Our Great British sewing bees move me to tears: TV designer salutes community effort for key workers

In just a few weeks The Great British Sewing Bee has inspired thousands of Scots to reach for their needles and thread.

But, instead of making shirts or tea dresses, this year viewers are sewing scrubs and face coverings for NHS and care home staff, with love, hope and kindness stitched into every garment.

And the show’s co-host, Patrick Grant, couldn’t be prouder.

“Some of the stories have moved me to tears,” said the Savile Row tailor. “People have been sewing gowns and masks across the country. The dedication of these groups is incredible. They have distribution networks, delivery drivers, quality control and fabric sourcing.

“Sewing Bees have traditionally been a community effort. Even the Queen Mother set up one in Buckingham Palace to help the war effort in 1939.”

Patrick, who was born in Edinburgh, returned to our TV screens last month for the sixth series of The Great British Sewing Bee, alongside fellow judge Esme Young and presenter Joe Lycett.

The latest episode pulled in six million viewers, with many praising the show for offering light relief during the pandemic.

“Our viewing figures last week were six million. For a show about sewing, that boggles the mind a bit!” laughed Patrick.

Haberdashery sales have soared in the past two months and Hobbycraft has reported searches on its website for maskmaking materials such as cotton fabric were up more than 500%.

Last week, Patrick helped launch the Big Community Sew,

a drive to encourage the public to sew simple face coverings for their communities. It follows new UK Government advice for people to wear face coverings in enclosed spaces, such as public transport and shops.

Home sewers across Scotland have been fashioning homemade PPE, from the Shetland Scrubs collective to Patrick’s mum, Sue, in Edinburgh.

“My mum sent me an email to say she’d made an improvised face covering. She said it wasn’t the best thing she’s ever made but I love that her and her neighbours are leaping into action.

That’s what the Big Community Sew is all about. We need to preserve supplies of medical-grade masks for health and social care workers.

“As a way of introducing yourself to the world of sewing, making an improvised face covering is about as easy as it gets.”

He added: “Any craft activity is also incredibly good for your mental health and especially important now when anxiety is so much higher than normal.”

While his Savile Row outfitter, Norton & Sons, remains closed, Patrick has swapped his London home for a “granny annexe” of a farmhouse so he can head up PPE production at his Cookson & Clegg factory in Blackburn.

“We will probably make over 150,000 pieces this week, including NHS- standard gowns and anti-viral snoods and face-coverings,” he said. “We are using locally- made fabric and have employed some staff that were furloughed at other factories.

“We have completely transformed the way our business operates, moving to a twoshift system to make sure it’s as safe as possible.”

Pulling in 90-hour work weeks leaves little time for Patrick to worry about feeling bored – “I do squeeze in a bike ride a day if I’m lucky”. He’s also swapped his trademark three-piece suit and tie for a laidback lockdown look.

“For the last two months I’ve been wearing the same sweatshirt, field trousers and slip-on Vans every day.

“My hair is getting longer and the beard has gone full Tom Hanks in Castaway and looks the same in black and white as it does in colour… but who cares right now?”

Patrick also hopes the current crisis may change the public attitude to the country’s manufacturing workforce.

“For a long time, traditional manufacturing jobs h a ve been seen as second- class and that’s wrong.

“If some good can come out of this, I think people’s perceptions of those who make things for a living will change dramatically. They will be valued and respected in a way they haven’t been for quite a long time.”