The Herald - The Herald Magazine
Sewing Bee’s Grant: ‘For about six months we were only making PPE’
AFTER the first Covid-19 lockdown, entry-level sewing machines sold out across the country for months.
People realised just how helpful doing something crafty like sewing can be, not only to help pass the time but also for their mental health.
A project called the Big Community Sew was launched, by The Great British Sewing
Bee’s Patrick Grant. It encouraged thousands of people to make face masks for friends and neighbours, and gowns and scrubs for NHS workers – and Grant got fellow judge Esme Young, plus presenter Joe Lycett, involved too.
“Those people that were volunteering their time, found it really, really beneficial in lots of ways,” says Edinburghborn
Grant, 48. “It gave them a purpose to their day, it gave them a social network to engage with and it simply gave them something that was a very mindful activity.”
Now the show is back, and how tough was it for the sewers this series?
“There were a lot of tears this year – more than normal,” says comedian Lycett. “Straight
, out of the gate, episode one, everyone’s crying!”
However, when it comes to the creations, expect a lot of exuberance on your screens.
“I don’t know whether it was because we’ve been feeling so kind of lacking in fun clothing opportunities for the year, but there’s loads of fun party stuff, there’s lots of sparkle,” says Grant.
As for the standard of the sewers, he says: “In week one, Esme and I looked at each other and we were like, ‘Well, this is going to be difficult,’ because we set this first challenge and almost everybody absolutely nailed it.”
Grant, who is director of bespoke tailors Norton & Sons of Savile Row, says last March he moved to Blackburn to run his textile factory. “I’ve never worked longer hours in my life,” he admits. “For about six months we were making PPE, then we went back to making normal stuff.
“And then when the second wave started we were back on PPE, and we just had to remobilise.”
The Great British Sewing Bee returns to BBC One on Wednesday.