FOR SOMEONE who spends her days knee-deep in needles and thread, Jenny McCreary could be forgiven if she refused to watch The Great British Sewing Bee.

But instead, when the new series begins on Tuesday, she will be glued to the screen.

“I LOVE the Sewing Bee,” she beams. “It puts sewing on the map and they do a great job of finding interesting contestants from all backgrounds.

“I am dying to get one of my fab customers on to it. Finally, I think I might have talked one of them into applying…”

Jenny is the brains behind Sew Confident in Finnieston, a business she set up in 2012 out of necessity after struggling to find work in the fashion industry.

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“I graduated at the worst possible time – the recession had hit, there were no jobs in fashion anywhere in Scotland and I didn’t want to move down south,” she explains.

Sew Confident runs sewing classes and sells crafts supplies, in March 2012 and it has grown into a successful and awardwinning business.

Jenny graduated from Glasgow Caledonian University with an honours degree in fashion business.

“I’ve always loved being creative,” she explains. “I found some terrible drawings recently, of dresses I had designed when I was wee, so it’s obviously been something I’ve wanted to do since I was very young.

“I watched my mum sew when I was growing up – she definitely inspired me.”

Sew Confident began as a mobile sewing business.

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Jenny marvels: “When I look back at those early days, just me lugging eight sewing machines around in my tiny car, hauling them all up and down stairs, while I did three other jobs to pay the bills, I’m not sure how I did it. But it was exciting, to make something out of nothing.”

Jenny is hoping to franchise the business across the UK – a pilot scheme is already running in Dundee – and to build on the success of her Glasgow classes, which attract around 40 people every week. She is also in the running to become a guest presenter on TV channel The Sewing Quarter, so life is busy.

Sew Confident customers are a diverse mix, she explains.

“When I tell people what I do, most assume it’s older ladies and bored mums who come along,” she smiles. “In fact, our core customers are lawyers, doctors, accountants – people with busy, demanding jobs who want something creative to do, something that helps them turn off their brains at the weekend.”

Discovering the benefits to people’s mental health and wellbeing was, says Jenny, a “happy accident.”

“I realised that more and more people are searching for something to fulfil them, to de-stress after work and also to provide a sense of accomplishment,” she points out.

“We got such positive feedback that now we really focus on that social side, helping people to relax, to meet new friends. Ultimately, we are not putting people under any pressure.

“It’s not about learning how to be the best sewer in the world, it’s about making some nice things over a cup of tea and a chat.”

Which brings Jenny back to the Great British Sewing Bee.

“I can’t wait to get the kettle on and watch it while I chat with my customers on our Facebook group,” she smiles.

“I’m totally inspired by it – the standard is so high. You’re not allowed to apply if you have had formal training which makes it all the more impressive.

“We get people who come along after watching it because they want to give it a go. And that’s what I’d say to anyone - even if you have never sewn before, just give it a go.”

For more information on Jenny’s classes, visit sewconfident.co.uk

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