04x08 - Evening Wear

[bunniefuu]

Seven weeks ago, the sewing room
opened its doors

to ten of the best
amateur sewers in Britain.

After 147 garments,
just three sewers remain.

It's so empty.
Oh, it is so empty. It is so empty.

And now either Charlotte...

This is not good. ..Jade...

One more, just one more.

..or Joyce... Damn, damn, damn.

..is going to be crowned the winner
of The Great British Sewing Bee.

Feeling ready?

No.

Charlotte, Joyce and Jade have just
three more garments to make before

Esme and Patrick decide who deserves
the title of Britain's
best amateur sewer.

I was born ready.

I don't know ready for what.

Charlotte takes a mathematical
approach to her sewing and often

prefers to play it safe,
but last week she excelled,

winning a complex pattern challenge
with a precisely sewn skirt

and revealing a real
flair for design

with her Garment Of The Week-winning
alteration.

The fact that I had a good
week in the semifinal
has really buoyed me up.

I'm just going to do the best I can,
and hopefully it will be enough.

Right.

With six decades of sewing behind
her, Joyce knows every technique
in the book.

Her taste may be traditional, but
her fabric handling, fitting and
finishing are hard to beat.

If - big, big if - I won,
it would be the cherry
on the icing of the cake,

and my son-in-law has already got me
down to switch on the
Hassocks lights if...

SHE LAUGHS
It's a tiny little village.

This is exciting, guys.

At 18, Jade is the youngest
ever sewer on the sewing bee.

She may be the least experienced,
but she's proved she's a fast
learner

and showed she has the ability
to remain cool under pressure.

I feel like I've worked really hard
for this.

I'm just going to get my head down,

show the judges why I'm meant to be
here.

Guess what. We are in the final.

CHARLOTTE: No, we're not.
This is a dream.

Good morning, sewers.
Hello. Good morning.

Will you come and join us,
please, finalists?

For the final, they've decided to
take it up a notch,

and you are dealing with the daddy
in the sewing world,

and that is exquisite evening wear.

What is their first challenge, Esme?
Right, here you are.

What we've given you is a man's
dress shirt.
THEY GASP

Wow!

This shirt has rows of
perfectly parallel

pin tucks down the front, and more
than any challenge we've set before,

we are only going to be looking at
the precision of your sewing.

Girls, are you feeling all right?

Yes. You have 4½ hours
for a perfect shirt.

Your time starts now.
JOYCE: Thank you.

Shall we pull it back together?

For the last pattern challenge,
the fabric has already been cut.

Bags not pink.
JOYCE: I don't mind pink.

I want that one.
JADE: I'll have the blue

The judges want to focus purely on
the finalists' sewing,

and expect precision with every
stitch.

I'm glad it is just down to the
sewing,

because this is the kind of thing
that would take four hours to cut
out.

This challenge is probably
the toughest we've ever set.

Every bit of this is difficult.

We will be looking at the placement,
the precision, the accuracy,

the straightness, the spacing -

and that's just on the pin tucks on
the front of the shirt.

Also the placket, this is
a binding for the cut you make
in the sleeve of the shirt

so you can open the cuff.

But it's the tricky piece of sewing.

They've got to attach the collar
to a collar stand,

it has to then sit correctly
all the way round.

These points have to be precisely
turned out, no bumps in the corners.

There is so much precision in this.

And we will pick up on every single
error they make.

I had a feeling it would be a shirt
or something hard,

so I'm just reading the instructions
and really taking in exactly what
they are telling me to do.

My approach to this is to follow
the pattern to the letter.

Pencil at the ready, tick off
when I'm done.

The first step is to sew a set of

six pin tucks on each of the front
pieces.

Then the button stands are created,

before the front and back
are joined at the yoke.

The sleeves are made with their
placket openings and inserted.

The collar and cuffs are added,

and there are seven buttons
to attach at the front

and two more at the cuffs.

I think the pin tucks is probably
the trickiest part of the pattern.

Once you've done them, it's just
a nice sewing job.

Having said that, of course, we've
got plackets to put in, as well.

And a collar to put on, so perhaps
it's not just an old sewing job.

Joyce left her old job as a school
admissions officer in 2012,

but since the Sewing Bee started,
she hasn't had a spare minute.

Being retired, I think Mum thinks
she works hard,

but actually now she's really had to
focus and concentrate on the sewing.

I think she has been quite tired,
but when she gets there,

it sort of like reinvigorates her.

How are you feeling about the final?

I'm really excited.

I just love it when I'm there,
to be honest.

It's not just me that's proud of
her, I know my dad's really proud
of her,

my son's really proud of her.

All of the family are proud of her.

You are the best. Oh, darling.
Even if you don't win.

THEY LAUGH

Such faith in her mother, Harry(!)

Have you made a shirt before?

I've made shirts for my boys
when they were youngsters,

but of course it didn't have
the precision of this.

And I actually made a shirt for my
husband once when cheesecloth came
into fashion.

Oh, right, OK. He wore it once,
so I made him no more.
SHE LAUGHS

Was it the cheesecloth or your
sewing, Joyce?

How could it be my sewing, Patrick?

"Attach your pin tuck foot,
and, working from top to bottom,
stitch the first tuck.

"Continue sewing your pin tucks."

Do we have a pin tuck foot?

Oh, we do.

Sewing them free hand would mean

spending hours
on the pin tucks alone.

The pin tuck foot
should speed things up.

The pin tuck foot
has several ridges,

but the ridge in the middle
is the one

that makes the pin tuck
you're currently sewing.

And then the other ridges are where
previous pin tucks sit,

so the new one, it's
absolutely parallel to the
one you've sewn before.

Any wobbliness in those pin tucks
is going to be, "Hello!"

I need to do 12 pin tucks
altogether.

You've got to get
your stitching exact.

This is petrifying.

I'm going to slow right down.

I'm concentrating on getting this
line spot on.

