Netflix and Sew: Our Favourite Sewing-Inspired Television Shows
- Words by Peppermint
Sewing is a great hobby that engages the brain and the hands – tactile, creative and away from those damn screens. But sometimes we’re tiiiiiiired. Sometimes the spirit itches to stitch but the body is weak, or the sewing pile is empty, or we just miss our best friends the screens so much.
Luckily for us, there are some mighty fine television shows out there that can soothe the savage sewing beast while you stay snug on the couch, or lying and cutting fabric, or hand sewing, or, if you’re a real daredevil who cares not about a needle through the finger, while you’re on the machine itself. We’ve chosen some of our favourite sewing-inspired television shows to share with you – shows that not only satisfy but educate and inspire, so you can throw yourself back into your own sewing practice refreshed and refuelled with new information and ideas you can’t wait to try out!
The Great British Sewing Bee
If you’re looking for Top Tier Sewing Television you can’t go past our beloved The Great British Sewing Bee. Each week, an eclectic bunch of amateur home sewists compete to be crowned Britain’s most sensational seamster under the wry and watchful eyes of judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young and new host Sara Pascoe. Full of the understated drama and general bonhomie characteristic of British reality television, every episode includes lessons in sewing history and special techniques for contestants and viewers alike.
Project Runway
Another Grand Matriarch in the Sewing TV Pantheon is the estimable Project Runway, where aspiring fashion designers compete to create the best clothes while restricted by various time, material and theme constraints. Spanning 18 years, 19 seasons, multiple spin-offs and several eras of fashion now abhorrent to human eyes (low-rise jeans you will never be our jellicle choice!), it is a rich vein of content for you binge-watchers out there.
READ MORE: Here are 11 Films to Inspire Your Sewing
Making The Cut
Making the Cut is hosted by platonic power duo Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum who left Project Runway to create their own legally distinct, though ideologically identical, fashion reality series. Picture Project Runway but with more established designers, higher production values and a renewed sense of energy (they’ve got Bezos’ cash to burn). It’s a good time and we challenge anyone not to feel inspired when they hear Tim Gunn sternly but not unkindly bidding you to “make it work”.
Next in Fashion
Queer Eye-con Tan France and Alexa Chung (to be replaced by Gigi Hadid in season 2, coming soon) present Netflix’s Next in Fashion, where 18 seasoned designers compete for the opportunity to take their labels to the next level. With an incredible amount of talent on show, each challenge reflects a different trend or design style that has had a major influence on the world of fashion. Tan brings with him the purposefully positive ethos that encapsulated his previous cult classic, cultivating a diverse, queer-positive and welcoming vibe to escape into.
A Stitch in Time
An accessible introduction to fashion history, Amber Butchart brings the past to life by choosing iconic and interesting historical outfits from paintings and recreating them using only period-appropriate techniques. Working with expert historical costuming crews, Amber shows how much we can tell about historical figures and their lives from only the clothes they wore, not to mention exposing the techniques required to create some truly sumptuous outfits, all while showing off her own serious style and charmingly unserious approach to learning.
READ MORE: What Historical Sewists Can Teach Us About Slow Fashion
RuPaul’s Drag Race
RuPaul scours the drag queen population for the newest swathe of drag superstars, judging them against criteria of charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent. While not always the main focus, a queen’s ability to stay in the race or sashay away is largely dependent on her sewing skills. Either way, the assortment of Capital-L Lewks they put on the runway each episode in order to meet various themes and challenges, often home-sewn, are sure to inspire you to serve, slay and so on and so forth in your own sewing.
WANT MORE SEWING AND DIY CONTENT? RIGHT THIS WAY!
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Look, I don’t want to make anyone panic but IT’S DECEMBER!!! If you’re planning to give homemade gifts, you’re going to have to act fast. …
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🌻 The Paddington 🌻
This is a much-loved staple, created for Issue 50 in 2021. We love seeing the #PeppermintPaddingtonTop continually popping up in our feeds!
How stunning is our model Elon MelaninGoddessEfon – she told us it was one of the first times she had been asked to come to a shoot with her natural hair. 🌻
We worked with South African patternmaker Sarah Steenkamp of @FrenchNavyNow_ to create this wardrobe essential – the perfect puff-sleeve blouse. Raglan sleeves make it the ultimate beginner sew, plus the gorgeous back buttons let you add your own personal twist.
Pattern via the link in bio! 🪡
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Fabric: @Spoonflower
Model: MelaninGoddessEfon
“In the 1940’s, Norwegians made and wore red pointed hats with a tassel as a form of visual protest against Nazi occupation of their country. Within two years, the Nazis made these protest hats illegal and punishable by law to wear, make, or distribute. As purveyors of traditional craft, we felt it appropriate to revisit this design.”
