It takes a village! As parents we hear and say that a lot. And that is true. However, in my life, I have never seen a better execution of this than the Sewing Bee. As I write this, after finishing judging all the entries, Bonnie is drafting rules for the 2nd round and posting for the other judges to see, AnneM is creating a combined spreadsheet with all the scores, Sandra is at work but will finish her judging later (I am writing this on Friday afternoon) and I see that Maria has beaten Connie in being the first one to submit her scores for the round 1. Here at the office, Laura is on standby to post this if I am in transit (traveling today). There is so much collaboration which goes on behind the scenes in the Bee, it is truly remarkable and makes this contest pretty much the highlight for many of us. Thank you!
My most proud moment was when I read that the Sewing Bee inspired so many of you to enter a contest, write your first review or step out of your comfort zone. This, right here is why we host this contest year after year.
So, as we wait for the scores to be finalized, I thought I'd take a crack at some of my unofficial titles for Round #1 of 2023 Sewing Bee. You ready?
The Challenge was to sew a Knit Dress with a Twist. You get to define what a twist is. Either Literal or Metaphorical. You do you!
cretarian wins the honor for most "twists" including a twisted staircase in the photos!
And Raye Ann for the most unique concept of a twist - Twisted and dark characters from TV and Film. Spoken like a true Hollywood girl!
I have never read so many different definitions of a twist! [ Kidnotes, Farmernan1 and nevereasy ]
crabtree never fails to entertain with her whimsical reviews.
TheVintageVixen takes home the honor of so many FIRSTS!
- first contest
- first knit garment
- first garment since high school.
- This is also her first review!
And finally, my favorite Sewing Bee quote!
I liked that the Sewing Bee inspired me to "Bee" creative, resourceful, ambitious, and masterful as we galloped toward the finish line
- seamingly simple
So many “Twists”! I love how each participant made their garment something that worked for them. Creativity is what the Sewing Bee is all about! - Bonnie O
It’s inspiring to see creativity in eminently wearable garments! Congrats to everyone for bringing their sewing A-game to this round! - Mvi14
Every round in every Sewing Bee gives a twist, and it was nice to see the twists coming back to us. The discussion was great, the entries were great, and the inspiration those provide are fabulous. - AnneM
If you are reading this, I hope you take the time to click on the collage above and get inpsired by the many different twists and turns these members have taken into creating beautiful knit dresses which they are proud of. I hope you will leave a comment or two on their reviews also. It really means a lot to them!
The judges for this round were Connie, Bonnie, Anne, SandraB, Mvi14 and Deepika. We scored your entries based on the following criteria:
1. Adherence to the rules.
2. Fit
3. Sewing Quality
4. Presentation ( Review and Photos)
5. Creativity
6. Overall impression
We scored independently first and then combined our scores to come up with the winner and the X participants who will be moving to the next round. And now it is time to meet the winners of this round.
THE WINNER
jamSews for her Chasing Waterfall dress. We loved your well-made waterfall twist dress which looks elegant as well as sporty, a tough combination! It fits your lifestyle, and meets with the spirit of this contest. We liked that you challenged yourself to work with a fabric you’d never worked with before and knocked it out of the park! On a more personal level, you have inspired me to try making my own version of a hiking dress. I love to hike but usually only wear pants while hiking. This is a nice twist especially with the addition of shorts! Thank you!
I love how the Bee pushes me to expand my sewing capabilities. I appreciate the opportunity to develop new skills (using a different fabric than recommended! pin tucks! spandex!) and do more than just follow pattern instructions. I'm thrilled with this dress and can't wait to shove it into a suitcase next summer!
-jamSews
Congratulations jamSews, you have won the first round of the 9th Annual Sewing Bee Contest!
You will receive a a ProPlus smart iron from Oliso (A $219 value) , our Round 1 sponsor.
But that's not all. In each round we will pick a random winner from the participants who are not advancing to the next round
Congratulations to Caroly72 for winning Round #1 Random Prize. Enjoy your $50 gift certificate from Fancy Frocks Fabrics.
Round 2 Participants
Here are the 36 participants who will be competing in Round 2 which starts tomorrow.
cazyb
chemchik
citizenkate
ClaudC
corrineappleby
Crabtree
creatarian
Cupid Dog
dianelwilson
dolorousrattus
DTsewingstories
EkaDoThis
errantpear
Farmernan1
fkettman
hottty
Ilonka
indigo_sue
jamSews
jneail
JoMancuso
Kidnotes
kittykate
krafts
kscott123
Lady Blue Eye5
LivOnABike
Mel H
Melwyk
MizzSmartyPants
nevereasy
Raffey1
Raye Ann
Rosesred
Seamingly Simple
tless1962
THANKS
Many thanks to both our sponsors Oliso and Fancy Frock Fabrics for providing the prizes and to Acmena for managing 2023 Sewing Bee - Rounds 1 and 2. She is an excellent mentor!
Also thanks to our Contest Committee for spending countless hours scoring the results.
We are grateful to our sponsors for providing so many wonderful prizes for 2023 Sewing Bee. Please support them.
and of course PatternReview! support your favorite sewing community ;)
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