CHARLOTTE: I've never sewed anything
so slowly in my life.

Charlotte. Hello.

It's the final. Aargh!

I just like saying it because
I really like your reaction.

It's a mixture of excited
and terrified.

How important is it for the
psychology

to do well in the first challenge?

Oh, it's hugely important because
it sets you up.

There, that does look nice.

Charlotte studied for three
years to get her PhD in osteology,

but getting to the Sewing Bee final
has been much more of a team effort.

The kids, throughout the process,
have been so supportive of her,

it's really sweet.

This one will go with the green.
Do you think?

It has been really nerve-racking to
find out if my mum has got through
every week.

Every single time that
I got a phone call,

I got really excited
and shaky, like,

"Oh, no, what if she
doesn't get through?"

But I think in my heart
I knew she was

going to get through because
she's amazing at sewing.

Winning it would mean
so much to her.

She told me if she won Sewing Bee,

she would be more proud
than she was of her PhD.

Just in case there
was ever any doubt,

I am never making my husband
a shirt.

Sorry, honey.

This is ridiculous.

They are all taking an awfully long
time doing their pin tucks.

We gave everything cut out,
they had to sit down,

read the instructions,
put that first piece under
the machine and sew.

I understand they want to get
this right, this is the final.

But they've got to crack on, there's
so much to do in this challenge.

Yes. It is quite worrying.

Sewers, you've spent an hour
already doing...

Nothing. You said it, Charlotte.

I've done 3½ pin tucks.

Yeah. How many have you done, Joyce?

One, two, three, four, five.

It is very hard.
And they want 12 of them.

I will be glad
when this bit's over.

Feel like my eyes are going woozy.

Jadey, how are you finding this?

Awful. Have you ever sewn
a pin tuck before?

I've never sewn a pin tuck.

Don't worry about the fact you
haven't done it, just -

if I can say this in the nicest
possible way - smash it.

You sound like my mum.

God, I think you were
only about 11 there.

Jade is no stranger to competition.

On course to eventually represent
Great Britain as a swimmer,

a knee injury four years ago put an
end to her Olympic dreams.

You know, when she got injured, her
life was changed dramatically.

It was a real shock to the system.

And then obviously sewing took over
after the swimming.

Jade was always a very
strong-willed person -

if she put her mind to something,
she would always achieve.

Jade is so pleased she's
got down to the final,

but she would love to win.

It would be like winning
an Olympic gold medal for Jade.

Finished my pin tucks.

I'm never doing any again
in my entire life.

Next is the button stand.

The button stand is the opening
where the buttons
and buttonholes will go.

It's created by pressing double
folds along the front to reinforce
the edges.

I'm going to sew up here first and
then that gets folded in again

and then you sew up that one.

It says to fold over 2.7cm.

Normally, I would eyeball
this sort of thing,

but today is just the precision,
so I'm measuring it.

Next, the front and back pieces must
be joined to a yoke, and every seam

finished with impeccable
top stitching.

It is very important it's an even
distance away

from the edge of the seam.

This shirt has an awful lot
of top stitching.

Right, I'm going to hang this up and
then we're making sleeve plackets.

Never done one before,
this is going to be a tough one.

JOYCE: Placket binding, is that
what they call placket binding?

This is going to go round the bit
that goes to the cuffs

so you can get your arm in,
basically.

You have to make a slit.

Have you done a placket before?
I wish! I'm a bit lost.

This is quite a tricky piece
of sewing and on the inside
of a placket,

it should have
a little triangle here,

and they have to push the excess
fabric up between this,

so we don't
want to see any raw edges.

I'm not quite sure what to do with
you. Just turn you under, I guess.

Pin you down.

If you're no good at origami,
you cannot do a shirt placket.

Oh! How did that happen?

What? It looks like it makes sense,

all these little raw edges
get tucked inside

and then you top-stitch it
down and it hides it all.

How have you done it?

I just kept fiddling with it,
and suddenly it fell into place.

I'll have to do it again, though -
God knows if it'll work
the second time.

Two sleeves, two plackets.

Hello, Joyce. This is the first
or the second?

This is the first placket.

OK, so you've still got...

to make up your cuffs, your collars,
put your sleeves in. Yep.

You're panicking me, Patrick.

Do all your buttonholes.
You're panicking me, Patrick.

It looks neat, but honestly...
I need to pull my finger out.

You need to move at about twice the
speed you're moving at, you've got
a lot to do. Okey dokey. Hustle.

# You made my heart go
tick-a-tick tock... #

Placket two...

Out the way.

Right, let's...
Cuffs, cuffs, cuffs.

CHARLOTTE: A cuff has two pieces,
an inside and outside, basically.

You sew all the way round that,
clip the curvy bit,

flip it inside out
and then you have a cuff.

I'm hoping that if I just remain
calm and just keep on trucking,

it will be all right.

The cuffs aren't tricky, really,

you just need to make sure
you've got nice angles on them
and no puckers

or anything like that.

The difficulty with the cuffs is to
make sure that they match on each
side.

OK. Sew it on.

Sewers, you have one hour and ten
minutes. Will you be all right
for time, Joyce?

If I rush, I might, but...

Come on! What do you need me to do?

Shall I make like,
galloping noises...?

No, couldn't you do my collar for
me, while I do the buttonholes?

Like I know how to make a collar!
Look what I'm wearing!

I'm not allowed to have an opinion
on clothes.

I'm pinning my collar pieces
together and I'm going to sew around
the edge.

I need to make sure that my collar
sits nice and flat on the body,

but has nice pointy corners
at the end.

Once they've made the collar itself,
they need to make the collar stand,

the section of fabric that joins
it to the neck.

I'm now attaching my collar stand.

I'm just going to follow the
instructions at this point, cos I
haven't got a clue what I'm doing.

So that basically goes over like...
that.

"Right sides together, pin and
stitch the inner collar stand..."

