How sewing can set you up for failure and success in science

About this episode

Yasmin Proctor-Kent discusses the parallels between sewing and science, emphasizing creativity and personal growth.

Yasmin Proctor-Kent likens sewing to science. “I find them really hard to separate them in my brain. I don’t think I can sew without engaging the same part of my brain that I do science with,” she says.   For Proctor-Kent, a research and development scientist at the cancer diagnostics company Leica Biosystems, based in Melbourne, Australia, the two pursuits require similar approaches, relying on her own and others’ prior knowledge and expertise, reading papers, or reading from other people who have sewn a similar garment. “It’s about applying theoretical knowledge to something tactile, something practical that you’re doing,” she adds.   In the second episode of a six-part podcast series about creativity in science, Proctor-Kent recounts how she honed her sewing skills during the Covid-19 lockdown before applying to The Great British Sewing Bee , an annual TV competition, reaching the 2025 finals.   Kit, a semi-finalist and mathematician, was similarly creative. “Mathematics and spatial reasoning and 3D plotting and all of that mathematical brain that Kit has, really did apply to the Bee,” she says. “When we were given a sewing pattern and told to make it in two…

People in this episode

Guest: Yasmin Proctor-Kent

Topics covered

• creativity in science
• sewing
• science and art
• personal development
• career advice

Keywords

• sewing
• science
• creativity
• career
• personal development
• The Great British Sewing Bee
• Yasmin Proctor-Kent

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Leica Biosystems

Places: Melbourne

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