Sew and sew

I don’t watch much TV, but at the moment I am loving The Great British Sewing Bee. It brings back memories of all the years I have spent dressmaking. My mother was a highly skilled dressmaker and she taught me. When I was a teenager it was much cheaper and more fun to make one’s own clothes and most of my friends made their own clothes too. I can remember going from school to choose patterns. I can remember when there were at least three fabric shops in Bradford.
 
It doesn’t seem to happen any more. I suppose that, as fabrics and haberdashery and patterns have got more expensive, ready-made clothes have got very cheap indeed. I wonder whether the Sewing Bee has had any impact on encouraging people to take up dressmaking.
   
I realised that I had not done any for a long time. I have sewn toys and bags and cushions. I have done some quilting etc. But actual dressmaking – not for ages. So, today I got a pattern, found some fabric and made a jerkin for myself. I say ‘made’, but it isn’t finished yet. One thing it has made me appreciate is how difficult it must be on the programme to work to a set time. I certainly couldn’t do it.