What sort of seam allowance
have we got?

Doesn't tell you, so let's use 1cm.

The seam allowance is the distance
between the edge of the fabric

and the line of stitching.

The pattern specifies 1cm
for the collar itself,

but it's up to the sewers to decide
if this applies to the collar stand.

I used a 1cm seam allowance.

Creating too much seam allowance
will make the collar too small.

Too little, and the collar
will be too big.

Definitely being under pressure
makes it harder to remember
how to do stuff.

Also makes you second-guess
yourself in a way that you
wouldn't ordinarily.

It doesn't say a seam allowance
in the instructions,

but I've done 1½. Charlotte? Yep?

It doesn't say one.

I know, but I've just done it
on one and it fits perfectly.

But I've done it and trimmed it. Oh.

I've sewn the collar stands
together with a 1.5cm seam allowance

and now I'm panicking that it won't
fit,

but there's nothing I can do about
it at this point.

I've already cut it, trimmed it.

Sewers, I have bad news.

You only have half an hour left.

OK, that's the collar on.

As Jade and Joyce move on
to the final stage...

Buttonhole. ..Charlotte's
struggling to fit her collar.

It's not going to work. I can see
already, that's not going to work.

The collar stand is too small
for the shirt.

I did use the wrong seam allowance.

Aargh! This is going to look
like crap.

I think the whole issue with
the collar has thrown her.

Absolutely. She's panicking
a bit, isn't she?

Slightly, yes. It's a shame.

I haven't got the time to fix it,
haven't got time to do anything
about it.

Everyone else is on buttonholes.

One more. Just one more.

Come on, get out!

This is not good.

Sewers, 15 minutes.
CHARLOTTE SIGHS

I'm sorry, Charlotte is angry with
me for mentioning the time.

You've got to sew your buttons so
that they match the buttonholes.

There's no point having in your
button half an inch up.

It is stressful. If I had another
five minutes, I could easily get
these on.

The rest of it is absolutely fine.

It's just that one bit.
That's going to have to do.

Just desperately trying to finish
this so I can give it a good press.

And between you and me, my top
buttonhole is not brilliant.

I've got nine buttons to sew on.

JOYCE: They're all the same,
Charlotte, just get it in the right
position and put your foot down.

CHARLOTTE: Got it.
Sewers, you have five minutes left.

I think I can do it. They're not
going to be beautiful,

but they're going to be finished.
Four done, five to go.

Three buttons left.

They're getting tacked on quick as
they can.

I've done my buttons and it's just
pressing now.

I don't think I can sew these
buttons on fast enough,
my hands are shaking.

Jade, are you OK?
I've got one button to go.

It's not going to do up.
OK, never mind.

JOYCE: A quick press of the collar.

One minute left.

I actually feel like
I'm going to be sick.

I've never sewn buttons on so badly
in my life.

That top button's not good.

Sewers, your time is up.

What a bloody mess.

Very well done, guys. Let's take
the mannequins to the front.

# Lipstick on your collar

# Told a tale on you... #

Three pin-tuck dress shirts in
four-and-a-half hours,

but who's followed their final
pattern with the most precision?

Joyce, you're up first.

# ..Bet your bottom dollar
You and I are through

# Cos lipstick on your collar
told a tale on you. #

Your pin tucks look pretty good.

I'm not sure if this isn't
slightly narrower.

Yeah, probably is.

Yes, it is. Yes.

Smaller this side? Mm.

Those points of collar are very
sharp, very even.

The top stitching is very neat, it's
a very nice curve here on the cuff.

When I look inside the placket,

you've sewn it in exactly
the right place there.

The one thing that absolutely leaps
out...

Is that. ..is this.

You've just got this buttonhole in
the wrong place.

To me, it's really pretty much the
only flaw.

It's pretty good.

Shall we start with the pin tucks?

This side is definitely narrower.

I mean, we can check that, for sure.

They're noticeably narrower,
but they are pretty straight.

Thank you. Now, let's have a look at
those cuffs

and see how even those are.

How are you that side?

They're pretty good. Yep.

The top stitching on the button
stand is very neat.

You obviously rushed putting your
buttons on,

you didn't check the spacing.

We've got a bit of a gape
on these two,

but it's a very good shirt in
a very short space of time.

I'll take that. Thank you very much.

Um...

Right. OK, Charlotte.

There are a few things that
jump out.

Yes. The most obvious one to me is
that your collar is too short.

And what that's doing is dragging
everything out of shape,

so all of this here is because the
collar is too small

and it's dragging
everything around the shirt

into a smaller neck hole than it
wants to be in to.

What you've done is taken too
big a seam allowance.

It didn't specify seam allowance.

We specified a centimetre.

For the collar, but not for the
collar stand. Hm.

I mean, if I was sewing a centimetre
on the collar,

I'd sew a centimetre
on the collar stand.

Which is a shame, because the
plackets are very neat,

the cuffs are pretty even.

The top stitching is pretty good.

You have done the pin tucks
beautifully neatly.

The other big one...

I know. Your buttonholes are
off-centre.

Yes. And that was because you rushed
them at the end.

Yeah. Yep.

Well done. Thank you, Charlotte.

Now the judges must decide whose
dress shirt

was sewn most accurately.

In third place...

is Charlotte. Your sewing was
very, very neat,

you just made an error on the
collar.

In second place...

..Jade. Beautiful sewing all over
this shirt.

Just a couple of small errors, but
otherwise, very well done indeed.

Thank you. In first place is Joyce.

Thank you, thank you!

The only thing was the button hole
at the top,

but everything else was very
beautifully sewn.

Lovely. A very, very well done
to all three of you.

We know that was incredibly hard.

Go, relax, gather yourselves.

We'll see you back here soon for the
alteration challenge.

Off you go. Well done.

Thanks, Jadey.

I'm just thrilled.

It's a good start for the final
for me.

