Curated By You: Great British Sewing Bee Winner Juliet Uzor Makes A Linen Ruffled Asymmetric Top

Juliet wears a Ruffled Asymmetric Top made with FS OPTIC WHITE Lightweight Linen

Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.  

I am a former London Primary School teacher who picked up dressmaking later in life after getting inspired on a trip to West Africa. What started as an escape after a busy day with the kids at work has ended up changing my life. My name is Juliet Uzor and I now create sewing related content to teach more people to sew their own clothes on my blog and on YouTube and run a small sewing business – creating occasion wear for women.

Why do you sew?

I sew mainly because I am able to curate my wardrobe to include the items of clothing I like which suits my ever changing body, in the bright, bold and colourful fabric I love.

What do you love most about having your own business?

What I love the most about running my own business is that it allows me to be a present mum-attending to my daughter in her formative years.

Can you talk us through a failure or a setback in your business that you learned from or an experience that helped improve your business. 

Everyday in my working life has been a learning journey as I’m still new to this creative business. I’m learning to be much more savvy in my decision making.

Juliet wears a Ruffled Asymmetric Top made with FS OPTIC WHITE Lightweight Linen

What do you like to listen to when you’re working (and why)?

Whilst working, I like to have real-life vlogs (on YouTube) running in the background. I work alone at home and do not get the type of interaction I once had in the busy working environment of a school. I feel like there’s an extra person in my sewing room telling me about their experiences.

As a child, what was your first encounter and memory of beauty?

My first memory of beauty was from this group of 4 sisters who always dressed in amazing clothes and hats/fascinators every Sunday (to church). I would always look out for them in amazement every weekend to see their gorgeous clothes and hats! To me, the things they wore made them look absolutely gorgeous. But with maturity, I’ve got to learn that the clothing we wear are just an accessory to the true beauty that lives within.

Where is home and how does it affect what you do?

I live in South East London with my husband and daughter and the ease of access we have to a range of sewing and craft resources has been a total game changer! I can’t imagine living away from London because we have a variety of resources, fabric markets, craft stores etc.

Juliet wears a Ruffled Asymmetric Top made with FS OPTIC WHITE Lightweight Linen

Name a book that you’ve recently read which inspired you and why?

The most recent book I read was the Energy Bus by Jon Gordon and it inspired me to surround myself with people with a positive and forward thinking approach to life.

What was the first thing you ever remember making on your own? Tell us about this memory.

The very first thing I made on my own was an apron as part of a project in school. It was completely hand stitched and I was absolutely proud of it. Little did I know that at some point in my life I’ll be back to learn to make proper wearable clothing!

Who are your muses and inspiration?

I’m always inspired by a few female bloggers who have the same body type as I do. Seeing their fashion photographs, I’m able to get a picture of how certain cuts of clothing would look on me.

How do you balance motherhood and the importance of staying creative?

I am able to balance motherhood and the importance of staying creative by getting my daughter involved in my creative process in as little way as possible.

Do you have a community of crafters/ makers around you or do you find you are on your own?

I started off as a solo crafter without real life friends interested in my hobby. But after taking part [and becoming the winner] in the Great British Sewing Bee (on BBC2) last year, I have made a lot of crafting friends who I meet up with from time to time. However, I would love to do some collaborative making with them in the future.

Juliet wears a Ruffled Asymmetric Top made with FS OPTIC WHITE Lightweight Linen

What does success mean to you?

Success in my opinion means being able to have a vision, set goals and achieve them with a lot of grafting.

What have you chosen to make out of FS linen and why?

I chose to make a ruffled asymmetric top using the FS OPTIC WHITE lightweight Linen because my wardrobe currently lacks any classic white tops for date nights and casual events. But now that I do have this classy top, I will be wearing it to an upcoming wedding this spring. The top was made using McCalls M7753 sewing pattern.

FS OPTIC WHITE Lightweight 100% Linen