Pascha is back at the University of Bristol after making the final in the Great British Sewing Bee

A year ago, at just 20 years old, Pascha began filming the hit BBC One show. Now she is back at university, where she is her friends’ designated seamstress.

As she filmed episode after episode of the competition, it became a mystery to lecturers why Pascha was missing so many classes. However, the enigma was solved when she impressed judges all the way to the final, despite being one of its youngest contestants.

Pascha told the Bristol Tab “Coming back after filming was really exciting – none of my flatmates or lecturers knew what I was up to while I was gone, so it was quite fun having a little secret to keep.

“Coming back this year has been wonderful, as I’ve got to tell everyone at the uni who’s supported me through the years the exciting things I was up to, and really share in the joy with them. I’ve also met so many knew people who are sewing bee fans that have introduced themselves to me on campus!

“I think my funniest experience was meeting someone I hadn’t met before, and them telling me it was lovely to see me again. I felt awful at first and was trying to remember where I met them before, until about an hour later when they came up to me and confessed that they’d just realised who I was, and that they didn’t recognise me because they’d met before but because they’d watched me on the telly”

The BBC wasn’t the only ones in awe of her versatility. Pascha said: “I get lots of requests for repairs from friends, and I’ve had students come and say I’ve split my shorts in the gym, can you help?

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“I’ve also been known to try and whip up something quickly before a night out. It’s quite good fun speed sewing at the kitchen table!”

Her Instagram account, @pash_makes, has amassed over 10,000 followers, where she posts her sewing projects and free patterns. Her needlework skills are a student favourite.

She names the show as her inspiration to start sewing, but the real push was when she stopped herself from buying a dress because of her opposition to the values of the company that sold it. Instead, she ordered the item, copied the pattern, and sent the original back.

Pascha made the Sewing Bee cut on her third attempt and encourages those thinking of applying to do the same: “It doesn’t cost you anything to give something a go, and sometimes it might work out and be something amazing, which it really was for me!”.

She made it her humble goal to get past week one: “When I arrived on the set I was too excited to be nervous. I was bouncing off the walls with excitement and my adrenaline was sky-high!”

I’m a big fan of the show and I couldn’t believe I was in the sewing room itself. If you sew or you’re a creative person it’s like Disneyland.” she enthused.

Now, one year since filming began, the finalist is used to being asked for selfies, usually in places such as Tesco and B&Q, which she jokingly qualifies as “mundane.”

“It’s really lovely because people are always fans of the show and interested to hear about it”.

The final-year Psychology and Innovation student is passionate about her course, and is using a group project to look at innovative sustainable fashion. She also organises sustainable fashion markets in Bristol’s “thriving” sustainability scene, some of them through the university’s fashion society.

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