The number of my husband's shirts
I have ironed over the years
also helped.

I knew exactly where to put
that little row of stitching
onto the placket!

Pretty happy with second.
It's in the middle.

That's where my mum always said is
the best place to be.

You don't want to always be first.
You don't always want to be last.

I've had a slight knock, obviously.

I want to do well in the
alteration challenge,

I really need to do well in that.

So fingers crossed.

From a dress shirt to another
classic item of gentleman's
evening wear,

which will test their ability
to reimagine clothes
for the final time.

Patrick, what would you like our
lovely finalists to transform?

One of these. Oh, God!

It's a dinner suit, which we'd like
you to transform

into a little black dress. OK.

What we want is something glamorous.

We've got sequins, we've got
chiffon, we've got georgette,

so you can use haberdashery and
fabrics, but remember,

it's a little black dress.

Judges, you have to leave now.
Goodbye. Goodbye.

You have 90 minutes.

This is your final chance to blow
their minds with an alteration.

Your time starts now.

Right. Let's have a look.

I don't care which I have.
I want this one.

You're going to be beautiful.

Come on, dude. He's coming with me.

Don't for one minute think I know
what I'm doing.

I'm thinking that I want to use the
lapels in some way.

Haven't thought about the skirt bit
yet, but the scissors are out.

So, I'm really looking
forward to see how they transform
this obviously

very classically masculine
evening wear outfit into something
classically feminine.

There are no big bits of
fabric here. No.

So they are actually going to have
to think about how they use

the elements of the original pieces.
The biggest piece are the trousers.

We're looking for something sexy,
something well-fitted.

And hopefully, they will do
something daring.

You are something of an expert in
the field of little black dresses.

Well, I got a little black dress
into the V&A.

It's part of their
permanent collection,

so I know something about
little black dresses.

Was that made from an old man's
dinner suit?

Well, no, it wasn't.

That's a bit...

No. Going to do something with this.

What are you making, darling?

Basically going to be like the top
of my prom dress,

so I'm going to have it quite up and
then round.

Oh! Have you just made your own
pattern?

I have just made my own pattern.

What are you talking about?
In an alteration challenge?!

I know, to get the shape of the
top...

Of the bodice? ..I had to draw it.

I have got a little bit of black
sequin here.

Got to look classy in your tiny,
tiny outfit.

Right. That's the skirt...ish.

I want to do a longer one with
this.

I want it to show a couple of inches
below, like so.

I've worn quite a lot of little
black dresses in my time.

And when I was younger, they were
very little black dresses,

but as I got older, they got bigger,
with me!

SHE LAUGHS

This is already the best dress
I've ever seen.

CHARLOTTE LAUGHS
It is! Now, your last of alteration.

I know, a bit sad. I've just got the
hang of them.

It won Garment Of The Week.

An alteration hasn't won Garment Of
The Week this series,

so that's major.
So what are you doing?

Um, sexy satin...

Beautiful. Bit of sequin.

Gorgeous. Backless.

You'll also be able to undo
the halterneck, because
it'll be the bowtie.

Ring-a-ding-ding!
CLAUDIA GASPS

I might have to let it out a tiny
bit, just down the side seam,

then it should fit.

It is quite a masculine fabric

and I think that's what's kind of
hard about this challenge,

that you have to turn something
so masculine

into something quite feminine.

I'm just binding this edge

and then I can attach the sequin to
the underside.

I also want to put
sequins on the pockets.

I'm not a blingy sort of person, so
this is sort of different for me.

The dress is going to stay up,
I'm going to put straps on it.

Everyone is really going for it.

I think cos it's the final,
you've got to go for it.

Right. One hour to go in the
final alteration challenge.

Skirt...

Be quite nice with the buttons down
the front of it.

I'm just sort of making it up
as I go along.

Right. That is a waistbandy stuff.

Look. Ta-da! You've got the little
bit underneath and you've got the
bling in the middle.

Just unpicking the inside leg seams,

then I can sew the legs together
front and back,

and that will make kind of
a skirt shape.

I like this ribbon down the side.

Let's sew it on, then we'll think
about something for the top.

I'm going to try and make quite
a fitted skirt,

a bit like a pencil skirt.

Ooh!

It's a bit indecent, currently.

I think I'll put a bit of sequin in
the front there, to echo that bit.

You are halfway through your
alteration challenge.

Gosh. I wonder if I could make this
into a strapless?

What I'm doing now is I'm going to
bind the edges of the skirt,

otherwise, I'll have raw edge,
and then sew the sequins underneath.

I just want to do something a little
bit more outrageous

and have the darts sticking out.

Usually, they're meant to go
on the inside.

I actually did this on my GCSE
project.

And I thought it looked pretty cool.

I don't know what the judges are
going to think of them.

Instead of darts in the skirt,
it's got pleats in the skirt.

Oh, I've done that the wrong way.

I've started sewing
the hem the wrong way round.

Come on!

I'm attaching my bodice to my skirt

and then I'm going to put a zip in
the centre back.

Second time lucky.

Back of the skirt is going to be
done up with a zip,

I just need to figure that out.

I just need to sew these pockets...

Done my pleat all wrong again.

Quickly sewing my darts
into my dress.

I'm loving this, actually.
Really enjoying this.

Sewers, you have only ten minutes
left on your little black dress.

I've gone for a really long
open-ended zip.

Hook and eye. Hook and eye.

The Velcro is going to be
a fastening.

I like that zip. Does it go
all the way down?

CLAUDIA GASPS
Yeah. Filth!

I'm just putting on a bar at the top
of the skirt,

cos there's quite a big gap -

it's the kind of thing
they might appreciate.

Right. Let's go for it.

The straps are on, it's whether
they're long enough,

which I don't think they are.
I need to make them longer.

That goes there, I bet I've put it
on the wrong side.

I have.

Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn.

Come on! That's one minute left.

We've done it.

Anyone know how to
tie a bow tie?

