Life After Winning The Great British Sewing Bee: Sewing, Creativity and Community with Luke-Matthew Iveson

In this episode, Luke-Matthew Iveson, winner of The Great British Sewing Bee, shares his inspiring journey from learning to sew with his grandmother as a child to becoming one of the UK's best-known sewing personalities and content creators.

Luke reflects on his experience of winning The Great British Sewing Bee, how the show transformed his life, and the opportunities that followed. 

We discuss the power of sewing as a form of self-expression, the positive impact creativity can have on mental wellbeing, and how finding a supportive sewing community helped shape his confidence and career.

From teaching and content creation to inspiring the next generation of sewists, Luke offers a fascinating insight into life after the Sewing Bee and why sewing remains such an important part of who he is.

Whether you're a fan of The Great British Sewing Bee, looking for sewing inspiration, or curious about how creativity can support wellbeing and personal growth, this episode is packed with warmth, encouragement, and practical insights.

Key Takeaways:

• Luke learned to sew as a child with his grandma
• He won Season 10 of The Great British Sewing Bee
• Luke explains the role of drag in his sewing and self-expression, and the importance of representation in the sewing community
• He talks through how he created a capsule wardrobe and its impact on style
• His Sewing for strangers series has given him purpose
• Luke's new book 'Around the World in Eighty Sews' is available for pre-order now!

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Guest Details: 

Website: www.sewlukeivo.com

Instagram: @sewlukeivo

Facebook: Luke-Matthew Iveson

Tiktok: @sewlukeivo

YouTube: @sewlukeivo

Book: https://www.dashbook.fr/book/around-the-world-in-80-sews

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Luke Iveson
00:42 The Early Days of Sewing
03:35 Journey to the Sewing Bee
05:36 Experiences on the Show
08:25 Navigating Fame in the Sewing Community
09:15 Sewing as Self-Expression
13:02 Transitioning to Full-Time Sewing
15:07 The World of Drag and Sewing
17:54 The Importance of Representation
19:40 Sewing for Well-Being
21:47 Sewing for Strangers
25:42 Around the World in Eighty Sews
29:17 Future Plans and Projects
32:29 Substack 

Transcript

Gemma Daly (00:10)
Luke, welcome to the Sewing Social Podcast. I'm so happy to have you on today.

Luke (00:15)
Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.

Gemma Daly (00:18)
Lovely. I was wondering if you could introduce yourself to the listeners.

Luke (00:22)
Yep, my name is Luke Matthew Iveson. I'm from Manchester I've been sewing for a very long time, which I'm sure we'll talk about, and I was the winner of season 10 of the Great British Sewing Bee.

Gemma Daly (00:34)
Amazing. Now I wanted to like rewind a bit and go right back to the beginning. How did sewing first become part of your life?

Luke (00:42)
I think I've told this story so many times, it's muscle memory now. I grew up being super creative, so anything that I could get my hands on. I played music, did art, and my grandma was a seamstress, so I always describe her as like a technical wizard on a sewing machine. She could just make anything and kind of that combination between her skill and...

Gemma Daly (00:45)
Mm-hmm.

Luke (01:09)
my creativity meant that we would come up with some wild costumes as I was a kid. And the more ambitious I got, I think the more she thought about teaching that skill to me. So I think it was probably around being eight years old, she let me near a sewing machine and we'd start like, you know, making cushions, like pillowcases, slippers, working on costumes together. And that's kind of where I started learning the actual skill.

⁓ just with her when I was, yeah, about eight years old.

Gemma Daly (01:41)
Amazing. And what are some of the costumes that you can remember making?

Luke (01:45)
Lots of superhero costumes because I was very much obsessed with superheroes growing up. She would always make the Nativity costumes as well for my school I think I was a star one year. Lots of Joseph costumes as well then any excuse for a Halloween costume she'd be able to come up with something for me to wear as well.

Gemma Daly (01:48)
Yeah.

that's lovely. so how long had you actually been sewing then before you decided to apply for the sewing bee?

