Interview: BBC2’s Sewing Bee, Matt Chapple

Winner of BBC2’s Great British Sewing Bee, Matt Chapple is in Bristol this weekend at M&S’ Shwop & Sew. Helen Martin caught up with Matt for a little chat. 

Matt learnt to sew while he was in the army. “We were taught how to shave, iron and sew clothes. I was also a mechanic in the army, so I saw sewing as a mechanical process. I got confidence from this.”

Post-army, it was one evening while his wife Gemma was out, that the sewing spell was cast. “Gemma went out and we needed a curtain for the front door. I thought: I can do this,” says Matt. 

“It just snowballed from there. I went on to make my daughter Evie, a dress. I then added some embellishment to Gemma’s jumper to glam it up. It continued like this. I have a vision in mind and I like to finish a project.” 

Of course, the biggest project for Matt to date has been The Great British Sewing Bee, which saw Matt win this year, with his incredible structured avante garde garment, in the final. 

“I had a vision in my mind, I knew how I wanted it to come together.  Having Gemma in the room was a real blessing – I was able to put to it all together.

“It’s just such an achievement. The Great British Sewing Bee was an incredibly intense period of time and at the end we all stood back and for those of us in the final, we had 18 garments we had sewn. We marvelled at what we had accomplished.”

Matt comes across – as he does on the telly – as a thoroughly nice guy, and he’s a pleasure to talk to. He says he’s been “humbled” by the reaction of the public. “People take time out of their day to chat to us. We were out for lunch and someone came over to the table for a natter. The sewing community is so genuine and lovely to be a part of.”

Matt will be able to meet more of his fans at M&S’ ‘Shwop & Sew event today and tomorrow. With upcycling, he says, it’s the chance to make something truly unique.

“The beauty is – as M&S are showing – you and everyone at home can make something unique and suited to their style. You can have high street, but you can tweak, upcycle and deconstruct something. It’s about longevity from clothes. We only wear 10% of my clothes, it’a about asking the question: what can I do with this?”

This extends to teaching children how to sew and upcycle. Matt is very keen to inspire them to use their creativity on textiles. “Of course, with a needle and sharp scissors, there is that safety issue for children. So it’s about laying down some ground rules and getting them really involved in the design process. Kids aren’t constrained by the social rules that we have. They have that adventure in their minds. 

“With my daughter Evie, I get her to put down on paper how she would like something to look and we use washboard chalk to set out designs on fabric. Sometimes when I am cutting fabric, she asks: “Can I do some hand stitching, Daddy?” It’s so accessible, just the cost of a needle and thread and it teaches children so many skills, including patience and dexterity.”

As for advice for budding designers, Matt says he gets inspiration for his highly imaginative designs from Pinterest, and French and Japanese clothing. “The world is so close now,” he says. “We can take inspiration from anywhere in the world, and sharing images around the world provides a great resource.”

On top of championing upcycling with M&S and his day job, Matt and his wife are currently working tirelessly behind the scenes on delivering products to inspire home-sewers to make and create for their kids. They are committed to getting people excited about this – the possibilities for sewing. 

For more information and a timetable of the events this weekend, go to: corporate.marksandspencer.com/blog/stories/shwop-and-sew-lab