Not very elegant, but it's on.

That's it, time's up, please.

Come on, darling.

There we go.

Very well done.

MUSIC: The Look Of Love
by Burt Bacharach

Three little black dresses from
three tuxedos in just 90 minutes.

But will the judges be dazzled by
their final alterations?

I've got to say, I'm extremely
pleased with what I'm looking at.

So we've got an element of the
jacket here

and then a piece has
been added on the top.

We've got a little dart.

I wonder why the dart's on
the outside.

I don't mind the dart
being on the outside,

but if you're going to do that,

we should have had this dart
on the outside. In fact,

we should have had all the darts and
seams on the outside.

If you're going to do it, go for it.

Yeah, keep it consistent throughout.

Yes, so it looks like it's meant to
be there.

Actually, I quite like this chunky
zip in the back.

Overall, I think the shape is very
dramatic.

I think it looks sort of sexy
and fun.

I just am not sure about the darts
on the outside.

# Bewitched, bewitched

# You've got me in your spell

# Bewitched, bewitched... #

So we've got a little underskirt
that's been added.

The back has been pleated and we've
also got pleating at the front.

I'm not 100% sure I love
the placement

of all of these bits of sequin.

If they'd been black sequins, I
think it would've looked chicer.

Does this open all the way...?

Got Velcro on the front, so the
whole thing opens up the front.

One thing I'm kind of surprised by
is that it's staying up.

Cos it's got no support.

I would've thought when you're
disco dancing in this,

it would probably end up
round your waist.

Certainly with the vigour
with which you disco dance,

I think it's almost a certainty.

MUSIC: Playboy's Theme
by Cy Coleman

I like very much how they've used
the revere, and look.

SHE LAUGHS

They've used the bowtie. Yep.
That is fantastic.

And also, look here.

We've got the trouser stripe.

They've inserted a zip and a hook
and bar. I like the inserted sequin.

I think it's well-balanced,
I think the shape is very nice.

You know, they've bound these fronts
with a kind of satin effect.

And the hem. I think it's great.

I do, I think it's great. The
proportion of it is really good,

the fit of it is nice - I really
like this.

The judges will now rank the
alterations for the last time.

In third place, it's our strapless
sequin number.

It's certainly a lot of fun
and I think a very dramatic
transformation,

so very well done. Thank you.

In second place...

..is the heart-shaped dress.

It's sexy and a very nice shape
round the bust.

Thank you. And in first place,

it is, of course, Charlotte's
halterneck sequin number.

Thank you. You're getting good at
this at just the right time.

It's an absolutely fantastic
transformation.

Thank you, it was a lot of fun.
Good.

Well done, Charlotte.
After shirt-gate...

Oh, don't!

What a brilliant first day,
thank you so much.

Go home, relax. Tomorrow really is
the final challenge.

So, on that note, sleep well.

Sorry.

Bye.

It's a huge relief that I came first
after this morning's shirt-gate,

very happy about that.

Well done!

'I think it's very close.'

It puts that little bit more
pressure onto tomorrow, that's why,

you know, I'm going to go in and
just get my head down

and get on with it.

Two of us got a one and a three and
the other one got two twos -

how to call it?
You just don't know, do you?

One more challenge left.

In just a few hours, either Joyce,
Charlotte or Jade

will be crowned the winner of the
Great British Sewing Bee.

We've had bottom to top, top to
bottom and something in the middle.

Nothing is clarified.
Nothing is clear at all.

Joyce, technically,
she's a very good sewer.

But she has struggled at times
with fitting.

Charlotte I think has the most
natural affinity with the fine
finishing.

And Jade has won Garment of the Week
for her made-to-measure

twice out of
the last three weeks.

But what we really don't know is
what is going to happen. Yeah.

For the last challenge,
as ever,

the mannequins make way for real
people, but this time,

the models have been hand-picked
by the sewers.

How are you feeling? Nervous.
Very nervous for them.

It's exciting, though.
It's the waiting!

They are...Joyce's granddaughter.

Jennifer! Oh, darling girl!
Are you all right?

Jade's mum's best friend, Gemma.

Oh, my God!

And stepmum to Charlotte's
children, Ruth.

You look gorgeous!

Good morning, sewers.

Good morning lovely models, thank
you so much for being here.

This is it, there is one
challenge left.

At the end of that,

somebody will be crowned
Britain's best amateur sewer. God!

It's happening, Joyce, there's
no other way of saying it.

For your made-to-measure, the judges
would love you to make

floor-length, exquisite evening
gowns using luxury fabrics.

You have six-and-a-half hours.

Enormous luck. Your time starts now.

OK. Blimey.

I'm feeling good, I'm feeling
confident, I know what I need to do.

I think this is their chance
to shine.

It has to have beautiful fit,
gorgeous finish.

It needs to have impact.

This is the kind of pinnacle of all
dressmaking, really.

What could go wrong? Well, they're
using very delicate fabrics,

so they need to handle them with
delicacy, they need to press
beautifully.

Everything that we've talked about
through seven weeks already,

all of that needs to come out in
this challenge.

I can't wait to see what they
produce.

Neither can I. I'm really excited.

Nothing will be as good as your
jacket, Esme. Nothing.

To give them a fighting chance of
creating a perfect gown,

the sewers have all pre-cut their
fabric pieces

and for once, have been able to
practise fitting to their models.

I want to show the judges
a well-made garment

that's slightly off-piste.

You know, it's not quite what you
expect for an evening gown.

Joyce's black and silver two-piece
evening gown

comprises a pleated bustle skirt

made of a thick silk called dupion,

and a tight-fitting velvet bodice

with a gathered peplum trimmed
with lace.

Are you so excited to wear one
of your grandma's amazing creations?

Yeah, I have worn her dresses
before, but now that I'm older,

I'm getting to wear another one that
she's made.

Can I have a look at a picture?
Look at that!

