Hello, we are back.
We've got a brand-new sewing room,
you're going to love it.
We've got ten brand-new sewers,
they're adorable.
And in just eight weeks' time,
one of them will be crowned
Britain's best amateur sewer.
This year, thousands of people
from all over Britain applied to
take part in the
Great British Sewing Bee.
I sew for my kids late at night,
no-one around, and it's just for me.
It gives me the opportunity
to create things you wouldn't
normally get in the high street.
I get to really personalise
something and make it fit me.
Ten of the nation's best home-sewers
have made it to this sewing room.
I feel a little bit
out of body at the moment,
as though this can't really be real.
I've got three daughters and I'd
really like them to be proud of me.
I want them to think
their mum is cool.
My family are really excited about me
getting onto the competition,
and said to me,
"Don't be the first one out."
Each week they will face
three challenges designed to test
all of their sewing skills.
It's fantastic being with people
that are like-minded,
doing the same thing. Wonderful.
They'll have to prove they have
the technical know-how
to follow any pattern, then show off
their creative side by transforming
an ordinarily high-street buy
into something spectacular.
And finally, make the perfect
made-to-measure garment.
I really just want to get in there
and start sewing. I can't wait.
Everything from simple cotton tops
to men's pyjamas
to prom dresses will be judged by
expert sewing teacher May Martin
and Savile Row's Patrick Grant.
Pat says it as it is, you can deal
with that, but May, I don't know.
I think she can tell you off.
This series we're going to be
testing a range of skills,
from the most basic,
which will have to be
absolutely spot-on,
to the more technical,
which will really push them
out of their comfort zone.
It's a bigger competition.
We're going to be expecting
the sewers to take what they learn
each week, grow with it,
show us more and more.
We're giving them an opportunity
to really show their passion
and flair for sewing.
But who will they crown the winner
of the Great British Sewing Bee?
I don't feel particularly like
I've got a good chance of winning.
But it's nice to be here.
They're in.
The scissors are at the ready.
Welcome to the
Great British Sewing Bee.
This year we're back
in London's East End,
home to the nation's rag trade
for 500 years.
But we've moved to the river,
where, since the 16th century,
ships carrying fabrics from all over
the world sailed up the Thames
and unloaded at wharfs
just like this one.
Welcome to the Sewing Bee.
Huge congratulations
for making it this far,
it means you are already brilliant.
This week,
the judges want to see how you work
with the three most popular fabrics
found in a dressmakers' cupboard.
So challenge one is cotton.
This is the scary challenge.
This is when you're given a pattern
that you've never seen before,
but I reckon it's week one so
they'll have chosen something nice.
What have you gone for?
We have got a sleeveless top
for you to make. Thank you.
I can hear squealing,
and somebody just went "Oh."
I believe that was you, Cliff. Have
you made a sleeveless top before?
I never wear sleeveless tops.
There's a haberdashery, which is
wonderful, full of beautiful things.
You can choose
whatever cotton you like.
You've got two and a half hours.
I'm making tea.
We can tease Patrick, he likes it.
Good luck. Your time starts...now.
In this first challenge,
Patrick and May want to test
how good the sewers are
at following a pattern.
Oh, my God!
And to make the top, they're free
to choose any cotton they like.
Back in the '60s, I had a mod shirt,
like polka dots, so I was
rather taken with this one.
I have worked with cotton a lot.
It's quite easy to work with,
doesn't move about, doesn't slip.
You can do literally anything
with it.
Why have you set this week's
challenges about the three fabrics?
Well, cotton, wool and silk
are probably the commonest
natural fabrics that we use.
They all behave very differently.
We're starting with cotton
which is a very stable fabric,
won't be moving around too much,
so it's a good way of testing
their basic sewing skills,
but it will also show every detail.
We'll be able to see every mark,
every stitch. And you've asked for
a sleeveless top.
These are the things we'll be
looking for. Go on.
Lovely clean edges.
Can you see how beautifully flat
that neckline is sitting? Yeah.
We've set them the challenge
of making a handmade loop.
This is the first week,
and we would like to test them
on the quality of their hand-sewing.
This is a really lovely technique.
I'm looking for a tiny print,
I think,
and then I don't have to
worry about matching the sides,
I think, for this first challenge.
I want to ease myself into it!
Mum-of-three Julie is a housing
estate officer in West Yorkshire.
She began sewing just
four and a half years ago.
I am very much "have a go at it".
I always think,
"Oh, yeah, I can do that."
I thought I could learn
laminate flooring,
that's why you're tripping over it
every day in the hall!
But I always think I can do
everything.
This is divine.
It's a little bit boring, but...
No, it's not boring, it's beautiful!
First challenge, make it classic.
You're better off doing
three things fantastically
than ten things rubbish, aren't you?
This is correct.
I'm looking at the trimmings first.
I'll try and match the fabric
to the trimming.
Tamara lives in Surrey with her
husband and two children.
Her mum began teaching her to sew
when she was ten.
Sewing's been in the family
for generations.
My great-grandmother
worked for a tailor,
so she taught my mum how to sew
and then taught me how to sew.
I've chosen this fabric
because of its bright colour.
Probably could have made my life
easier by choosing plain fabric,
but never do easy.
I was waiting for something to
actually jump out at me.
And this did.
I love working with cotton.
One of my favourite fabrics.
Lynda is a learning support
assistant.
Stop cheating!
Originally from Wales,
she moved to West Sussex
to be close to her grandchildren.
When I make something for them, it's
like surrounding them with my love.
I could cry just thinking about it!
I'm sorry.
Lynda is deaf and can lip-read.
She also has a signer
in the sewing room.
So you've got the most difficult
spot in the room, because you have
the distraction of this beautiful
view out the window.
I haven't had a chance
to look out of the window!
And to be honest with you,
because I'm deaf,
distractions that might disturb
other people, like sounds
and people talking,
that doesn't happen to me.
So I'm totally in my own little world
when I'm sewing.
