The Great British Sewing Bee: The Skills

The Great British Sewing Bee: The Skills by The Great British Sewing Bee and Caroline Akselson is a practical sewing guide for intermediate sewers looking to develop their dressmaking skills beyond the basics. With step-by-step guidance and illustrations, it covers working with different fabrics, garment construction and finishing techniques, pattern adaptations and more specialist areas of sewing.

• Activity: Sewing and dressmaking
• Skill level: Intermediate
• Includes: Five chapters covering fabrics, garment details, specialist techniques and embellishments
• Instructional support: Step-by-step guidance with illustrations
• Techniques: Pattern matching and adaptation, fastenings, pockets, collars, linings, boning, swimwear, underwear and decorative finishes

More about the book
Building on the foundations covered in The Great British Sewing Bee: The Techniques, this book explores how core sewing skills can be developed and applied with greater precision and creativity.

Learn how to prepare and pattern-match fabric, then work with materials including wool, stretch fabrics, silk, lace, sequins and leather. Garment-making guidance covers fastenings, pockets, cuffs and collars, facings and linings, alongside ways to adapt and alter patterns for a more individual fit and finish.

The book also introduces specialist dressmaking techniques, including working on the bias, special hemming methods, lace inserts, swing catches and boning, as well as approaches to making swimwear and underwear. A final section on decoration and embellishment covers details including lace-trimmed edges, bobble-trimmed and scalloped hems, and fabric bows.

More sewing books for developing your dressmaking skills
If you're looking for books similar to The Great British Sewing Bee: The Skills, these books also focus on developing practical dressmaking knowledge, with approaches ranging from foundational techniques to garment construction and fitting.

• The Great British Sewing Bee: The Techniques by The Great British Sewing Bee: The closest companion to The Skills, covering the foundations of sewing and dressmaking that this book builds upon, including using a sewing machine, understanding paper patterns, working with fabrics and achieving a good finish.
• Ahead of the Curve by Jenny Rushmore: Another skills-focused dressmaking book combining practical garment construction with guidance on fit, fitting techniques and adapting clothes to the body.
• Sew Your Own Scandi Wardrobe by Oda Stormoen and Kristin Vaag: Shares the focus on learning dressmaking through constructing clothes, using patterns and instructions to guide the reader through garment projects, with a stronger emphasis on creating a Scandi-style wardrobe.