Orla Ni Eadhra Biogrphy – Orla Ni Eadhra Wiki

Orla Ni Eadhra is an amateur sewer competing on The Great British Sewing Bee 2025. She enjoys creating unconventional recycled fashion pieces, like a dress made from a trampoline. As a Scottish Gaelic-speaker, Orla is also studying German and Scandinavian at the University of Edinburgh.

Orla began sewing at age 15. She frequently sews for friends and family and dreams of one day having a wardrobe consisting entirely of self-made clothes. She mentioned to The Inverness Courier, “I first learned sewing from my high school teacher Mrs. Mususa, who had an incredible talent for drafting on the spot.”

“Since school, my biggest mentors have certainly been Marice and Fiona, the proprietors of my local fabric store, The Wee Fabric Shop, in Inverness. I feel guilty for always bombarding them with sewing questions when they were trying to close for the day.”

Orla is very close with her family, with them performing together as a family folk band, combining traditional Irish, Gaelic and wider Celtic sounds with original compositions. Her parents are musicians Brian Ó hEadhra and Fionnag NicChoinnich. She also has a sibling, Ró, with whom she works in a café when back at home in Inverness, The Highlands.

Orla Ni Eadhra Age

Sewing Bee contestant Orla Ni Eadhra was born in 2006 in Inverness, Scotland.

Orla Ni Eadhra Great British Sewing Bee

19-year-old Orla Ni Eadhra is a contestant on Series 11 of The Great British Sewing Bee, presented by Sara Pascoe. The Inverness native is among 12 amateur sewers hoping to impress judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young and be crowned Britain’s most sensational seamster.

Speaking about her time filming the show, Orla said: “Going into the workroom for the first time was really surreal. The room is much longer than I imagined, as well as having much lower ceilings. I felt all the cameras on us and that was a strange experience at first.

“For the first episode, I was definitely the most nervous about the Made to Measure task as it was the most complex thing I had made to date. On the upside, it was the thing I had practised the most.”

Orla described her relationship with fellow contestants as “something better than I could have imagined.” She added: “We all got along so well, cried together and pushed each other forward. I was so happy that everyone made me feel so included. And I am so thankful to each one of them for the kindness they showed me.”

Award

In 2023, Orla won an award in Abu Dhabi at the world finals of a global youth sustainable fashion competition, Junk Kouture, to create and model high-end couture from everyday junk. Her ball grown made of recycled materials, including a childhood trampoline which had been damaged in a storm, an old bicycle wheel and chocolate wrappers, resulted in her being selected as one of 10 UK finalists.

Orla modelled the gown at the final where she joined other finalists selected in Paris, Milan, Dublin, New York and Abu Dhabi and was named the London winner. The judges included fashion designer Fabio Piras who said her creation showed understanding in styling fashion and use of materials.

Instagram

Orla Ni Eadhra’s Instagram handle is @sewsbyorla.