lower in society, and must make the choice between a life of honest labor and the more profitable avenues open to a young woman of the Parisian demimonde—that is, unless her love affair derails her completely.

(from Goodreads)

photo credit: Heather Pollock

About Cathy:

Cathy Marie Buchanan’s The Painted Girls is a #1 National Bestseller in Canada, a New York Times bestseller, and an NPR, Good Housekeeping and Goodreads Best Book of 2013. Her debut novel, The Day the Falls Stood Still, is a New York Times bestseller and a Barnes & Noble Recommends selection.

Her stories have appeared in many of Canada’s most respected literary journals, and she has received awards from the Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts. She holds a BSc (Honours Biochemistry) and an MBA from Western University. Born and raised in Niagara Falls, Ontario, she now resides in Toronto.

You can find out more about her at her website, cathymariebuchanan.com 

This book is available for purchase in both hard copy and ebook formats, as well as in audiobook format. 

You can find the ebook at:

Indigo.ca

Kobo.com

Amazon.ca

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com.au

Barnes & Noble

And the hard copy at:

Indigo.ca

Amazon.ca

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com.au

Barnes & Noble 

Biblio

ABE  Books

Book Depository 

Or, of course, check your local library!

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How does the Literary Sewing Circle work? We read a book together, discuss it, and then make something inspired by our reading. As long as you can point out what inspired you from your reading, even if just a sentence, you can share your makes in our final roundup!

Anyone can join, and you can sew, knit, quilt or embroider - any textile art that you like doing - to participate. This is a reading/sewing circle, very low-key; no competitions here, just reading and sewing for fun. Although we are very lucky to have some special sponsor offerings this time around -- the discounts are available for the first few weeks of the sewalong to anyone participating, and two of the finished projects will be chosen at random to receive one of the free pattern offerings. Just finish and post your project by the end of the linkup and you will have a chance to win.

There is no official sign-up to worry about; just start reading along if you wish, and leave your thoughts on the book or your project on any of the Literary Sewing Circle posts. We do have a dedicated book discussion post halfway through and again at the end, but leave your thoughts anytime. And when the final post goes up, so does the project linkup -- you can leave a link to your finished project there, whether it is on your blog, a pattern site, or even Instagram. It's easy :)

So, join in, and share!


Literary Sewing Circle Schedule

Jan 25 - Announcement & Introduction

Feb 1 - Inspiration post & featured sponsors

Feb 8 - Author interview 

Feb 15  - Halfway mark: book talk

Feb 22 - Inspiration post


March 1 - Final Post: book discussion wrap up & posting of project linkup

(The project linkup will be live until the end of March so you have enough time to get your project posted)

******************************************************************

AND NOW FOR OUR SPONSORS! 

Because this book takes place in Paris during the Belle Epoque, I reached out to some French pattern designers to see if they might be interested in sponsoring this round of the Literary Sewing Circle...and they were! Introducing our sponsors and their offers. 

Louis Antoinette is a Paris company with a very pretty aesthetic: 

many feminine dresses, blouses and tops to be found in their catalogue!

 They also offer sewing kits of fabric & pattern bundled together, and have an unusual option as well: you can order one of their designs and they'll make it for you! Check out their website for lots of details on all of these options, and you'll see lots of fun sewing accessories like bags and temporary tattoos on offer in addition to their large pattern catalogue. Their sizing seems to go to UK 18/US 16.

The Louis Antoinette "Vogue Dress" has caught my eye

Deer & Doe is a familiar name in sewing patterns! Run by two friends with an eye to environmentally friendly printed patterns and sizing up to a European 52 (XXL or US size 22) their pattern range has a variety of chic and pretty options. The Bluet and Bellandone dresses have been hits in the sewing community, and who hasn't made their free tshirt, the Plantain?

The Mysotis Dress is already a hit

Orageuse is a modern, urban sewing pattern company founded in 2016. It features minimalist, chic designs made to work together as a wardrobe. They have a few different collections on offer now, and they are very sleek designs often named after world cities. Their sizing goes up to a European 46, or US 18.

The Acacia Jumpsuit is one I've seen around the sewing community lately

The Offers:

If you're keen to get your hands on a French pattern, Louis Antoinette and Orageuse are offering 10% off their patterns during the first few weeks of the Literary Sewing Circle! 

Louis Antoinette has made their 10% discount available from 01/25 until 02/28. Use the code THREADS when you place your order.

Deer & Doe is also offering 10% from 01/25 to 02/14. Use the code LSC2019 when you place your order.

And there are prizes at the end too! 