I'm going to lay the pattern out,
then we're going to
crack on with it.
Chocks away, Ginger.
The pattern comes in six sections -
one for the front
and two for the back,
and three pieces of supporting
material known as facing.
Darts are sewn into the front
to give the top shape.
The front and back pieces
are stitched along the shoulder,
and the facing pieces are stitched
to the reverse of the fabric,
along the neck and arm holes.
The two back pieces are then passed
through the shoulder sections.
The side seams
are then sewn together,
then the centre-back seam,
and that's topped with
the hand-sewn button and loop.
I hate pinning.
Pinning is just a nightmare.
I end up pinning myself more than
I do pinning the garment.
David is a police constable
at Scotland Yard.
But he's recently been spending
more time at home in Surrey
with his wife and two children
after an operation on his leg.
I'm the sewer of our household.
The wife doesn't do any sewing.
She's managed to sew on one
of my daughter's swimming badges.
I then promptly unpicked it and did
it myself because it was awful.
I've got this stool down here
to lean on
so I can stay upright long enough to
do some cutting-out.
But one of the sewers has decided
not to pin their fabric
to the pattern before cutting.
I usually freehand cut.
So I would draw my measurements
onto it and then...
So you don't use a paper pattern
at all? No.
Chinelo is a recent graduate
who lives in Essex with her husband.
She bought herself a sewing machine
second-hand just two years ago.
I was taught to sew by an aunt
of mine - she's a tailor.
She just was freehanding everything.
Whilst she was doing it,
I was writing what she was doing,
and I'd come home and I'd practise,
so that was how I learned to sew,
without using a pattern.
Chinelo is the only sewer using two
contrasting cottons for her top.
Everyone's got a lot
more experience than I have,
everybody else has been sewing
for, like, 30 years,
but I think that's
an added advantage for me.
They're probably knackered
from doing it for 30 years!
You've chosen probably,
of everybody here,
and I'm now going to worry you,
probably the most obvious pattern.
I saw it as a bit of a challenge.
I've not worked with
a pattern so bold as this before.
Unless the centre of the pattern
on Jenni's fabric
is right in the middle of her top,
the finished garment
will be off-balance
and Patrick won't be happy.
I noticed that you re-laid the whole
thing and got the centre pattern,
so...good to see
that you've done that!
Jenni lives and works in Walsall,
and is a resources manager
for a software company.
I started sewing
a year and a half ago.
Started with my wedding dress.
Never sewn beforehand,
and I haven't stopped since.
I'm all done with my cutting out
so hopefully I'm going to start
constructing it.
I'm just about to start
some actual sewing. So darts first.
Darts are triangular areas of fabric
which are folded in on themselves
and secured with
a straight line of stitching.
Just for extra safety.
Without them, the fabric
won't shape around the bust.
By jiminy!
Simon works
at Bradford Industrial Museum,
and his job has fuelled
his love of fabric.
I get a bit carried away
with nice cloth.
I'm not sure, really,
if it's being from Bradford,
and because I've worked in the mill
and my dad's worked in the mill all
his life. Maybe it's in the blood.
I like to think for a long time.
Let the construction of something
just sit for a minute,
or a couple of days, ideally.
'If they've managed to
sew their darts correctly...'
That looks beautiful, what you've
done there! I don't know much,
but I know that is going to make
May weep. Oh, Claudia,
you're easily pleased. I am!
'..construction can begin.'
Stitch the front and back
shoulder seams together, and press.
Oh, hello! Aren't they cute?
I'm not wearing this.
This isn't for a 50-year-old woman.
Cerina lives in Hampshire
with her two daughters, two dogs,
two goats, a brood of chickens
and her husband.
She's been sewing
for almost 40 years.
I have a very busy life.
Sewing means that I can sit quietly,
I can listen to some music,
music that I want to listen to!
It's about just doing stuff
for myself.
Are you all right for time?
I'm a bit speedy.
I get bored easily, I go,
"Oh, can't be bothered."
I've got a lot of unmade things
at home. OK.
You have to finish this. OK.
I'm just flagging it up. I will.
90 minutes left to finish making
a sleeveless cotton top.
A lot of people seem to be
a little bit ahead of me.
I'm just preparing to put the facing
onto the neckline.
Facing is the name
for another layer of material
sewn onto the reverse of the fabric,
which gives it strength.
I'm making sure everything's
in place, then I'm going to sew it.
I'm not going to pin it.
So I'm just pinning it,
and evening out the fabric
to make sure
that there's no puckering.
Heather lives in Leicestershire
with her husband Andrew
and her Jack Russell Roly.
Well, I've been a closet sewer
for most of my life.
When I really needed to make clothes
because I couldn't afford them,
I didn't want to tell anybody
I sewed,
because I thought they might just
think, "Oh, she's really home-made."
So it was a secret.
You could usually feel
where the points are coming
if they're going to be a little bit
sort of over-bulky,
so you just ease the fabric out
and hopefully
around the garment neck.
Clipping ensures that the fabric's
edge won't bulge or sag
as it moulds around the neck.
I don't like doing this stuff.
Unless it's clipped
at regular intervals,
the finished neckline
will be ruined.
I think if I start thinking of the
end, I'm going to make mistakes.
Cliff took up sewing
three years ago,
when he retired
as a Buddhist prison chaplain.
I like the concentration.
I'm very competitive with myself.
I'm not happy if what I do
isn't as good as I can do,
so there's internal competition.
In between each of these things
I just sort of mentally stand...
..come back to the centre
and then carry on.
What else can we do?
Sewers, you have one hour left.
Ooop! Give over!
I feel pretty calm, actually.
Been doing a lot of sewing at home.
I took my sewing machine on holiday
with me so I could practise.
Ensuring the facing lies flat
around the neckline...
Can do that, can do that.
..requires a simple technique
that's new to some.
"And understitch the facing
from the right side."
Wonder if I could do it as some sort
of haiku and it would make sense.