Luke (02:16)
Um, sewing on and off really since I was young. Um, in my teens, I dabbled in kind of making stuff for myself. you know, while I was like studying, I worked in retail. So fashion's always been, you know, a key part of who I am and I've used it to express kind of my identity. so I would sew some outfits or I'd amend kind of a lot of things that I might buy from shops or vintage. Um,

But it wasn't really until I started doing drag and being on the drag scene Birmingham and Manchester that I kind of picked up sewing properly. that was simply kind of a necessity of being able to create outfits for myself and other people. that's where I started to put all of kind of the skills I learned from my grandma to the test. And they were tested definitely with some of the costumes that I came up then...

As I started creating more kind of costume work, that's when I wanted to refine my skills. So started making more things for myself and other people just to wear day to day. So I would say before the sewing bee but I was sewing, like I say, since I was eight, but probably seriously, maybe for about 10 years before the show, probably in my like early twenties.

Gemma Daly (03:29)
Yeah. And tell us the story then of how wa and why you decided to apply for the show.

Luke (03:35)
on a whim, it was the last day of applications that I actually applied. and my friend at work who sewed with me at the time said, why don't you go on the sewing bee? Like they've had, you know, people that have made drag costumes before, but I don't think they've ever had like a drag performer. So I thought, you know what, let's see. ⁓ see if they like some of the sparkly stuff that was in my wardrobe.

Gemma Daly (03:39)
Ha ha

Luke (04:03)
⁓ And yet applied, went through the whole process and was able to get on the show.

Gemma Daly (04:08)
Amazing. And what do you think surprised you the most about your whole experience on the show?

Luke (04:15)
show is, think everyone goes on and has a completely different experience. And I think it reveals, you know, your strengths and weaknesses going on the show. I was really, really nervous about going through the pattern challenges because whilst I'd used lots of patterns before, you know, making stuff myself, adapting them for other people, my background was more like draping and drafting, and really kind of working with what.

I had and I'm not very good at following instructions. I like to break all of the rules. So being able to kind of sit in that time that was allocated and really concentrate having ADHD and dyslexia as well, I was really anxious. but I learned that I am quite a cool, calm, collected person in those sort of situations and actually surprised myself at how well I did in those,

Gemma Daly (04:46)
Ha ha.

Luke (05:10)
challenges, as well as how much I enjoyed the more free transformation challenges as well, where I could kind of just let the creativity ooze out. It's kind of like the perfect show design for me because it has that really structured element. It has the creative element where you can let loose and then it has, you know, the made to measure where you can really express yourself. So yeah, it was, it was a perfect kind of situation for me to go on.

Gemma Daly (05:36)
That's really interesting because I think the majority of people or or so I've heard go on, you know, having followed those patterns and those instructions to the letter and they find the more creative tasks more difficult. So it's it's really interesting to hear it from the opposite perspective.

Luke (05:53)
Yeah,

I think that's it. Everyone gets into sewing and they're really used to following the instructions that we've been given. And I think a lot of the time people don't see them as guidelines that you can kind of riff off. Obviously, it's great to kind of sewing patterns to learn different techniques. But I think once you've kind of got that down, use them, hack them up, experiment with them, and you'll start to learn.

more creative ways to express yourself through sewing.

Gemma Daly (06:22)
Absolutely. And I think that comes with time and experience as well, doesn't it? Because like you say, when you're first starting, you follow it to the letter. And then the more you do, the more you realise, actually I don't like doing that bit. I'll skip that or, you know, hack it up, like you say.

Luke (06:30)
Yeah.

Yeah, and there's always different ways that you can put in a sleeve, attach a collar. And I think, you know, going through different sewing patterns, it's great to learn your favourite ways, but, you know, there's hundreds of ways to do it. So, and always break the rules. That's why I always say anyway.

Gemma Daly (06:55)
Amazing. So how did you sort of navigate that sudden like visibility you had from the show within the sewing community?

Luke (07:05)
It was a wild ride, it was extremely exciting. winning the show, we had to keep it under wraps for a very long time before the show came out, but it was great because I had the other bees from my season that I could talk to. had, you know, my mum, my husband and my best friend were in the finals, so I had them, so I kind of had this little bubble that I could be in.

