Sewing wizardry

I watch Professor Brian Cox, completely transfixed by science that I will never understand. And that's how I felt about the Great British Sewing Bee which started last night on BBC2.

In the hour long first of four episodes, eight shortlisted competitors had to make an A-line skirt, alter the neckline of a top in the technical challenge and create a showstopper day dress. It's the same format as Bake Off except lovely Mary and the silver Hollywood fox are sadly absent and their replacements don't quite cut it yet. Happy to report that Claudia Winkleman managed to keep her sideways glances and jarring intonation under control and wasn't as annoying as she usually is.

I thought it was a bit unfair on the men that all three of the challenges were feminine - the women had spent years making their own clothes whereas the men had never really had a reason to make a dress. It was great to see the male steampunk fan that the judges seemed to have written off come through at the end with a lovely polkadot trimmed dress. Next week appears to have a male bias as they will be making jackets, blouses and a pair of trousers. Where on earth would you start? My mum's answer to that question is "with doll's clothes" - clearly I need to find some small children willing to give up their toys for experimentation!

I haven't really got to know all the contestants yet but my stand out ones were Ann (elderly lady who has been making her own clothes for almost twice as long as I've been alive), steampunk man and a lovely hospital cleaner from the West Midlands.

I think people will love this as much as we love Bake Off, but you can't just make a dress in the same way that anyone can make a cake. It takes days, expensive fabric, patterns and a sewing machine. You can make magic on a wet Sunday afternoon with eggs, flour, butter and sugar. I do like the parts where they alter existing garments though - something I think I could do, and more realistic for me than trying to find a plus size pattern that isn't for a tent shaped item!

I once tried to make a waistcoat as part of a Guide badge (it was the nineties, tartan waistcoats were the thing to have) and it ended with me crying, hurling it across the room and my mum finishing it off for me. I also made a pig shaped hot water bottle cover at school, but that is the sum total of my experience with a sewing machine. And as I don't have one, my neighbours and my mum will no doubt be relieved to hear that I don't have a burning desire to start making my own dresses at the moment.

But wouldn't it be amazing if I could...?