So we put this in here...
Understitching is a row of stitching
on the inside of the neckline
along the edge of the facing.
We want it nice and close
to the edge.
It ensures that the neckline and
facing lay flat against the body.
So when I turn this one in,
how beautiful is that? Perfect.
And then try and turn this one
that hasn't been understitched...
doesn't happen, does it?
It's sort of lumpier, isn't it?
It's a finishing technique
that one sewer has decided to skip.
That's how I would normally do it.
To save time, Julie is attempting to
press her facing flat
instead of understitching.
I'm not sure how the judges
will respond to me
not really looking at
the pattern that much
but at the end of the day, it's the
end garment that matters, isn't it?
45 minutes remaining.
I'm doing OK, I think.
Well, it will all be revealed
when I turn it the right way out.
Until now, the sewers have been
working inside-out.
Okey-dokey, here we go.
They now have to carefully turn
their top the right way round.
Do you want a go? No. It looks hard!
It's really clever.
And I have never done this before.
The two back pieces need to be
carefully pushed to the front,
through the shoulder straps,
and pulled out the other side.
Can't get my big fat fingers in.
If they attempt to push the front
sections through to the back...
Oh, this is exciting!
..it will become stuck.
Jenni, how do you work this out?
It's just a bit fiddly,
poking everything back through
the shoulder piece.
Were you bringing the whole thing
through? Yeah.
Why didn't it work, then?
Fantastic.
A-ha.
You're not doing it this way.
I did it that way.
That's the way I did it. Oh.
Oh! OK? Yes!
Look at that! So now the facings
are done, aren't they?
Lovely fit. Done. Lovely fit.
Ten out of ten.
Ah. Pull it through this way,
not that way.
Pull it through from the back end,
not the front end.
Then you'll get...
Cos this is stopping you.
Whereas this is loose.
If you come through here,
you'll be able to get back through.
Do you think? Yeah.
So I did it right? Absolutely fine,
you were just pulling it through
the wrong side!
You nana.
What a dummy!
That mannequin's got more brains
than me.
THEY LAUGH
Boys and girls,
you have half an hour left.
You have no idea how short
30 minutes can actually be.
I'm not 100% certain
I'm going to finish.
Rush hour now. Basically got to put
the sides together.
I'd like to neaten the side seams
but I don't think I've got time.
Cos it's quite plain, I'm going
to try and embellish it a little bit.
HE SIGHS
I've still got the button loop
to do. Argh!
Don't know what that's all about,
but I think time's going to be called
before I finish it, anyway.
I've never done one of these
hand-sewn button loops before,
so the technique I'm using
probably is wrong.
I'm just going to tie off that end
carefully so it can't slip.
My hands are all hot now
because I'm panicking,
and the thread
is slipping out of my hands.
What do you mean, you've cheated?
I've not hand-stitched my loop.
I have no idea how the judges
are going to feel about that.
Sewers,
you've got five minutes left.
Only five minutes.
Oh, gosh.
SHE SIGHS
Not going to have time
to do my button.
I just could not be bothered getting
this hem right, so I'm just doing it.
No, don't look, it's hideous.
Just finishing off now.
Come on, roll, roll, roll!
I'm trying to roll this hem.
I need the hands
of a seven-year-old.
HE GROWLS
See? This is why you pin.
Patrick, don't look at this.
OK, that's it.
The first challenge is over.
Whatever you have,
put it on your mannequin.
I like, er, Chinelo's.
I don't like it.
I think the colours are horrible.
But my colours are boring as hell.
# I can be happy
I can be sad
# I can be good
or I can be bad
# It all depends on you... #
Ten sleeveless cotton tops
made from scratch
in just two and a half hours,
but what will May and Patrick think?
Cerina, bring your mopeds.
Here come the mods.
# ..It all depends on you... #
The neckline is lovely,
the understitching
is very near the edge.
And the back...
we have a loop!
And it fits beautifully
over the button,
and our tops are level,
and we've got right angles.
I like the choice of fabric,
it's a bit of fun.
We've got no understitching
on this one. No.
I deliberately didn't,
because if I pressed it well,
I didn't think it were necessary.
If you hadn't looked...
But we did look!
And we did ask for it.
Immediately, I'm struck
by the remaining pins.
Yes. Really a lack of all sorts of
stuff going on in here.
Sadly, it's pulling.
I think this could be
a clipping issue on the inside.
Very neat, very tidy.
The most exquisite understitching.
Well done.
It is absolutely beautiful.
This is quite a crisp fabric,
but you've handled it very well.
We have a hand-sewn loop,
it's the right size,
that's very nice.
This front edge
is not running parallel
down the centre of that pattern.
We're wider away from it there
than we are down the bottom.
However, we have understitching
in the neckline
and it is right on the edge.
Haven't managed to get a button on.
I did, but it fell off! Really?
That's worse - don't tell us that!
You, of everyone, have chosen
the most challenging pattern,
and that line through the centre,
you've ex*cuted it really nicely.
And actually, looking along
the bottom hem there,
a pattern like this
is a dead giveaway, but that spot,
and that spot there, they're
in exactly the same position.
The understitching
should be right on the edge.
Not half a centimetre away.
Did you clip it
all the way round?
Maybe left it a little bit too wide.
Yes. Can you see how
that's stretching out?
And that's a sure sign that
it can't lay completely flat.
It's hemmed all the way round.
Neater at the front
than it is at the back.
You have struggled
a little bit with the shoulders
and the arm hole.
Which is a shame.
We have a button, we have a loop.
It's well-anchored,
it's not been bound.
Our understitching -
ooh! - is quite a way in.
There's a bit of a distance.
It should be nearer the edge.
Okey-dokey. You've got something
happening in your back seam.
It's puckering slightly.
I think this is perhaps an issue
when you joined it together.
You haven't got on to
the button loop so we don't know
whether you can do
one of those or not.
I don't think you'd want to
wear that out the house. No.