If you submit a finished project to the linkup by the end of March, you will be eligible for a draw for a free pattern code from Louis Antoinette or  Orageuse. It will be a random draw from all finished, posted projects -- everyone who participates has an equal chance :)

Sewing Bee Inspired Blackwood Cardigan

What did I just say about contests? Ah well, inspiration struck this time, so I've ended up entering the first round of the PatternReview Sewing Bee (along with 117 other sewists!). When I saw that the challenge was to make a cardigan, I knew I had to try, but it was only when I finally found the perfect fabric halfway through the week that I decided to go for it.

The challenge was not just a cardigan, but a cardigan inspired by the Pantone Colour of the Year, Living Coral. I finally came up with a concept after a few days of mulling it over. Here's what I wrote about my inspiration on PatternReview:

When I first saw the challenge I wasn't sure I'd enter as I couldn't come up with a good concept. But when thinking about coral, and about the description of the colour at the Pantone website, the phrases "authentic, connection, intimacy" made me think of traditional Ukrainian korali, the multistrand coral necklaces often interspersed with silver beads or crosses worn by women in traditional costume. These necklaces were highly valued and every woman had one - the more strands the richer you were. 

This use of coral felt like an authentic connection to my own family heritage, and so I wondered if I could make a cardigan in the redder tones of most korali, with silver accents. I was fortunate enough to find a reddish poly knit at my local Fabricland with an embossed surface; the colour and the texture both remind me of coral. I used silver reflective piping in the front band seam to give a touch of silver to the cardigan, and then I found some silver buttons with designs that look very much like the kinds of beads and crosses in these necklaces so made a little feature of them as well. 

I feel like this is my Ukrainian style coral cardigan and am quite happy with the fit and the colour -- though not exactly Pantone 16-1546 it does give me a sense of connection and joyful pursuits as described in the colour write up! 

The pattern is the Blackwood Cardigan by Helen's Closet, a pattern that I had out and ready to trace anyhow -- because this contest challenge was something I was planning on making and know I will wear, I went ahead with a different colour and fabric than I'd intended for it first. I only want to enter in to contests or sewalongs that fit in with my already scheduled sewing, otherwise I find they kill my joy in sewing. So this one was fortuitous.

The fit is pretty good, though the sleeves are quite narrow, not really great for layering over anything else that is in the least bulky. In my next go I may enlarge them slightly around the upper arm in particular.

I used a different fabric than recommended; this one is a lot sturdier and much less drapey than the recommended knits. But I love the way it turned out -- it's like a cozy sweater cardi, perfect for the cold weather we're having currently. Though I don't really recommend standing outside in a snowstorm for very long only wearing this! It was rather blustery on Saturday but I had to get some pics to enter the contest so out we went. 

I'm wearing it with my own coral necklace I bought when I visited Kyiv about a decade ago. I think it pulls it all together quite nicely. I do like the cardi, and I really like how I was able to take my vision of something that coral means in my life and turn it into this project.

Warm, cheery, and personal. What more can we ask of our sewing?

Weekend Review: The Savvy Seamstress

The Savvy Seamstress / Nicole Mallalieu
Lafayette, CA: C&T Publishing, c2017.
175 p.

This is an excellent read, one I'm happy to have finally got my hands on. Nicole Mallalieu is an Australian sewist, designer and teacher, and she has created a book that is perfect for self-taught sewists.

It covers basic sewing information: terms, tools and techniques, with lots of photos. But it also then goes on to explain how to easily alter patterns, how to change details like pockets, how to best perform sewing tasks like inserting zips or attaching collars, and even shows how to change patterns substantially - how to change a back zip closure to a front button one, for example, or how to completely change a neckline. It moves from simple to quite complex.

There were useful tips in this book for sewists like me, who know how to do most basics, how to use a pattern and alter it in minor ways, but want to do more. She covers how to make a big change, and all the resultant details that need looking after: changing a closure or neckline means also altering the pattern's facing, seamlines, or perhaps darts. There are tons of illustrations and clear explanations of all the steps needed to effectively design your own dress from a basic sheath dress pattern, say.

The chapters are organized into themes: Basics, Pockets, Button plackets, Necklines, Zip Closures, Waistlines, Yokes, Collars, Sleeves. There are many ideas and lots of instruction in each chapter, and depending on your experience and your interests, you might use some of the chapters more than others. But I found that for a sewist who is past being a rank beginner but not at the stage of being able to draft one's own patterns from scratch, this book is full of gems. It's clear and easy to use, and really inspiring.

There are no patterns of any kind in this book, the focus is on the techniques needed to use and change the patterns you already have. This is definitely a good title for the sewist's bookshelf, especially if you don't have anything in this topic area yet. It's very user-friendly and not at all intimidating.

Jalie Yoko in Green Stripes

I downloaded the Jalie Yoko as soon as it was posted -- what a great shape! I have been looking for a boxy style top for a while now and this was just perfect.