Gemma Daly (07:06)
Mm-hmm.

Luke (07:29)
But I remember as soon as the show came out, one of the first things I did was go to one of the sewing festivals and was just wild. Like people coming up and asking me all of these questions. I think having been a drag performer, you're kind of used to, well, very used to a crowd and most of the time a very drunk crowd. So you learn how to kind of adapt in those situations. So I think...

Gemma Daly (07:38)
Yeah.

Ha ha ha.

Luke (07:55)
It

was just a really nice way to meet other sewists. know, I've been sewing for such a long time, but it is quite isolating as a craft. You do it on your own. Like, yes, you might have other friends that sew and you can show off your makes, but it's very solo thing. So being able to kind of go to these shows and talk to people and see how passionate other people are. was such a great experience and it's just been a...

a wave that I've been riding ever since and I've just loved every minute of it.

Gemma Daly (08:25)
Would you say you weren't really aware of or really part of the sewing community before that?

Luke (08:31)
100

% I think, like I say, my background was within kind of costume work so you know I was known in the drag community, I was part of the person that could just make all of the outfits for people so there was other drag performers that would sew but in terms of the the sewing world as we know it and I'm sure everyone listening is a part of I was completely new to that but

It's been so amazing to kind of be taken under people's wing and just experience, you know, the different shows, the different communities that are out there. Yeah, it's been wonderful.

Gemma Daly (09:07)
that's lovely. You mentioned it briefly earlier, but do you think sewing has helped you understand yourself and your style a bit better?

Luke (09:15)
Yeah, I think it's a tool for expression. I spent maybe years wearing only black. I would only wear black clothes. And I was talking to a friend about this recently, because they said my personality has changed a lot since I've not been wearing black clothes. I think because I was doing

drag so much and I had such a colourful wardrobe. I just couldn't face colour in the day to day so I had like two completely different wardrobes. And then I think it was just before going on to the sewing bee, well a few years before the sewing bee, I'd stopped buying new clothes and just completely made everything that I or mended things that I already had.

And I made the decision to start wearing more color post the sewing bee. I think, and again, you might have this same experience, but when you start making things for yourself and you kind of have everything at your fingertips, and I guess sometimes those creative decisions kind of go out the window and you'll make a lime green blazer and a pair of skinny jeans and orange feather top and

Gemma Daly (10:29)
Mm-hmm.

Luke (10:29)
you love that you've made them and you'll go and wear them but it's not necessarily sustainable as a wardrobe so I went on a journey of making a capsule wardrobe and that has to be one of the best things I've ever done because my wardrobe works really hard for me now and it helps make those decisions of you know what fabric do I want to make the next piece out of does it fit within kind of the capsule collection ⁓ and yeah I would never look back in terms of ⁓

making that capsule wardrobe because it's really who I am now and I think people have been able to you know they'll send me stuff they might see on a Pinterest board and say this is so you like you should make something like this so it's been great to have that kind of association.

Gemma Daly (11:11)
That's really lovely. And sort of my own experience with sewing, I've found it really quite hard to put a capsule wardrobe together. Where do you think you started with that process?

Luke (11:23)
wonder if that was from kind of the design experience that I've had from making costumes for the people. And, you know, like I said, at the beginning, I've, I've always been creative. worked at a creative agency and there's some incredible designers there. And I remember just sitting down with them, you know, when we'd be working on projects for clients, they'd go through that, that design process of thinking about what are kind of the

Not necessarily rules, but parameters that you can play in. So the first thing I did was set those parameters. So what was the color palette? I'd have a primary color palette of the colors that I knew I'd want to wear. Then a secondary that would fit with them all. Then started to think about different shapes ⁓ and then different fabrics. And then it was going through and thinking, well, what are the basics that I would need? So shirts, t-shirts, trousers, making sure that I could leave the house in clothes. ⁓

Gemma Daly (12:17)
Mm-hmm.