Are you nervous about making this?

I need to work flat-out
to finish it.

I'm doing the skirt first,
get that out of the way,

then I can concentrate
on the bodice.

How did you choose it?
Did you always think,

"Corset, peplum, lace, bustle"?

Did you just go,
"Boof! I know the one!"? Yes.

Do you know what I'm also going to
get for you? A live horse.

I think you need to do that catwalk
with a shire horse. Do you?!

Are you going to make me feel
glamorous, Jade?

Ah! That's always my aim.

My dress is a low-cut front dress.

It's going to have straps out of
that beading

and running down the back
from about here, through the straps,

is just going to be a massive panel
of beaded fabric.

Jade's beaded train and straps
will add a striking feature

to her coral-coloured

silk satin gown,

made up of a close-fitted bodice

and wiggle skirt.

I see we've come to the
hardware store.

Pliers, hammers, absolutely
everything.

That is, of course, because you're
going to have to get rid of some of
these beads.

So you're inserting the zip
into the beaded...

Into the beaded fabric, yeah.

So it's going to be
quite a tough one!

So where are you?

I've put all my bodice together...

Are you lining this?
I am going to line this, yeah.

I'm lining it in the same fabric.

I've interfaced it, as well,
the bodice,

just so it had a little more
structure to it.

Have you ever made anything for
Gemma before?

I've never made anything for Gemma
before,

but anything would look good on
Gemma, even, like, a binbag.

But you're not making us
one of those.

No, I'm not making you a bin bag.
It doesn't look like a bin bag.

I hope it doesn't at the end!

Hello, Charlotte. Hello, Ruth.

When I said,
"Oh, who's Charlotte's model?"

And they said, "Yes, Charlotte's
model is her ex-husband's wife,"

I was like, "Fantastic."

I'm never leaving,
I'm pulling up a chair,

I'm here for the whole
six-and-a-half hours.

Jeremy Kyle is just over there.

No, it's fantastic!

We've got a lie detector test...

No, I'm kidding! It's so lovely,
because between the two of you,

you have three people to look after,
and they will love it so much

when they go, "My mummy made my
stepmummy this amazing dress."

Yes. Where could it all go wrong?

Just to bring it down. Timing.
Timing.

Because I want to hand-finish
everything.

Do you? That I can, yes.
Holy moley.

Charlotte's purple crepe-back satin
gown

has gathered shoulders and
a V-neck bodice.

She's attaching a diamante waistband

to give Ruth an extra touch of
glamour.

She's an extraordinarily important
person in the kids' lives,

she's loving, she's kind,
she's brilliant.

It's just really important to me.

Ruth's very important.

Sorry!

It's all true. Thank you.
Thank you so much.

Sewers, you have had one hour in
your final challenge of the final.

I'm just checking it fits around
the front, around her boobs,

which it does. I'm happy with it.

The only fitting I'm going to do on
the skirt is the waistband and the

length at the front.

The waist has got to be right.

I'm just putting some gathering
stitches in the front of the bodice

and those make the gathers under
the bust.

So that is the front...

OK. That's comfortable, is it? Yep.

JADE: Right, I need to smash these.

If the beads aren't
crushed in the seam,

then, it won't lay nice and flat.

Right, hammer time, guys.

Jade, shut up!

Sorry! Shush!

The neckline is going to be
a crisp V.

I marked the point that
I have to sew to.

You want to be careful when you're
working with satin that it doesn't
slip about.

Charlotte's fabric looked really
beautiful.

It was absolutely lustrous
and iridescent, but she has to
handle it very...

It's a very delicate fabric.

It's quite a thin fabric, it hasn't
got, really, any weight to it.

Better. Look at that. No
gapey-gapey. No gapey-gapey.
No gapey-gapey.

These are my straps, so they're
going to be like that...

It looks like Jade has sussed out
how to use the beading.

But it's quite heavy and a train
typically has

a sort of lightness
and a bounce to it.

You just need to take your time.

If you hit a bead, that needle
is going to go flying.

That was a bead.

I'm attaching the lining
and the skirt together.

This whole thing just is bagged out,
so to speak.

Joyce, slightly worried,
because she's bagging it out,

that the lining might drop
below the outer...

We'll see.

How you getting on, Joyce?
Have you done your skirt?

No, but I'm on... Are you on track?

I think so.

To form the dramatic bustle
for the back of her skirt,

Joyce must accurately follow her
pattern to create a complex
arrangement of pleats.

Oh...

No, that's...

not right. I'm trying to figure
out the pleats at the back

and I've forgotten how they go.

You need these pleats so that you
get a nice shape to the bustle.

Pleat there to there...

No, that's wrong.

Oh, dear me.

This is going to hold me back
if I'm not careful.

Sewers, halfway through now.

Halfway through...

and then somebody will win.

I'd hoped I'd be a little bit
further on at this point.

I'm sewing my skirt panels
together now.

I'm sewing these seams really
slowly, because they're going to be
really visible.

This is exciting, this part.

This is the huge train
at the back of it.

Whilst Jade and Charlotte are
making progress,

Joyce is still pleating her skirt.

Still not right.

Oh, Jesus.
Joyce is having a bit of a 'mare.

I'm worried that she's given
herself too much to do.

The back and front don't match,
so I've obviously gone wrong.

To get the waistband on,
you've got to have this matching.

I am a tiny bit worried about Joyce.

Six-and-a-half hours sounds like a
long time, but believe me, it isn't.

But not everyone is in a hurry.

I'm doing a hand-picked zip.

It means that I'm putting it in by
hand using tiny, tiny stitches.

Putting in a zip in
this kind of fabric,

it's absolutely important to take
the time to do this properly.

The skirt's done,
I am now doing the bodice.

I spent too much time
making that skirt,

so I'm just going to work flat-out.

I am attaching my bodice
to my skirt, finally.

So I've got the normal
fabric interfacing

and the beading fabric
and then, lining to go on it.