Harsh!
We have an extra! Did you finish
all the things we asked of you?
We have understitching, we have
a really clean, flat neckline.
Now, why did you choose to put
the trim down that back seam?
Is there something it's hiding?
No, I actually chose my trims first
and then the fabric.
I would rather you followed
the brief exactly.
You haven't done a handmade loop.
What you have done,
you've done well,
but you've let yourself down a bit
by doing things we didn't ask for.
For the record, I love the trim.
I'm mad for the trim.
So that everyone knows where they
stand after this first challenge,
Patrick and May will now rank
the tops from worst to best.
Sadly, in 10th place, Cliff.
Just didn't get through the work
in time.
And in 9th place, Simon.
There were things
that weren't finished.
David is 8th, Chinelo 7th,
Lynda 6th, Julie 5th,
and Jenni is 4th.
And in 3rd place, Tamara.
You lost points
by doing the extra things instead of
the things that we requested.
Second, Cerina. Everything you did
was extremely well done,
and a very close-run thing.
And in first place, Heather.
Well done! A really good job.
A very clean garment.
APPLAUSE
So huge congratulations.
First challenge done.
It never gets tougher than that.
I'm totally lying.
But, er, have a lovely break,
and then when you come back in,
it's time for challenge two.
# Teacher's pet
# I wanna be... #
I cannot believe I won that.
Fantastic!
SHE LAUGHS
I did the two things
I promised myself I would not do.
One, try and do too much,
and the second one,
I promised myself that I'd play
by the rules, and I didn't do that.
I could definitely agree
with the comments.
I think it's a little bit harsh,
though,
saying you wouldn't want to step
out in it. It will still cover!
It's not THAT bad.
So we've seen what they can do
with a pattern,
but for the next challenge,
they have nothing.
No instructions, just a garment,
and all they have to do
is totally transform it.
Easy, right? I don't think so.
Well, this morning
you tackled cotton,
and this afternoon, we're welcoming
you to the world of wool.
Ooh!
We have a long, boring skirt.
We want you to make it look amazing.
Give it some flair.
You can chop it, twist it, pleat it,
but please, we don't want it
to look anything like this
by the time you've finished with it.
The bad news is, you only have
an hour and a half.
Good luck! Off you go.
This woollen maxi-skirt
can be found on any high street.
Nice quality.
I've not...used wool before.
For this 90-minute challenge, the
sewers are completely on their own.
Nothing! Nothing is going through
my mind at the moment!
It had better soon.
There are no rules,
and so that they can
surprise the judges
with their ideas for deconstructing
and reconstructing a garment,
Patrick and May
won't be in the sewing room
to see them work.
MAY: Wool is really lovely
to manipulate.
It stretches, it moulds.
There's also enough fabric
to actually cut
some bias shapes into it,
and flute it round. Yep, and
they could insert pieces into it.
It's also pretty hefty,
so if you want to apply things
to the top of it,
it won't pull it out of shape.
I think ultimately
we want to see both imagination
and a demonstration that they know
how to do more than straight sewing.
I'm just wondering where it's going
to be good to chop it off.
I think that's first things first,
it's too long, isn't it?
I'm just cutting off the bottom,
cos it's going to turn into
a mini-skirt.
I'm a bit scared to cut this, though.
What if I get it wrong?!
All the sewers have decided to
shorten the length of their skirts.
But some are also altering
the width.
I'm making a piece to go
in the front.
It's spelt G-O-D-E-T,
but I don't know how to say it.
Lynda is not alone in attempting
a godet,
which is a triangular piece of
fabric which creates flare.
It might be an absolute disaster.
I'm going to come up to the hipline
and I'm going to sew in
a big purple triangle.
Simon's insert won't change
the shape of his skirt,
but it will be made up
of a variety of woollen fabrics.
I'm going to take off
and put in a sort of...thing.
I still think dress.
What are you doing?!
JENNI WHISPERS
(Why? Because...I want to
make a pair of dungarees.)
Boom! Hell, yes! That's bold!
Simon, you are...you're finished!
Yeah, yeah.
One hour remaining.
I'm going to put that at the bottom.
Then I'm going to make a pocket
with a trim of that on. Divine.
Are you worried about time? No.
You're not?! No.
Cerina's alteration is also
focused on the hemline.
I'm putting a ruff on the bottom of
the skirt, with a teeny little hem.
Tamara's hoping to create a ruffle
with even more impact.
This bit is the long piece of the
skirt which I have cut in half
and then made into strips,
and sew in one long strip
so it's a continuous circle.
So that is going to fit this.
It's going to be a ruffle-y
bit at the bottom. Adorable.
And then I'm going to put
an extra layer on top.
Chinelo's ruffle will sit
on top of her skirt.
I'm going to turn it into
a fitted peplum skirt.
A peplum is a ruffle often attached
to the bottom of a blouse.
Chinelo plans to attach hers
to the top of her woollen skirt,
a style made popular in the 1930s.
I'm going to freehand cut the circle,
so I'm just trying to get
the circumference of the waist.
Once she knows
the circumference of the waist,
Chinelo can transfer
the measurements to paper,
fold the paper into quarters,
do the same to her chosen fabric
and then cut along the curves
to produce
a circle of fabric that will fit
the waist exactly.
This is my chance to climb up
from seventh place.
45 minutes left to
transform a woollen skirt.
With the time we have, it's going
to be really difficult to get
all these ruffles perfectly straight,
which is what I would do normally.
This is the piece that I've just cut
out on the front of the skirt.
I'm laying it onto the cloth here.
Marking it up.
I'm hoping it will just about
squeeze into the original gap.
These are the straps for my
dungarees. Straps for dungarees.
Bold. Ten out of ten.
To ensure a neat finish
for her straps,
Jenni has sewn two strips of woollen
fabric together inside out.
It's going to take me an hour.
It won't take you an hour,
it will take you three months.
Before she can attach them
to her skirt,
she needs to turn them
the right way round.