Luke (12:19)
And then adding to that as the capsule kind of grew. you know, thinking about an outfit for a festival, thinking about an outfit for, you know, a special occasion. But because I had those parameters in place, it was really easy to kind of come up with the ideas or find patterns that allow me to create something.

Gemma Daly (12:38)
That's really interesting and hopefully really useful for the listeners as well, because sometimes it's so overwhelming, isn't it? And it's hard to like narrow it down. But that's that's really interesting. Thank you. So after the show finished then, and you said you were riding this wave and you still are, talk us through that sort of transition from the work that you were doing to now sewing and teaching full time.

Luke (13:02)
Yeah.

It's been, I mean, how many years has it been now? 24 was when my season came out, so two years. at a creative communications and engagement agency and a team of consultants. I led the diversity inclusion offer that we had for our clients. I absolutely loved my job. It was...

probably the best job that I've ever had. it was so creative, you know, we had so much impact with employees within the clients that we worked with, but it was very demanding and sewing before the sewing bee was just something that I could enjoy. But obviously after the show, I would get invited to go and speak at events and, you know, take part in podcasts and things like that. There's so many different opportunities.

that it became two full-time jobs. it was really hard to make that decision of where I kind of needed to go. And I remember sitting down with my manager at the time, and they just said, you will regret it if you don't go for it. I gave it another eight months, and then just went all in. And I haven't regretted it since.

But I think I'm a bit like a magpie. I like lots of shiny different things. So on that journey, you know, I've done some commission work. ⁓ I've done some workshops. I've set up a studio in Manchester that people can come part in classes, which has been incredible. ⁓ I've wrote a book. I've done some more TV. So just so many different things. But because I've had the free time, I've been able to really invest in them.

So it was probably the best decision I've made. Well, other than applying for the sewing bee. Leave it in my job.

Gemma Daly (14:57)
That's really good. So you've mentioned a couple of times about the fact that you do drag and I'm gonna call her your alter ego. I don't know whether that's right, yeah. Selma Screams. What do you love about drag?

Luke (15:07)
Yeah, that's fun.

I love the community that comes with drag. mean, Jake, who is my best friend, who is my model in the final, I met through drag. It's an incredible community to be part of. I love the creativity that comes with it. The kind of self-expression, whether of your own identity or a persona's identity or an identity you want to dabble with.

I love the...

performance element of it as well, that you can kind of hyper exaggerate. I think a lot of people are scared of drag because it's the unknown. Whereas actually if you think about, I don't know, putting on that item of clothing that just makes you feel really special, to me that's kind of what drag can do, it's that expression of it. Obviously with...

drag performance there's lots of other things that kind of comes into play but in the essence of it the bit that I really enjoy is kind of that freedom just to play and be creative and I think I've learned a lot from doing drag that I've been able to bring into my everyday life, my everyday wardrobe, everyday community. I think that creativity element is what really drew me to drag and it's something that's been there consistently ever since I've been doing drag really.

Gemma Daly (16:32)
Do you think that sort of set you up really well for the things that you are doing now? So being in the public eye, like performing on stage is obviously quite a a big thing to be in front of people.

Luke (16:44)
Potentially, know, again, recently I was talking to an ex-colleague about this. My background's classical music, so I studied classical music at Birmingham Conservatoire. I did my undergrad and masters there. So I've done performance kind of from being a really young age as well. And with my kind of corporate work, you know, I'd go to a lot of corporate events and speak there. So I think I've always been

comfortable in those environments, but I think drag has been able to help me kind of really work a crowd, ⁓ which I think is important at some of the sewing shows as well. just, you know, ask questions and engage with people. I think that's one thing going on a TV show kind of you can't prepare for is it's not just your own journey. It's a journey for other people as well, the people watching and

Gemma Daly (17:18)
Mm-hmm.

Luke (17:37)
you do need to kind of have that showpersonship and be able to connect and engage with people. Some people don't want to do that and that's absolutely fine, but it's a part of it that I've really loved doing.

Gemma Daly (17:48)
On that sort of theme, why do you think representation matters in the sewing community?

