Make It, Own It, Love It

Join Matt Chapple, the UK's top amateur stitcher and winner of the BBC’s Great British Sewing Bee 2015 as he shares everything you need to know about repairing and maintaining your attire in this non-nonsense guide.

Focusing on making sewing easy and fun, it covers tools of the trade, essential repairs and alterations as well as complete step-by-step instructions instructions for making projects from scratch, such as a box-pleated skirt and adding bias binding to pocket edges for a splash of colour. Matt’s no-nonsense language strips away the complexity of sewing, as he gives practical advice on how to repair fabrics from denim and corduroy to tweed and wool, and offers tips to make wardrobe malfunctions a thing of the past.

Written for the uninitiated stitcher, concentrating on common clothing issues we all face, be it a loss of a button, a hole in the pocket or something more serious like a fallen hem.

About the Author

Matt Chapple is the UK's top amateur stitcher, having recently been crowned winner of the BBC's Great British Sewing Bee 2015. He learned his core skills in the army at just 16 years of age and now applies his knowledge to create more modern garments for the home and his family. Matt was a vehicle mechanic in REME by trade and applies an engineering approach to his sewing. In February 2015, Matt was announced as a contestant on the third series of the Great British Sewing Bee. Fast becoming one of the staples of the UK TV calender, and hosted by Claudia Winkleman, the BBC show regularly attracts 4 million viewers.

Series Three was filled with drama and surprises; Matt was initially seen as an outside bet for the GBSB crown but made it through to the final. Saving his best stitching for the final garment, he successfully took the title of King Bee, becoming the first ever male winner of the show. On the back of his exposure on the Great British Sewing Bee, Matt has launched a creative lifestyle blog, which features stitching and making ideas for the whole family and has an engaged and growing audience.

Matt has made numerous appearances on television and radio and is also experienced at event speaking. He is soon to feature on the line up at the BBC Car Fest events in the North and South, where he will bring together his love for cars and sewing by making a leather racing jacket for presenter Chris Evans. The jacket will be auctioned off on BBC Radio 2 to raise money for Children in Need.