Also perfect was the mossy green lightweight sweater knit I picked up at Fabricland in a sale just a day or two previously. It was so very soft I couldn't leave it behind. Luckily it has just enough stretch in it to be able to get away with using it for this pattern.

It's a simple design, and Jalie's drafting is so good, that I cut it without too much concern. I wondered if I'd got my sleeve shortening alterations right, as the drop shoulder threw me off a little - but as it turned out it is perfect. I love the way it drapes on the body and the shape and fit are just what I was looking for. Because I'm short I didn't alter the length - I wanted it to end at the bottom of my hip so didn't have to change anything.

I don't have a serger, so I sewed this way I usually sew knits, with a narrow zigzag stitch - 3 long & 1.5 wide. Jalie's instructions gave a different method but I didn't try it out so can't say how effective it might be (though of course, with Jalie being the experts in sewing stretch fabrics I'm sure there woul be no problems).  I wonder how this would turn out in a different fabric -- because it was so simple and I really, really like the result of this attempt, I may just try again.

Really if you haven't tried any Jalie patterns before, download this free pattern and give it a go. I think you might be pleasantly surprised.

Weekend Review: Pattern Making Templates for Skirts & Dresses

Pattern Making Templates for Skirts & Dresses / Alice Prier 


Wow, this is one thorough book! I ordered it from the library, and have had it for the full loan period and yet have barely scratched the surface. Definitely one I'm going to have to own.

It is a book on drafting patterns, and as such I haven't done much of the actual patterning it guides you toward. Time and all that....

It comes with 16 downloadable pattern slopers (which you'll have to tape and trace, unfortunately, but I'm used to that now). Then, using these slopers, it guides you into the process of fitting, drafting, creating and altering designs. (they come in UK sizes 6-20).

I'm sure if you had your own customized slopers to begin with it would all be easier to fit etc. But the amount of detail in this book on all the different ways you can shape and alter a sloper is fantastic. Out of the basics, Prier creates 32 different designs -- and they are quite different from one another so if you made even half of them you'd have tons of experience already.

I also really enjoyed the way she talks about details like collars, necklines, or pockets, even fabric, and how to alter them to change up a look quite easily. If you are at the point where you'd like to start delving into designing your own looks using a personal sloper, this is a great book to read. I'm not 100% at that point quite yet, but it is a goal of mine to develop more pattern making skills -- starting with slopers -- so I know that this book will be a great addition to my sewing library. It's one I think I'd need to work through slowly to figure out what I needed to know -- but the author, with her 30+ years of dressmaking experience, covers everything from terminology to pattern hacking to design thinking.

Definitely for an intermediate sewist, this one will help to elevate your sewing game. Just reading it through I feel like I've learned a lot already. Now on to the practical experimentation....

Stitched Sorbetto in Grey & Yellow

I've now finished my second Sorbetto that I began back in November. But with this version, I spent a lot more time over it :)

Two things came together for this project: my love of hand embroidery and the new DMC colours, and the front pleat in the Sorbetto pattern, which is extremely ideal for hand stitching additions. In the process of making the pleat, there is a seam all the way down the pleat extension, and then the pleat is fastened down in the neck binding and hem. So there is no way any underside of stitching or stabilizer will show (or get caught on anything) once construction is complete. Perfect.

I was inspired to make this Sorbetto as one of the possible versions for the PR One Pattern, Many Looks contest in Nov/Dec; actually it was the original idea I had for it. But as I mentioned in my last Sorbetto post, contests never get far with me ;) I gave up on the contest idea, but I kept working away at this project, stitching sporadically and sometimes in the evening while watching tv, as you might be able to tell by some of my not so perfect stitching in the petals as I was getting tired! But I wasn't going to tear anything much out -- it's good enough -- it's for a top, not an exhibition piece, and besides, if someone is looking at my stitching in close up on the front of the blouse when I'm wearing it, there are bigger issues than uneven stitches that I'll be worrying about ;)

I made this Vogue 1247 skirt ages ago (in 2014), and as I was cleaning, reorganizing, shuffling (whatever) my stash around in the fall I realized I had quite a large piece of the grey cotton-linen fabric left over. It felt like really nice fabric for stitching, and I considered hooping some up for a decorative piece, but then this idea hit me and I just couldn't do anything else with it. It has a lovely hand and was dreamy to stitch on.

I found a free border floral design at Mary Corbet's embroidery site and adapted it to the size I needed but ended up free styling a bit as transferring the design to this rougher surfaced dark fabric was time consuming. I semi-traced it and semi added in lines with a chalk pencil. I stitched the leaves in my favourite fly stitch, outline/stem stitch for the stems and rough satin stitch for the petals. I enjoyed my time doing it! I used DMC floss #18 for the petals, which I remember because I had such a hard time finding it, and I can't remember the colours of the cream and green, they were just in my stash.