Luke (17:55)
I think representation is important anywhere really because it just shows the diversity of people. But I think within the sewing community representation is important to kind of break some of the stereotypes that come with sewing especially now you know unfortunately sewing isn't taught in schools anymore. I remember doing it in high school but I know when my sister went to school they didn't have it as part of the curriculum anymore.

And I think sewing can still have that, you know, granny sat by a fireplace, making something for her children, which is true. And it's one part of sewing, but it's so much more diverse than that. You know, even just in Manchester, I'm in the city centre now, and there's so many like vintage shops where young, really cool, creative people are going and, you know, buying

Gemma Daly (18:28)
Mm-hmm.

Luke (18:46)
vintage and then upcycling them. think just one element. There's, you know, like I say, creative drag performers that are creating their own outfits. I think we need that representation to show how sewing can be and that it isn't kind of this elitist privileged skill that some people have. You know, even if you think about buying a sewing machine, it's an investment that some people can't make, which is why I love having a space that people can come and...

know see if they do like sewing. But yeah it's so much diverse than I think what people think it is and again it's why things like the sewing bee are so important to show that diversity because as certainly on my season we were all so different from each other.

Gemma Daly (19:28)
Absolutely. I really like that. And you were given an opportunity, weren't you, at as was it the the knitting and stitching show to actually be your sort of alter ego on stage, which is amazing.

Luke (19:38)
Mm.

Yeah, I've done that twice now. Maybe it's like a recurring theme that only Selma goes to the Knit and Stitch show. But yeah, I did one year with Mimi Quins who kindly 3D scanned my drag body, obviously because it's not real. A lot of it is just padding and foam so that I could have a mannequin to be able to drape drag outfits on. So that was the first year and then the second year.

Gemma Daly (19:44)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Luke (20:08)
we did a catwalk as well, which was really fun to be a part of. I think, again, even just having home sewers who go to those events, come and see a drag costume that I made myself and ask questions and be so interested in it was, again, a really special moment to be able to show those two sides of me, sewing and drag.

Gemma Daly (20:28)
Absolutely. I was wondering if sewing plays a part in your well being at all.

Luke (20:35)
yes, definitely. But I think subconsciously, as I say, having ADHD, I need things that can allow me to go at full speed, and kind of just let loose. But I also need things to kind of rein me in. And I've found that there's different aspects of sewing that really help that. So when I am feeling, you know,

let's say super energetic and I need to just make a jumper in 20 minutes. I can do it. And I feel that sense of accomplishment. I've ticked something off my mental list and I feel less anxious. And then there's times when I can feel a bit manic internally and I need something to help me calm down. And that's where I found my love for Sashiko and hand sewing because I'm still going through the motions with my hands, but

Gemma Daly (21:03)
Ha ha

Luke (21:25)
methodology, the process in the brain is a lot simpler than following instructions or coming up with something yourself. So I've been able to tap into different elements of sewing that has kind of served a purpose in my mental well-being.

Gemma Daly (21:39)
That's really interesting because we talk a lot on the show about how working with your hands can do do all sorts for different people. So it's it's really interesting how you channel that energy through your hands and through the stitching. Now you've recently been doing a series of sewing for strangers, which I absolutely love by the way. How did this idea come about?

Luke (21:47)
Yeah.

Thank you.

Creative block is the best way to talk about it. I think obviously, you know, I made things for myself, I made things for other people, I was... block, yeah, but also purpose. I think after the sewing bee, you know, I had so many different opportunities. I wanted to find something that was authentically me and gave me a bit of a purpose, and I couldn't think about what it was.

Gemma Daly (22:07)
Mm-hmm.

Luke (22:29)
was going to be. And then thinking about kind of like what my, going to say superpower, but it doesn't really feel like the right word. you know, I'd made so many costumes for other people. Commissions was something that was really comfortable space being in. And I thought so many people out there will come up to me and say, where's that jacket from? And I say, I've made it myself. And the first thing they say is, I wish I could sew.

And obviously I want to invite everyone to the studio to come and learn how to sew, but then actually could I make stuff for other people? I kind of did a few trial episodes where I'd go around the streets of Manchester, ask people, obviously tell them up front what I was doing. And I really enjoyed those parameters that we talked about at the beginning that they set me. I still had creative freedom, but it gave me kind of a little playground to work in. I could go away and make something and reveal it. And it's.