OK, we're winning.
Are you happy? Yeah, the problem is
I have to do the other one now.
Heather is keeping things
a little simpler.
If you're making a box pleat,
you need to fold it in three,
so when the pleat opens,
you get a little kick effect.
Everyone, you have got half an hour
left. That's 30 minutes.
Lynda and Julie are both
attempting patch pockets
as well as their godets.
I think I want to impress May because
I didn't impress her this morning.
Simon is also hoping to impress
with a pocket.
I'm cutting a hole
for a letter box pocket.
I'm going to tuck that in there,
put in a little silky pocket.
Everyone, you've got ten minutes
left.
I'm nearly done with the ruffle,
which means I have extra time.
Oh, that's nice.
I'm not feeling so confident
any more.
It's the most ridiculous orange
in the world
and I'm going to put
these buttons on.
So hopefully it'll be wacky enough.
I'm pinning the hem to try to make
it neater than the last project.
I'm just putting a little contrast
hem on the bottom.
Maybe I should hand-stitch this.
I'm quite happy that I've finished.
I'm just going to check it over,
see if there's anything else
I'd like to do.
This is now damage limitation,
actually.
It's just letting me down here.
Sewers, you have ten seconds.
No panic, don't panic.
I've not done this very well at all.
All right, that's it,
that is the end.
Please put your skirts
on your mannequins,
bring them to the front,
mix them around.
# Every little movement has
a meaning all its own... #
Patrick and May have no idea
whose skirt is whose.
I'm terrifically impressed.
There's a terrific amount of
variation in what you've all done.
They're certainly all dramatically
different.
Really interesting use
of contrasting fabric.
We've got a button here.
Does the button do anything?
No, it's just decorative.
The brief was "be bold"
and it's quite simple.
So we've got a godet in the side
and one in the back.
They're looking
slightly like a pair of ears.
But they're just
a little bit off-centre.
This is a really nice
dramatic effect, isn't it?
Putting this jetted pocket
in there in the time, lined.
Look, we've got silky fabric inside.
In terms of transformations, I think
that's substantial and impressive.
It's simple
but it's very effective.
It's a complete transformation.
It looks symmetrical,
the length of this peplum
and the length of the skirt
appears well-balanced.
That's a very nice effect.
Very pretty.
I'm not sure about the combination
of fabrics here.
This is cotton and this is wool.
It's the colour that, somehow,
this doesn't quite work for me.
I think this band isn't terrifically
well handled on the waist.
I was a little concerned
that it might just be a little
bit of trim around the bottom.
But actually...
It's all in the back.
And that's good fabric handling.
To me, it would be nicer just with
this little box pleat in the back
and not with the tape.
There is something
of the Bohemian about it.
It's been really nicely done.
Really nicely finished at the top.
Gathering up that fabric. It's quite
evenly distributed, isn't it?
Just a nice combination
of fabric for the insertion,
the choice of button and the choice
of ribbon. And the pocket.
A little bit ragged at the top here.
Just a little frill on the bottom
of this one.
Where the binding joins,
it's got a step in it.
It's the only one
that's above the waistband.
Probably one of the simpler
adaptations.
We've just taken a lump off the
bottom, applied a contrasting trim.
Patrick and May will now rearrange
the skirts in the order they feel
has shown the most creative ambition
and the best technical execution.
Happy? Yes, I'm happy.
Could the owner of mannequin number
ten please come and claim her?
Thank you so much, Cliff. The
binding at the top let you down.
The person who created number nine.
It was a nice idea. If they'd
all been even and well ex*cuted,
I think we might have nudged you
a little bit further up.
Julie is eighth. Heather seventh.
Cerina sixth. Jenni is fifth.
And Lynda is fourth.
Patrick just turned to May and said,
"I can guess these three now."
Let's see if you're right.
The owner of number three,
please come forward.
That's a fiver to me. Is it?
Well, for a start,
there's, like, a history of Bradford
in the front of that skirt there.
A combination of woollen weaves.
Absolutely.
We're down to the last two.
Who owns this skirt?
Please come forward.
We love the peplum
and the way it falls.
It's the choice of fabrics,
it's a really good alteration.
That means the winner is Tamara.
APPLAUSE
We're impressed with
the combination of fabrics.
It shows an innate understanding
of how shapes go together.
Altogether it has been
a big success.
You did absolutely brilliantly.
Thank you for today.
Two challenges done.
Tomorrow is the big one.
Night-night.
How exciting! I'm so happy,
I'm so chuffed.
I think the second challenge
suited me better
because it's more spontaneous, it's
freehand. So it's more my thing.
I'm glad to have risen
a little in the standings.
A little bit disappointed with ninth.
I've really got to up my game
a little bit.
That was just such a horrible test.
All I want to do now is go
and have a bucket of wine.
# It's a lovely day today
# So whatever you've got to do
# You've got a lovely day to do it in
# That's true... #
There's one more item of clothing
to make before somebody wins
Garment of the Week and somebody has
to leave the Sewing Bee.
I want to talk to you about Heather.
You were so impressed with her top
and then, not knowing
which skirt she did,
she came all the way
from first to seventh.
The execution was good
but the drama wasn't there.
May tore a bit of a strip off Tamara
for going off-piste
in the pattern challenge.
But actually that demonstrated to us
that she clearly loves sewing,
she loves the creativity and I think
she's got a great chance to shine.
Can I ask you about Chinelo?
She doesn't follow shop-bought
patterns, she likes to just go
with what she feels and I think
that will stand her in good stead.
Can we talk about the boys?
They all came bottom
and then, at the last minute,
shot to number three - Simon!
He demonstrated some good
techniques.
Are you disappointed
with Cliff and David?
Or do you think they could both come
first and second today?
These challenges are set up to test
three completely different skills.
Things could completely turn around
in the course of today's sewing.
I get the impression that David is
solid and organised.
He will have practised this
and I have a feeling
he could be a lot better today.