But it's looking good.

Right, let's go and sew it together.

I'm just unpicking
this tiny bit here,

because it lines up at
the top of the waistband,

but not quite at the bottom. It's
the kind of thing they'll notice.

Sorry, Jen, I'm just
pushing you around, I know.

This needs to really go in.

It fits perfectly.

Apart from the zip, though -
damn it.

It's a little bit of
a bump on the zip here,

not laying as flat as I'd like.

I'm going to sew this
bling on quickly,

then I'll hopefully
have time to go back

and do something about that zip.

Sewers, bad news -
only one hour to go,

then I'm going to
massage your fingers.

The princess seam here is just
sticking out a little bit,

so I'm just going
to have to give that

a good old press and get it flat

with a nice curve, rather than it
trying to push out everywhere.

This is what the judges are looking
at, how it fits the model.

I'm attaching the binding
around the armholes.

I'm not doing such a good job of
this, because of the time factor.

I hate this rush.

I've had a change of plan.

I haven't got time
to hand-sew my hem,

so I'm going to do a nice two-stage
rolled hem on the machine.

Hopefully, that will give me
enough time to redo my zip.

I'm feeling stressed.

PATRICK WHISPERS: I don't think
she's made a lovely job

of that zip down the back.

Maybe she can press it away,
but at the moment,

it looks a little untidy.

Still doing that weird shape.

I'm a bit worried about Jade.

The shape over the bust
is not very nice.

I can't do anything about it now.

I've got the peplum and the eyelet.

It doesn't sound a lot, but I
can tell you it jolly well is.

PATRICK WHISPERS: Joyce is behind,
and because she's behind,

she's powering through this sewing

and it just doesn't look like she's
taking care. She is going fast.

She's going hell for leather.

JOYCE: Right, there's the pleats
in after a fashion - not neat,

but who's worried about
neat at this stage?

Sewers, you have half an hour left,
only half an hour!

I just want to do this as quickly
as I can, so I can get back
to that zip.

Yeah, there's no way I could
have done this in the time

if I was doing it by hand,
not a chance.

It's an ENORMOUS amount of hem.

Just checking the hem...

I'll have to sort that out,
it looks like it's going up on you.

Come on, come on, get in.

Urgh! I need to do 16 eyelets.

My fingers are bleeding.

Charlotte? Are we there?
We are at the "eurgh" stage.

OK, what have you got left to do?

I've got to unpick
the zip and redo it.

You're shaking, I can't bear it.
Why don't we just sellotape it?

Or just get her to hold it.

She's your ex-husband's new wife,
it's the least she can do!

You're right!
SHE SNIGGERS

Sewers, you have ten minutes left.

Press that to see
what it looks like.

It's not made as well
as I would like.

Hopefully, the overall appearance,
though, will be OK.

It's certainly a lot
better than it was,

but it's still got a bit
of a bump there.

Just pressing my lining down
from the bodice.

Nudge. Oh, look, that's not good.

I'll have to do that bit again.

Come on.

Final press. Final garment.

Final nervous breakdown...

in the sewing room.

You have all these wonderful
ideas when you start off,

don't you? Just got this tiny
section of hand-sewing left to do.

I've not done the train hem,

but I think it's quite nice that
it shows off all the beads.

Are you all right, Joyce?
JOYCE SIGHS

Well, Jade, do you want me to be
honest, or do you want me to lie?

Honest. No, I'm not all right.

After all this,
I just hope to God it fits.

Let's put it on, come on. Ready?

SIGHING

That zip looks much better,
but it still doesn't look perfect.

Sewers, that is it, it is over.

(Oh, Jenny, you look beautiful.)

And breathe! Oh!

It's really hot!

It is emotional. I feel like
I've done really well,

considering I made that in
six-and-half hours.

I'm such an idiot. No, you're not.

For getting so upset.
It's only...sewing!

It's because you put
your heart and your soul...

Come on. Stop being silly.
Look what you've made. Yeah.

One thing about this dress that is
absolutely fantastic

is how the fabric moves when
she walks. It looks gorgeous.

Thank you.

You've got the proportion
of this spot-on.

The depth of the neckline,
the position of the band,

is really very good.

I think the fit under the bust
is quite well-managed, actually,

it doesn't look tight.

The gathers are pretty even.
The size of those shoulders -

it's quite a Grecian look,
it's delicate and well-done.

Now, can we turn you around?

No!

What really lets this
down is the zip. I know.

This is sh**ting up here
and you've over-pressed it.

Mmm, in desperation.

You've done the hem by machine
neatly, I would say.

The seams are well-handled
down the side.

I think it's extremely good,
with that one tiny exception.

I think it does look a bit
costume-y, I have to say.

Do you? Yes.

It looks like it could be in a film.

You know, I think there's a lot
of really good sewing in this.

The fit on the corset
is actually pretty good.

The peplum has a good shape to it,

but the gathers are not
as even as they should be.

The binding, well,
it's a little twisted.

The top stitching is pretty neat.

I mean, this skirt was quite
complicated, wasn't it?

I think this bustle works
extremely well.

It's got real bounce to it.

There's a slight problem
with the lining on the skirt. Yeah.

It's just showing slightly below,
isn't it?

Shall we have a look
at the waistband?

Ah, OK. What's happened here is that
you've made this skirt far too big.

When I take that out... I know.

..that is eight inches
too big around the waist.

No, I... Six inches.

That is three on the double,
at least.

You also have to remember,
you're lashing her in,

you're making the corset tight,

so the skirt has to be tight, too.
Yes.

I think you've delivered a dress
with real eye-catching appeal.

I love the beaded fabric.

Yeah, and I think this great flow
from... The front to the back.

..the top of the bust all the way
over the shoulder is very dramatic.

Obviously, the train is
struggling on this carpet.

You backed it here,
but you haven't in the train,

so you've just given us a raw edge.