Gemma Daly (23:15)
Mm.

Luke (23:24)
so addicting. I just can't stop doing it. People come up with just the wildest ideas and it might be as simple as I just want a jacket but you need to have paint splatters on and be cropped or can you make me an alien costume for a show that I'm doing? It's just been incredible.

Gemma Daly (23:28)
Ha ha.

I love that. And have there been any ideas that you thought, my God, how am I gonna do this? or

Luke (23:50)
Most of them because I pride myself on being the fastest sewer in the Northwest. I'm quite speedy, not always the neatest or a perfectionist. ⁓ Something that the sewing bee taught me that I need to work on and I have been working on. But again, I like it fast and furious when it comes to sewing. So I do only have a day, two days a lot of the time for the filming part because

I'll do the interview on the streets and then I invite that person back into the studio normally a couple of days later. I find that some of the people that I've interviewed might not live in Manchester. So I don't have a huge window. So a lot of the time I am internally panicking when they start talking about like trousers and things like that. But I love, I love being in that environment. I love, I don't want to say the stress because it's not necessarily stressful, but you know.

I like working against a clock, is also probably why I loved being on a show like The Sewing Bee, I like that environment.

Gemma Daly (24:49)
makes you the perfect contestant.

What do you think your favourite thing is that you've made so far for a stranger?

Luke (24:57)
that's a good question.

that's so tough. ⁓ They're all flashing in my brain and I'm like this one and this one. I think I would say.

Gemma Daly (25:01)
Sorry.

Luke (25:09)
the alien costume because was really surprising to have a brief like that, but it was perfectly in my So I could really kind of play with that. then, I don't know, I've enjoyed doing the Sashiko trousers that I did the jorts. I can't pick, it's like picking your favorite child.

Gemma Daly (25:27)
Yeah.

They're all really diverse though, which is what makes it so interesting, isn't it? now excitingly, you've recently written a book called Around the World in Eighty Sews Please tell us all about it.

Luke (25:32)
Exactly, yeah.

Yeah, I think has to be the probably craziest thing I've done. I really wanted to kind of get things out of my brain and I had the opportunity to write a book and I wanted to think about how it could be maybe slightly different from other sewing books that people kind of love and gravitate towards and I don't know if it's

again subconsciously connected to the work that I've done in the past but I'm very much like I found my love for Sashiko which then I did researched and learned about Kanthai in India then did some more research and looked at Dorset buttons in the UK and I was just spiraling and spiraling through all of these techniques and there at our fingertips but no one really knows about them.

a lot of the times we could be doing them, but we don't know the culture behind it. So if we think about like patchwork or applique, the way different cultures and communities across the world use that as expression, as a way of navigating and creating maps for people to follow secret messages and things like that, people aren't aware of. And I think I wanted to be able to create a book that could kind of...

not tell the complete story because it would be very, long, but kind of open a door or a window into a specific technique that then people could go away and do more research and learn about. that's kind of where the idea started. And then as I was kind of doing more research, was, I think I had a list of over 500 techniques. At one point, there's an Excel list somewhere.

Gemma Daly (27:13)
⁓ wow.

Ha

ha.

Luke (27:17)
And I knew I couldn't have them all in there and certainly couldn't have all the projects in there. So I was thinking about how to frame it around the world in 80s. sews it's like kind of the perfect way. So each chapter looks specifically at a continent. And then it has techniques in there that people can, like I say, go and do further research, but they'll learn about what the technique is, the culture behind it, the people behind it. And then there's a couple of projects that people can try at home as well. So.

It's been a year in the making and I still can't believe it's out for pre-sale.

Gemma Daly (27:50)
⁓ congratulations. It sounds so interesting though, because there is so much stuff behind sewing, isn't there? Like we've done it as a a race for so long, but we kind of forget all of that and just focus on the here and now, don't we? So it's kind of nice that you've delved into that.

