The Sheffield College students showcase their skills in BBC’s Great British Sewing Baize

The Sheffield College (@sheffcol) students have showcased their fashion skills on the international stage during the World Snooker Championship hosted in the city.

Four fashion and textiles students were tasked by the BBC to design and repurpose some of the iconic bright green baize cloth that covers the snooker tables.

Usually, after the championship at the Crucible in Sheffield, the 52 metres of used cloth would be sold to the public, a player or club owner or given away to charity.

This year, BBC presenter Abigail Davies brought some of the cloth to the college’s Hillsborough Campus, Livesey Street, for repurposing.

The task set for the students was to design and produce an item of clothing that embodied the essence of the Crucible for the BBC’s Great British Sewing Baize.

Alison Rockett, Lecturer, Arts and Creative Industries, The Sheffield College, said: “Taking part in this challenge has been a fantastic opportunity for our students to develop and showcase their skills. I am incredibly proud of them.

“The baize is a course and dense felt material to work with but the designs that the students have created are fantastic and they worked really hard to a tight deadline.

“Exploring how to reuse materials and learning about sustainability is an important part of the curriculum.”

The students who took part in the project included Bean Coleman, 18, who designed a cravat tie and pouch bag, and Eve Dalley, 17, who created a shoulder bag. 

Nadine Abdugabit, 17, designed a bag with motifs based on a magician theme inspired by the nicknames of some snooker players.

George Green, 17, created a traditional waistcoat with snooker ball motifs on the front and music, football and steelworks symbols, strongly associated with city’s identity, on the back.

The students’ work was displayed at the Winter Garden in the city and judged by Irish professional snooker player and broadcaster Ken Doherty who praised them all for their “brilliant” designs.

George, whose garment stole the show and was selected as the winner, said: “I am really proud of what I’ve created in the time that we had.”

You can watch coverage on BBC iPlayer of the Great British Sewing Baize during day 13 of the championships by forwarding to the 1:24:01 mark.

Pictured: The Sheffield College students with their snooker inspired designs in the Winter Garden.