When the first series of 'Great British Sewing Bee' was shown last April, all the talk was of whether sewing skills would translate to the small screen the way that baking did in the 'Great British Bake Off'. But the format was a winner, and it's back for a second - longer - series, eight episodes instead of four. It starts tonight on BBC2 at 8pm. And if you miss it you can catch up on BBC iPlayer.

Find out more about the contestants (left) and the challenges here.

I can't wait to watch it and I'll be tweeting (along with many others) during the show. Follow me on Twitter

There's a book to accompany the second series, called 'Sew Your Own Wardrobe' - click here to buy it from the Allaboutyou bookshop

And if you're inspired to get out the needle and thread, you'll find all of our free sewing patterns here