For this final challenge,
the mannequins are gone.
This time, they're making
clothes for real people.
I'm Simon.
Each sewer has their own model.
Good morning, everybody.
You've met your lovely models.
The judges would love you
to make a nightgown.
It can be anything you like.
It's got to be silk and it's got to
fit them beautifully.
You've got five hours,
enormous luck, time starts now.
This is the one garment
the sewers have had a chance
to practise at home.
It says 24, but that's the wrong
end of the tape measure.
But now they need to fit
their nightgowns to a real person
and prove that they know how to
handle silk.
Silk is so difficult to work with.
Isn't that going to be very hard
for them, week one?
The measuring stage is crucial.
This is a nightgown,
it's going to go against your skin.
You are going to sleep on it.
So, precise measurements,
and really work to them.
And they have to handle the fabric
well.
We're looking at the fit.
We want to see it soft. We don't
want to see it pulled or puckered.
We want to see nice, clean lines
and nice balance on the garment.
On the model, it's a very different
challenge from on the mannequin.
You know something?
This is the very first nightie
I've ever made in my life.
Heather is making a slim-fitting
lingerie-style nightgown
with a shaped bust and lace overlay.
Every different type of silk
is different to handle.
This is crepe de chine.
Nice, crisp silk,
but at the same time it's got flow.
I've chosen to use shot silk.
It's quite a thick one.
Shot silk has got a different
coloured warp to weft.
It's got a turquoise warp
and a pink weft which means that,
under the right light,
it will shimmer ever so slightly.
Simon's heavy-shot silk dupion
will become a semi-fitted,
one-piece nightgown
with a lace-trimmed neckline.
Because I've never done
anything for a woman before,
I'm doing this incredibly simple
version over here.
Haven't you made stuff
for your girl? No.
I made her one thing, actually.
I made her a vest.
She doesn't wear it.
Jenni has attempted to track down
a pattern which is 70 years old.
Getting the pattern was
a bit of a nightmare.
The one that I could find didn't turn
up. So, very nervously, I decided to,
for the first time ever,
make my own pattern.
Her 1940s-style
silk satin nightgown
has a pin-tucked waist
and shoulders.
You can see how old it is.
I was just working off the image
when I was creating the pattern.
Hopefully, I've got
the same kind of style.
Julie's pattern isn't quite what
Patrick and May have asked for.
I couldn't find anything that
I liked, really.
They were all a bit old-fashioned.
Most of them looked like they were
modelled on Wee Willy Winkie.
So I picked a dress pattern.
She's adapted the pattern
for a slip dress
to create a bias-cut nightgown
with a lettuce-edge hem.
I scooped the back out
to make it a little bit lower
and then I'm going to have
a lace overlay
and finish it with a sprinkling
of black diamantes.
Chinelo doesn't have
a pattern at all.
This is how it would be done
in Nigeria.
She's transferring her model's
measurements directly to the silk.
I'm just marking the measurements,
then I'm going to cut it out
and construct it that way.
The bust of her floor-length gown
will be finished with lace
and the low-cut back will be
fastened with crisscrossing ribbon.
I'm going to cut out the waist
measurement and the top half of it,
then I'm going to cut out the length
to get the bottom part.
And then
that's basically my skirt done.
Cutting silk accurately
is notoriously difficult.
Are you finding it tricky? It is.
It just moves all over the place.
Even with pinning,
it moves as it's cut,
making pattern pieces harder
to line up,
raising the risk
of a misshapen finished garment.
I'm actually using a rotary cutter
because as you use scissors,
what happens is the fabric moves
and silk can stretch in both ways.
I'm trying to minimise the stretch of
the fabric under the pattern piece
so I get the correct shape.
Tamara is making
an empire-line
babydoll nightgown
with a lace trim bust.
You can see the fabric isn't really
moving at all. Ta-da!
Lynda's nightgown requires
cutting more pattern pieces
than anybody else.
Yes!
That was the bit I was dreading,
cutting out all of that fabric.
I've been a total diva today.
I'm leaving fabric on the floor.
I don't worry about the mess.
I don't care.
Lynda's empire-line nightgown
will have a lace bust and straps
with a full skirt
made out of five panels of silk.
I'm going to tell you a story. OK.
In the deaf community, people have
sign names for each other.
It's something that is particular
to the person.
And my daughter,
every time she talks about you,
she's like, "Patrick! Patrick!"
So your sign name is now Patrick...
because you make her heart beat
a little faster.
Well, it could've been a lot worse.
I'll take that. That's lovely.
Once the seams
of their skirts are sewn,
work on the nightgown's bodice
can begin.
I'm just getting
the lower bodice part fixed.
Creating shape in silk is harder
than with any other fabric.
It's going to be quite loose
in the breast area,
hopefully very flattering.
Any puckering around
the curved seams at the bodice
will be highly visible
as the silk catches the light.
These two are going to make the cups.
Pins. I hate pins.
Just pin, pin, pin.
David's bodice
will be trimmed with lace
to complete a classic, semi-fitted,
empire-line nightie.
I'm just trying to get these points
at the top of the bust piece
as sharp as possible
so that when May and Patrick
look at it, they will go,
"Ooh, they're nice and sharp."
Not really my colour.
I'm just tacking the top part
of the bodice.
There will be top stitching
along here.
Cerina is attempting
to gather her bodice around the bust
to complete a 1930s-style
bias-cut nightgown.
It's a long stitch
and I'm going to pull it
and it will gather up the bodice.
Just pull the top thread
and that gives me a very fine gather.
I'm really, really struggling with my
bodice. I've unpicked it three times.
Finding it really difficult
to work with the fabric.
Even if they've managed to create
shape in their bodice,
most of the sewers have given
themselves the extra challenge
of applying lace.
This is really quite fine lace. Have
you worked with lace before? No.
Have you worked with silk before?
No. Holy moly!
It requires quite delicate handling
and hand-stitching.
It's all time-consuming, really.