For such a simple project, I feel very pleased with how this turned out. I used my original pre-altered Sorbetto again for the body of this version, but I used the sleeves from the new version of the Sorbetto pattern. I tried to adjust them accordingly -- I took out a fair amount of length between shoulder and bust from the original design, but I couldn't recall exactly (it was about 5 years ago that I first traced the Sorbetto, after all). So there was a bit too much sleeve, but when I gathered the sleeve cap it turned out to look like they were pleated and slightly puffed and I love it so much I left them that way.

Long story for such a simple free pattern (both shirt and embroidery design) but it does get just a little longer. This is the project I had just prepped as some hand work when I was invited to be a part of a super secret project, which is now, this week, no longer secret -- the Sewcialists' Wordpress commercial! It was such fun to be able to help out in a tiny way with this, and the 60 second commercial is full of happy sewing thoughts. Take a look if you haven't watched it already.

A Floral Sorbetto in Winter

Back in mid-November I cut out a couple of Sorbettos, inspired by PatternReview's One Pattern, Many Looks contest. I had a lot of ideas on how I could alter this simple pattern and come up with a bunch of different looks -- I even sketched out 7 different options! But, as usual, I didn't keep going with contest sewing, and started other projects instead.

But this first Sorbetto was half done, so over my Christmas break I hemmed it and put the neck binding on. And it was done!

Please excuse the wrinkles, I forgot to take any photos until the end of the day!

I made this first one of a length of vintage fabric from the thrift store - I think it's some kind of rayon blend as it is soft and drapey but also (obviously) quite prone to creases. I had *just* enough to squeeze out this top, altered to leave out the centre pleat that is a defining feature of the Sorbetto. I tried this version once before and really liked it, and it suits this fabric nicely, I think. I added sleeves using a pattern & blog tutorial originating with Mena of the Sew Weekly. I gave everything a narrow hem, and the fabric did stretch out slightly but not enough to keep me from wearing this.

I used the original Sorbetto pattern, as I'd already made my (quite extensive) fit alterations on that one. But Colette has a new and updated Sorbetto pattern available now, which comes in three different views and has a sleeve pattern included. So I've downloaded that and whenever I get around to it I'll adjust the new one accordingly and give it a go to see what the difference is.

I narrowed the neckline somewhat, as I do find it quite wide. But I like how this pleatless version fits, and the fabric is so light and comfortable, it made me feel like spring was coming even in January! I wore it with another free pattern, my polka dotted Lindy Petal Skirt, which I love, and enjoyed a relatively warmish day to wear this light outfit on (with a cardigan when I was not being photographed!)

This was a fun "unseasonable sewing" project and I'll have another to share later this week that was a little more extensive in detail than this one. I had enough time off over the holidays to get a good start on my unfinished project stack!

Weekend Review: Love At First Sitch

Love At First Stitch: Demystifying Dressmaking / Tilly Walnes
London: Quadrille, c2014
192 p.

I've finally got my hands on Tilly Walnes first book, and it really is everything it says it is.

This would be a wonderful choice for an eager beginner: with patterns running from extremely simple (the Brigitte scarf, to teach straight line sewing) to more complex fashions like the Mimi Blouse, or the Morgan Dress, there is a stepped learning curve here. Working in order and making each of the 7 patterns in sequence would be a great way for a beginner to learn many basic skills, as there is a technique explained then used in the next pattern. The steps are clear, with lots of illustration, and would reassure any new sewist.

Besides the patterns, there is also lots of good information on basics of the sewing world - how to buy fabric, how to choose patterns for your style, how to adapt and make patterns your own.

I found the voice of the book very warm and engaging, and with a lot of jargon-free detail to inspire someone not as familiar with sewing. I even traced off the Mimi Blouse, and discovered that the patterns themselves had a lot more information on them than I usually see -- for example, at some edges it was noted which seam this would connect to, ie: "connects to front yoke" or something to that effect. There was also clear notation as to gathering lines, sleeves and so forth. This might be particularly useful to someone who isn't as familiar with pattern-based sewing. Having to trace them might be an extra step that a beginner would need to learn -- although with the massive rise in the popularity of pdf patterns, this is a skill that any modern sewist needs to become familiar with anyway!

Even as a long-time sewist, I enjoyed reading this book and loved all the cute photos and Tilly's aesthetic. I'd probably make only half the patterns here for myself (the Mimi!), but the book is very engaging in any case, and the level of detail and basic, clear explanation makes this one a real winner. I love The Great British Sewing Bee and recall watching Tilly on it, and am so glad she's continued on because she has a real affinity for teaching. I'd recommend this one.