History & culture

A British television competition, first broadcast in 2013, in which amateur sewists complete garment-making challenges judged on technique and creativity, credited with boosting home sewing's popularity.

A protective cap, usually metal, worn on a finger to push a needle through fabric; examples survive from Roman antiquity, and it remains a basic hand-sewing tool worldwide.

A lightweight paper template printed with garment pieces, seam markings, and instructions, cut and pinned to fabric as a sewing guide; commercial tissue patterns became widespread from the 1860s.