I'm trying to be speedy. Be brave.
Hope the sewing gods are with me.
There's more pins on this than
a five-week old Christmas tree.
I have to literally go around
the whole thing,
all these little leafs,
have to follow each and every one.
I thought this would take me,
like, three minutes to do,
but it's a bit trickier.
I've got myself into
a bit of a muddle.
Jenni's self-drafted pattern
doesn't feature any lace.
There isn't really much room
to hide in.
But she set herself the difficult
task of tucking the silk into pleats
where the skirt meets the bodice.
I'm really nervous
about my iron at the moment.
I can't seem to get the detail
but I want on the tucks.
I'm going to burst into tears.
This looks beautiful, by the way.
It's nice, isn't it? Gorgeous.
Cliff is the only sewer attempting
to make a nightgown with sleeves.
That's stitched to that
and that's stitched to that.
To sew in the sleeves correctly,
he first has to pin them
to the bodice
without allowing the silk to pucker.
I cannot for the life of me...
And I've done this in practice.
The Sewing Bee's home here
in London's East End
has long been associated
with the rag trade.
Since the 1550s,
boats would come up this river
with loads of silks and dyes
and they'd be unloaded
at wharves like this one.
But the silk trade's golden era
came with the arrival of Britain's
first wave of refugees from France.
The Huguenots were highly skilled
French craftsmen.
They were also Protestants.
So when, in 1685, the Catholic king
Louis XIV outlawed their religion,
they sought refuge outside France
and set up trade in Britain.
Around 50,000 Huguenots arrived
on our shores
and many of them
gravitated here. Spitalfields.
The whole area really began to
flourish
as many of our new arrivals were
experts in textiles, mainly in silk.
The silk they wove was exquisite
and the resulting fashions were
unlike any dresses seen before.
Huguenots were hugely beneficial
for the British silk industry
because they brought with them
a load of trade secrets.
It's kind of like an early form
of industrial espionage, I guess.
So all of these techniques,
the weaving,
but also finishing the silks,
is what they brought with them.
That allowed domestic industry
to grow and, essentially,
meant that new fashions
could flourish.
You could get
these incredibly lustrous,
gorgeous, beautiful, opulent silks
being created right here.
Amongst the new inhabitants
was a labourer called Mongeorge
who arrived here from
his native Lyon with a secret
that would make British silk
the best
and the most sought-after
in all the world.
Mongeorge used a technique
of lustring
which involved steaming and waxing
yarns of silk before weaving,
which gave it extra gloss.
This did have lustring on it,
but it's been worn
and it's now a nice piece
of plain taffeta.
You've got lustring where...
Cos this would be tucked behind.
So that was protected.
And you've got this, which was only
brought out on special occasions.
You can just see how shiny it is.
It would have been that shiny,
if not shinier.
Look at that! That looks like
liquid gold. He invented shine.
He invented shine, which,
let's be honest, is like gold.
To this day, Mongeorge's valuable
secret is closely guarded,
known by only three firms in the UK.
Mongeorge became quite
philanthropic, very, very wealthy
because obviously he had the secret.
He basically supported
apprenticeships within
the silk industry
and church schools and also the
Foundling Museum to help children.
Good at silk, and good.
And good, yes.
Thanks to Mongeorge,
almost overnight,
the silk industry boomed here
in Spitalfields.
French silk imports fell drastically
and British silk became
THE must-have fabric.
The golden age had begun.
Cliff has started to feel unwell.
Just can't think any more.
I'm trying to do something
which I've done before.
He has chosen to stop working
on the final challenge
and he's also decided
he will be leaving the Sewing Bee.
It was such a shame that Cliff
wasn't well enough to carry on
because he was such good fun.
I'd really have liked to have seen
what he made.
So he'll be missed,
very sorely missed.
I know it's a competition,
but nevertheless,
we all want each other to
succeed as well.
You've got 30 minutes left.
By placing the loosely constructed
nightgowns on their models,
the sewers can identify
which seams need to be altered
to make it fit perfectly.
At the moment, I'm just finding
a line down this seam
to bring it in a little on the waist.
Not too much obviously,
because my model needs to get out.
And you have to bear in mind when
this is going to be worn, yes? Yes.
That back's lovely. I love that. It
fits you lovely over hips.
Get in!
You have 15 minutes left.
I'm not going to finish my dress,
I know that for a fact.
I need to get the hem done.
I need to do the back seam.
I need to get a shifty in.
It doesn't fit the model
and I'm running out of time.
It fits the model,
I'm way ahead of schedule.
I've got the hem to do,
with a rolled hem.
You can't rush silk,
otherwise you ruin it.
I haven't even bothered pinning,
I'm just stitching in desperation.
Thank you, David.
Practically married. Indeed.
I doubt very much I'll be
scoring very highly.
I don't know how much time
we've got left, to be honest.
Five minutes.
I'm going to need every minute.
Stress, stress, stress.
This is literally the last bit.
I'm not going to have time
to put the trim on the bottom.
I love diamantes. I put
diamantes on everything!
I've always got diamantes somewhere.
You don't get these in
Marks & Spencer, you know.
Oh, Jesus, just help me.
I'm going to hand-sew
while it's on you.
Pop that over your head for me.
Put it on.
This is just so shoddy.
I can't get the thread off.
I think I would probably do that
a little bit differently next time.
Come on.
OK, that's it.
Please step away from your models.
Don't turn around.
It's finished, don't turn around.
I'm not turning round.
Finished!
Look! Turn round. It's finished(!)
# In the cool, cool, cool
of the evening
# Tell them I'll be there... #
Each silk nightgown was made to
measure in just five hours
and will now be judged
by May and Patrick.
My first impression
is that this looks great.
It isn't quite finished,
but this crepe de chine is
a much lighter, more fluid fabric
and that's why we're getting
this lovely movement.
I love the way that the shaping fits
underneath the bust
and the way in which you've
hand-sewn the lace.
