Acorn Fabrics debuts on The Great British Sewing Bee
If you’ve been watching The Great British Sewing Bee, you may have seen some our cotton shirting fabrics in action. In the final episode of the show, three of our Monarch cotton fabrics were used in one of the challenges, to create perhaps one of the dressiest shirts known to man.
Our Monarch fabric takes centre stage on The Great British Sewing Bee
The first challenge, faced by Charlotte, Jade, and Joyce, saw all three contestants using our fabric to create one of their final designs. The contestants were tasked with making a pin-tuck shirt in just four and a half hours, using our Monarch fabric. The pin-tuck shirt challenge, referred to as the “daddy of the sewing world” by judge Patrick Grant, saw the three finalists using our pre-cut Monarch fabric to create a perfectly sewn dress shirt with perfect parallels pins.
As always, it was placement, precision, and accuracy that saw the winner of this first challenge crowned. Joyce, who actually came third overall, was praised for her precision and perfect points – which saw her Monarch-made pin-tuck shirt come out top. The dress shirt, which features small parallel tucks on the front as a decorative touch, required an eye for detail and patience to ensure that every single fold and pleat was sewn in place. Watch the evening wear challenge now
Our Fabrics featured on on The Great British Sewing Bee
The three finalists were given three pre-cut fabrics to choose from before starting work on their pin-tuck shirts – Monarch Plain Pacific, Monarch Plain Pink, and Monarch Plain Sky. Made from 100% cotton and featuring the medium weight poplin weave, our Monarch material is a great choice for all those formal affairs.
One of the reasons why our Monarch cotton shirting is so popular is because of its technical make-up. It’s made from Egyptian cotton, because of its fibre length, meaning it can easily be spun into fine yarns. It’s this feature that gives the shirt its sleek, neat finish.
As a poplin fabric, the most commonly used fabrics for dress shirts, the Monarch fabric’s finish is smooth and silky – even when compared to other cotton fabrics like Pinpoint and the Oxford. It’s this luxury finish that makes the shirt well suited for formal occasions – plus it helps that they’re relatively light weight too!
As it’s one of our most popular shirts, we’ve made Monarch available in a huge selection of colours, each one piece dyed to ensure the consistency of colour. The coloured fabrics are also a great way to bring your formal shirting to the next level.
If you’re looking for other dress shirt material suited to the summer, why not choose our lightweight Grange Plain White Fabric? Ideal for all those formal affairs, like your summer ball, the cotton fabric with poplin weave is sure to make you look and feel the part.