Crafters have often been at the heart of many protest movements, often serving as a powerful means of political expression. @NeedleAndSkein, a yarn store in Minnesota, are helping to mobilise the craftivists of the world with a ‘Melt The Ice’ knitting pattern created by @Yarn_Cult (with a crochet pattern too), as a way of peaceful protest.
The proceeds from the $5 pattern will go to local immigrant aid organisations – or you can donate without buying the pattern.
Raise those needles, folks – art and craft can change the world. 🧶
Link in bio for the pattern.
Images: @Gather_Fiber @NeedleAndSkein @a2ina2 @KyraGiggles Sandi.204 @WhatTracyMakes AllieKnitsAway Auntabwi2
#MeltTheIce #Craftivism #Knitting #CraftForChange
TWO WEEKS TO GO! 🤩
"The most important shift is moving from volume-led buying to value-led curation – choosing fewer, better products with strong ethics, considered production and meaningful stories. Retailers have real influence here: what you buy signals what you stand for. At Life Instyle, this means using the event to discover and invest in small-scale, planet-considerate brands that align with your values and your customer’s conscience. Consumers don’t need more things; they need better things, and retailers play a key role in selecting, contextualising, and championing why those products matter."
Only two more weeks until @Life_Instyle – Australia`s leading boutique retail trade show. If you own a store, don`t miss this event! Connect with designers, source exquisite – and mindful – products, and see firsthand why this is Australia’s go-to trade show for creatives and retailers alike. And it`s free! ✨️
Life Instyle – Sydney/Eora Country
14-17 February 2026
ICC, Darling Harbour
Photos: @Samsette
#LifeInstyle #SustainableShopping #SustainableShop #RetailTradeEvent
Calling all sewists! 📞
Have you made the Peppermint Waratah Wrap Dress yet? Call *1800 I NEED THIS NOW to get making!
This gorgeous green number was modelled (and made) by the fabulous Lisa of @Tricky.Pockets 🙌🏼
If you need a nudge, @ePrintOnline are offering Peppermint sewists a huge 🌟 30% off ALL A0 printing 🌟 when you purchase the Special Release Waratah Wrap Dress pattern – how generous is that?!
Head to the link in bio now 📞
*Not a real number in case that wasn`t clear 😂
#PeppermintWaratahWrapDress #PeppermintPatterns #SewingPattern #WrapDress #WrapDressPattern
8 Things to Know About January 26 - from @ClothingTheGaps:
Before you celebrate, take the time to learn the truth. January 26 is not a day of unity it’s a Day of Mourning and Survival for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
It marks the beginning of invasion, dispossession, and ongoing colonial violence. It’s time for truth-telling, not whitewashed history.
Stand in solidarity. Learn. Reflect. Act.
✊🏽 Blog written by Yorta Yorta woman Taneshia Atkinson.
🔗 Link in bio of @ClothingTheGaps to read the full blog
#ChangeTheDate #InvasionDay #SurvivalDay #AlwaysWasAlwaysWillBe #ClothingTheGaps
As the world careens towards AI seeping into our feeds, finds and even friend-zones, it`s becoming increasingly hard to ignore.
We just wanted to say that here at Peppermint, we are choosing to not print or publish AI-generated art, photos, words, videos or content.
Merriam-Webster’s human editors chose `slop` as the 2025 Word of the Year – they define it as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” The problem is, as AI increases in quality, it`s becoming more and more difficult to ascertain what`s real and what`s not.
Let`s be clear here, AI absolutely has its place in science, in climate modelling, in medical breakthroughs, in many places... but not in replacing the work of artists, writers and creatives.
Can we guarantee that everything we publish is AI-free? Honestly, not really. We know we are not using it to create content, but we are also relying on the artists, makers and contributors we work with, as well as our advertisers, to supply imagery, artwork or words created by humans. AI features are also creeping into programs and apps too, making it difficult to navigate. But we will do our best to avoid it and make a stand for the artists and creatives who have had their work stolen and used to train AI machines, and those who are now losing work as they are replaced by this energy-sapping, environment-destroying magic wand.
Could using it help our productivity and bottom line? Sure. And as a small business in a difficult landscape, that`s a hard one to turn down. We know other publishers who use AI to write stories, create recipes, produce photo shoots... but this one is important to us.
`Touch grass` was also a Merriam-Webster Word of the Year. We`ll happily stick with that as a theme, thanks very much. 🌿