Luke (27:52)
Thank you.

And I think, again, it's why people sow, you know, in the Western world and the communities that we kind of live in, it's very much an enjoyable pastime. But when you kind of read through the book, a lot of it was out of necessity. You know, it was how can we protect ourselves from the weather and the environment that we live in? How can we make use of resources? Because

you know, people couldn't afford or have access to other resources that we might have. So the different kind of, catalysts of the techniques are so interesting. And I think it's really important that we're able to appreciate that and celebrate that and not just appropriate a technique and think, I like doing applique because it makes pretty things. You know, there's a story behind it.

Gemma Daly (28:58)
Yeah, I think that's really important. So people can pre order your book now.

Luke (29:02)
They can, yeah, it's on ⁓

Dashbooks, but yeah, it's all on my social channels and then it will be out very soon and people will be able to get physical copies of it too.

Gemma Daly (29:12)
Amazing. if that wasn't enough, do you have any other exciting plans in the pipeline?

Luke (29:17)
Certainly looking at sewing for strangers and how that can be kind of evolved and elevated because it's something that I just, it's that purpose. know, sewing has allowed me to express myself but sewing for strangers has given me bit of a purpose as well so I would love to be able to take it on tour, ⁓ not just necessarily in Manchester or even the UK that could be happening soon.

Gemma Daly (29:37)
Mm.

Watch this space.

Luke (29:44)
⁓

And teaching has been super fun as well. You know, I'm so privileged to be at the Maker's Quarter, which is where am today. It's right bang in the middle of Manchester and to have people come from, I was going to say all over the UK, but I've had people all over the world come just to come and be on a class and, you know, use the machines and learn a new skill. Like that's been great as well. So those things are kind of...

Gemma Daly (30:01)
Wow.

Luke (30:10)
taking up my creative mental load at the minute, but there is some secret projects in the pipeline.

Gemma Daly (30:18)
Fantastic. So just to tie up the interview, Luke, I like to do a little game of this or that. Is that okay with you? Okay, so wovens or knits?

Luke (30:25)
love this go for it

Wotans.

Gemma Daly (30:31)
A quick win or a more involved make?

Luke (30:34)
I think everyone will know my answer to this, it will probably be a quick win.

Gemma Daly (30:39)
Tea or coffee?

Luke (30:40)
coffee.

Gemma Daly (30:42)
An organized stash or creative chaos.

Luke (30:45)
Creative chaos. This is very revealing.

Gemma Daly (30:47)
I thought we were going down that road.

Bold prints or classic plains?

Luke (30:55)
classic plains in bold colors.

Gemma Daly (31:00)
Sweet or savoury?

Luke (31:01)
Sweet

Gemma Daly (31:04)
Follow instructions to the letter or do your own thing.

Luke (31:09)
That's a hard one. Do my own thing.

Gemma Daly (31:12)
Scissors or a rotary cutter?

Luke (31:14)
scissors a hundred percent.

Gemma Daly (31:17)
I agree with you on that one. Spring summer or autumn winter?

Luke (31:21)
⁓ Spring, summer, if we ever get one in the UK.

Gemma Daly (31:25)
We had we had the week already. And the last one, the perfect make or the make that teaches you the most.

Luke (31:28)
Yeah, that's it.

⁓ that's a great question.

the one that teaches you the most. Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

Gemma Daly (31:41)
And then the perfect one after that.

So where can people find you, Luke?

Luke (31:47)
And they can find me on socials. I'm on TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram on Sew Luke Ivo. And then also I have my book patterns workshop on sewlukeivo.com. And if anyone wants to book on a class, it's makersquarter.co.uk and they'll be able to see all of the different workshops that we have here. And it isn't just sewing, we've got pottery, a pottery school as well. So crafts for everyone.

Gemma Daly (32:14)
Sounds amazing. And I will link all of that in the show notes. But I just want to thank you for being an amazing guest on the Sewing Social podcast today.

Luke (32:23)
Thank you so much for having me. It's been my pleasure.

Gemma Daly (32:26)
so much. You take care.

Luke (32:26)
Thank you.