The train on an evening gown needs
to be finished in some way,

because, ultimately, this is just
going to come apart when it's worn.

Also, quite often with trains,

you put weights in the hem so it
keeps behind you as you walk,

so it should have been lined
and it would have been great

if there had been a weight in it.

I have a problem with the fit of it.

I don't think it's fitting
great on the bust.

Can you see how it's
been over-pressed?

There's too much fabric there.

Also, here... Yeah, my lining...

..is sh**ting to the front.

I think there's some other
little bits and pieces -

I think there's just too much
fullness across this.

I think probably what you've done
is the lining is shorter,

so it's causing this to fold over.

But I think the overall look of it -

it fulfils that glamorous
evening wear brief spectacularly

and whilst there are flaws in it,

I think the overall impression
is very strong.

Jade, thank you so much.

Thank you. Thanks, Gemma.

Huge congratulations, sewers.

Go and have - I don't know -
a group hug.

When you come back,

we announce the winner of
the Great British Sewing Bee.

Thank you. Well done.

Right, darling. Well done.

Whilst Joyce, Charlotte and Jade
await the judges' final decision,

the sewing room has opened its doors

to their family and friends
and a few familiar faces.

It feels great to be back.

I'm actually really enjoying being
back and not worrying about sewing.

This is the cutest thing ever!

We had to make them
out of ski suits!

What Jade made in sportswear week
is amazing

and pretty much what I would
have liked to have made.

My gut feeling is Jade
is going to win.

I did say Joyce a
couple of weeks ago.

Having looked at the garments...

..I think my money is on Charlotte.

Maybe it's just cos
I love her, but Charlotte.

But I honestly think Joyce is in
with a really good chance.

I don't know. I'm glad
I've not got the job.

There is no absolute clear standout
from all of this. No.

They are so evenly matched,
aren't they, don't you think? Yeah.

Let's talk about Joyce's
made-to-measure challenge.

For me, it just didn't feel like
a modern piece of evening wear.

Also, something went dramatically
wrong with that skirt -

it was eight inches too big
around the waist.

But you had a few
problems with Jade.

Yes. I like the design,

I love how this comes from
the front and goes to the back.

That train needed to be finished.

Let's, then, talk about Charlotte.

That zip is where the
great difficulty lies,

which takes us all the way right
back to the beginning again.

Joyce's shirt was pretty flawless,
but there was a problem here.

Charlotte's had
all sorts of problems

and was rightly in third place.

Jade was pretty close.

This was Joyce's alteration,
which you didn't seem to love.

Once you go disco dancing in that,
it will be round your waist.

I thought Charlotte's little black
dress was absolutely knockout.

She showed her imagination.

Jade, her alteration, I liked it.

I very much liked the shape of
the top, a very sexy neckline.

It sounds like quite a dilemma,
then.

We will leave you to it and
then, we'll bring them in

and announce the winner.

WHOOPING AND LAUGHTER

Where are my babies?

Yay!

Ha!

Hello!

Hi!

Oh, hi!

Hi, honey! Oh!

Come here, you!

Welcome back,
very, very lovely sewers,

and a huge welcome
to friends and family,

thank you so much for
being part of this.

Finalists, can I ask you
to step forward?

Now, it all comes down to this.

Enormous luck to all three of you.

The judges deliberated
and they have decided

that the winner of the
Great British Sewing Bee is...

It's Charlotte.
WHOOPING AND CHEERING

Oh, Charlotte,
well done, darling. Oh!

Oh, really well done.

CHARLOTTE: Oh, my God!
PATRICK: Congratulations.

Esme is going to present you
with the trophy.

Very well done. Thank you so much!

Well done, Charlotte.
Well, well done.

Oh!

I'd completely written that off!

Cos of your zip? Cos of my zip!

I know!

This is amazing.

It's amazing,
it doesn't feel real at all.

We set some extraordinarily
tough challenges this week

and nobody found it easy,
but I think throughout the three,

and really, I think,
particularly in her alteration,

she showed she has an
understanding of clothing,

she has an affinity with fabric,

she has a lightness of touch
and she just understands

how clothes move on the body,
and that was what won it for her.

I think Charlotte has grown over
the course of the sewing bee.

Something has happened -

it almost feels like something
has clicked in her brain

and she's shown us her imagination -
her aesthetic has grown.

In the end, that is what
really shone through.

I'm absolutely honoured to
have sewn next to Charlotte.

I've learnt so much over the past
eight weeks than I think,

than I have in the past four years.

The support from everyone
has been amazing.

I'll never forget this, no.

You've got loads of time. Exactly.

'I will miss the sewing room.

'Everyone was different,'

everyone was genuine and we
shared all our sewing secrets,

it was brilliant. Mmm.

No, I'll be going home and
going to bed for six weeks.

I'm exhausted!

But I do have a quilt that
I had to put to one side,

so I'm going to go back to that.

Pinch me! It happened!

If there's anything
I've learned in this,

it's that if there's something you
want to do, just do it, try it.

There's nothing to lose, you can...

You can get so much out of life,

so much out of trying things
and amazing things can happen.

Just go for it.

It's so cute!

John!

That is insane!

Don't cry! Don't cry!

# Don't forget to love me

# Don't forget to write me

# Miss me just a little
while I'm gone

# Keep the love light burning

# Pray for my returning

# Miss me just a little
while I'm gone

# And when that waiting
seems a waste of time

# And sundown makes you blue

# Dry your eyes and know that I'm

# Alone and lonesome too

# Oh-oh, let this moment guide you

# Till I'm home beside you

# Miss me just a little
while I'm gone

# And when just waiting
seems a waste of time

# Sundown makes you blue

# Dry your eyes and know that I'm

# Alone and lonesome too

# Oh-oh, let this moment guide you

# Till I'm home beside you

# Miss me just a little
while I'm gone

# Miss me just a little
while I'm gone. #