Absolutely beautiful. The sort of
nightie I'd like to wear.
It's the sort of nightie
I might like to wear.
Come for a measurement.
It looks a little stiff.
It hasn't got that soft drape
that we would really want
from a piece of lingerie.
In terms of balance and line,
it looks good.
But it fits more like
a dress might fit
rather than a piece of nightwear.
Fundamentally, you've just got
the wrong fabric.
You have got masses of panels
in your skirt. Lots of seams.
I think I gave myself
too much to do in the time.
I notice you haven't finished.
The centre line is not running
down the centre of the body.
This little diamond section
that should be sitting neatly
in the centre of the diaphragm
is just off and up a little bit.
And the lace could really do
with some more anchoring.
It's trying to detach itself.
The fit around the bust is verging
on the slightly indecent.
It's sitting pretty level
despite the lack of a hem
at the bottom there.
Although the cups aren't sitting
completely, hugging the bust,
your lace is nice and flat.
I think
because you handled it so much,
they're just stretched out a bit.
The first thing I noticed,
which is competently different
to anything anybody else has done,
we've got this wonderful rolled hem
that's been stretched as you work it
to give this lovely fluted effect.
I love the pattern-matching
down the side, that's really good.
And the way you've graded
it down at the back as well
so you have got a narrower back.
The flow of the garment is really
very, very nice indeed.
The diamante, you've carefully
thought about where it's placed
within the lace,
which is a nice detail too.
It's not sitting around the body,
it's bagging.
I'm not sure about the way you've
attached the skirt to the bodice
because it's just got
lots of puckers in it.
There isn't a really good system
going on there.
It's silk so it needs to be gathered
in a way that's precise.
It really is pretty good.
You've got a little bit
of a fit issue here
and it's just a bit long
through the side there,
so it's wrinkling a little bit.
But you did all of this
without a pattern.
I'm very, very impressed.
The fit at the back
is absolutely terrific.
It does assist you, though, because
by the way you've laced the back up,
you could fit it to suit the person.
Quite a clever technique.
Some really, really lovely work.
However, we've got some pins
in the back
and we've got a hem
that isn't finished.
I think you've done
a really good job on this.
Looking at the fit of it,
there's very little, really, that
I can find to criticise about it.
The position of the bodice
is very good.
The little V comes
right into the centre of her back
and this back seam runs very
straight.
You've also got shaping across the
bust which sits in the right place.
And you've actually mitred out
the corners at the tops of the cups.
When it came to this challenge,
I thought you'd be really good
at time management
and I think you've proved me right.
Well done. Thank you.
Well done. Thank you very much,
David.
Thank you, that was incredibly hard.
Please go off and have a relax
cos now the judges have to decide
who will be leaving the Sewing Bee.
We're all a bit nervous now
waiting for the judges' decision.
We've all bonded together great and I
don't want to say ta-ra to anybody.
The judges' comments today made me
beam from ear to ear,
especially after yesterday's.
I'll be chuffed to bits if I stay in.
Confidence is middling at the moment.
I don't want to think about it.
I really think I'm going home.
There are two or three people
that are not safe at all.
Simon, we've got some awful hemming
there. This is very untidy.
You loved his skirt in the second
challenge. Absolutely, yes.
But his nightdress was just awful.
First thing this morning, David
didn't impress us a great deal.
He definitely redeemed himself.
If I was to pick one other person
who might be looking
a bit shaky at this point,
it would probably be Jenni.
The fit wasn't good, the pleating
was all over the place,
she'd stretched the neck and arm
holes, they weren't sitting closely.
Has Jenni's nightdress meant that
you don't want to see her sew again?
I think we'll have to discuss it
and make our mind up.
Huge congratulations
for your first week.
You all did absolutely brilliantly.
Patrick is going to reveal
the garment of the week
but wanted to say something first.
We just wanted to make special
commendation to David.
Because we found it very difficult
to choose a winner this week.
It could've been you,
but sadly it isn't.
Our garment of the week
this week...is this one.
It was finished and you matched
the seams beautifully.
There were some really nice touches,
well done.
Now here comes the bad news.
The person leaving the Great
British Sewing Bee this week is...
..nobody!
CHEERING
LAUGHTER
The judges didn't want to
lose anybody else.
They believe you all have something
more to offer.
I'm so sorry, did I make you cry?
I'm so sorry.
But we'll see you next week.
Huge congratulations and very well
done to you, Julie. Well done.
I'm really pleased that everybody's
staying in the competition.
I think we've got a fantastic group
of contestants.
I think Julie getting best garment
of the week is a demonstration
of how people can change their
positioning on every challenge.
I think keeping all the sewers
is the fair result.
The challenges will get harder,
the techniques will become
more demanding.
The point of all of this is to find
Britain's best amateur sewer.
I can't really believed what's
just happened but I think my face
says how I feel right now!
Almost winning,
coming second was brilliant.
I'm still here! I really can't
believe I'm still here.
I'm going to burst into tears AGAIN.
I can't have this much liquid in me,
surely! But tears of joy.
Although, we'll have to go through
all that tension again.
I don't think my heart can take it.
At the next Sewing Bee...
I have a hem, I have a hem.
..the sewers take on
patterned fabric...
Those elephants all go that way and
those elephants go that way. Sorted.
..making box-pleated skirts.
Mmm...which way shall I make it?
The alteration challenge
is twice as hard.
I'm enjoying ripping this up.
And made-to-measure...
Right, Mark, if you'd like
to take your kit off.
..men's pyjamas.
I love saying that.
But who will create
the best garment of the week?
Show me your impressed face.
And who will be asked to leave
the Sewing Bee?
This is guerrilla sewing.
Happy with that!
Patrick had my jamas on.
Feeling ready to sharpen up
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02x01 - Episode 1
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Amateur sewers take on challenges as they compete to be named Britain's best home sewer.
Amateur sewers take on challenges as they compete to be named Britain's best home sewer.