Ah... The world!
How lush and wonderful.
We're so lucky to...
What's this?
A sewing machine covered in rubbish.
What horrific yet pertinent
symbolism about
the environmental costs of
the fashion industry.
Let's put on our second-hand clothes
and do something about it.
Welcome to Reduce, Re-use,
Recycle Week
at The Great British Sewing Bee.
Last time, the heat was turned up
for Summer Week.
Ooh! Is it a bit too low?
Make sure we've got no side boob.
Debra's nautical two-piece...
It could be like an Air France
uniform from the 1970s.
..gave her a moment in the sun.
Wow!
Steve brought himself back from
the brink...
Would you wear it? Yeah, damn right.
..but it was Richy...
Oh, it looks a bit like a nappy.
..who became the third person
to leave the sewing room.
Very, very well done.
Now...
I'm regretting this ruffle
situation.
I know, tell me about it.
..we're saving the planet
one garment at a time.
It's going to be a dress.
It's not going to be a naked girl
walking down the catwalk!
Old clothes are resurrected...
The coat m*ssacre of 2022.
..in a bid to determine...
It's me panicking.
..who can turn rags to riches...
Who would think that was
a duvet cover?
..and whose sewing room adventure...
Need to sew faster.
..will end up in landfill.
Needle's broken. Ah.
# With a little imagination
# You will find the world can be
left behind... #
Week four.
I'm so excited to be here.
I only planned my outfit
for week one.
Last week was a bit of
a roller-coaster.
I'm happy to be riding the wave for
as long as I can,
until it knocks me off
the surfboard.
I do like to recycle.
You can get a lot of good fabric
in a charity shop.
These are my old curtains, actually.
I think this week might be
a bit wacky.
They might have a rail of dog
clothes or something. I don't know!
Hello, sewers. Gather round.
We're going green and saving the
planet with this week's theme,
which is reduce, re-use, and
recycle.
Now, allow me to reintroduce Esme,
who'll be telling you about
the Pattern Challenge.
Right, here we go. Pass them round.
Oh, my God. Ooh. Oh, wow!
We've given you quite few. What we
want you to make
is a quilted jacket. Since it's
Reduce, Re-use, Recycle Week,
you've got to make your own fabric.
Wow. Wow.
But we've given you hundreds
of squares of scrap fabric.
You're going to need to choose
96 squares to make
the quilted outer of your jacket.
96?! Yep. We've collected these
scraps from all over
the place, actually,
including Sewing Bee scraps.
It's a textile fairy tale.
You're turning fabric once-discarded
into jackets well-regarded.
You have four hours and 15 minutes,
and your time starts now.
PATRICK LAUGHS
Debs, will you pass me that one,
please? That'll do.
To help the sewers create their
patchwork material...
Are you having this one, Brogan?
No, I was just taking these
strawberries out of it.
..the scraps have been organised
into separate colour palettes.
I might do a bit of a mixture.
OK, I've gone pink, then. Right.
We got this, people. We got this.
We got this. We got this.
Let's crack on.
I'm feeling all right considering
I've never made
a quilted patchwork jacket before.
Never done any quilting.
I've seen patchwork jackets,
so I'm really excited that
I'm being able to make one.
Once again, shockingly,
this is something that
I've never done before.
I'm hoping it's only hard
because people tell you it's hard.
Patchwork was once a way
to recycle fabric offcuts.
Then, in the 1960s,
quilting hit mainstream fashion
with the dawn of hippie culture.
And thanks to a revival on the
catwalk, it's bang on-trend today.
So, a quilted jacket,
why have you chosen it?
Creating the fabric is something
we've not asked them
to do before. And, of course,
it's a fantastic way
of using up small scraps
of fabric that would otherwise
have nowhere else to go.
They have to really consider
where they're going to place
the squares cos they've all got
different patterns
and different colours.
And also it's absolutely crucial
to line up all squares.
I think it's quite
a difficult task, actually.
So we've asked them to quilt
the jacket. Now... So, topstitch.
They can sew over
the top in squares.
Narrow lines,
they can choose broad lines,
but it needs to be symmetrical.
Yeah.
Is precision where they might go
wrong with this?
Yes. Then it's going to be
the binding.
It's quite fiddly, and we've also
asked them to mitre the corner.
If they don't get
the binding on neatly,
it will k*ll the look
of their jacket. Yeah.
Just such a clever idea
to use up fabric that you
might have.
I think the trickiest part
will just be the time.
Like, we've literally got
to sew 96 squares together.
I've never used 96 pieces
of fabric.
That's absolutely bizarre to me.
The squares of fabric are
sewn together
to create four large pieces
from which the two front pieces
and the two sleeves are cut out.
Wadding is then sandwiched between
the patchwork pieces
and a lining fabric,
and topstitching is added
to create the quilting.
The front is then joined to the back
and the sleeves are inserted,
before all the raw seams are
encased with binding.
So I need to decide what pattern
I'm going to have with these.
What do I want to do?
What do I want to do?
Oh, no,
I don't know what I want to do.
The sewers must select colours
and patterns that will create
a cohesive look
once joined together.
I could do really
to have some sort of placement.
Morning. Morning!
I like your colour palette.
It's very juicy, isn't it?
We've got cherries
and strawberries. Yeah.
I saw the fruit
and I really liked that.
Yeah. And more cherries.
And then I'm having cherries for
the lining and the back as well.
Yeah. So how have you laid
out your pieces?
Are these the sleeves or the front?
These are the front pieces.
Yep. So they're random.
I'm just thinking timewise.
Yeah. Very good.
I really love the roses
and the black.
I've tried to place them
so that it's, like...nicely
distributed.
I'm going for completely random.
I do like random.
While Debra, Annie and Brogan have
gone for irregular patterns...
I'm trying to kind
of go in diagonal.
..the others are pinning their hopes
on a more organised look.
I'm trying to ever so slightly do it
hombre, so slightly paler to darker.
How are you laying it out?
So I'm going for symmetry.
Yeah. And I'm trying to get them
going out like that. OK.
Have you done patchwork before?
A doll's quilt for a pram, I think,
is about the most I've done.
When was that? My daughter's 37,
and I think that's...
Oh, it was for her, was it? I mean,
are you looking forward to it?
I am actually, yes. Yes.
I could stand here all day putting
patches together. Well, exactly!
THEY LAUGH
I do not want time to run away
with me on this one,
so I'm just
going to get these sewn together.
Cos I can't do anything else
until these are sewn.
The judges will be looking
for perfectly lined-up squares.
We're just sewing a quarter-inch
seam allowance on each piece.
It is essential that the seam
allowances are consistent
all the way through. Otherwise, you
end up with non-square squares.
But Man Yee...
No, that's too bright.
It's hard to work out what I need.
..and Steve are still playing
with their designs.
So this is going to be one sleeve.
That. And then this is
going to be one front.
And then I'd quite like
to move into a different colour
for the other side of the jacket.
This is most definitely
the hardest part of
the challenge cos I have a problem
making decisions sometimes,
and when I have to make, like, 96
decisions, it's a bit of a struggle!
Hi, Gill.
Have you done quilting before?
I did make my youngest stepdaughter
a double-sized quilt. Oh, wow.
But it took about a year.
Not four and a bit hours!
A year? OK. Well, we haven't
got a year. No.
It is really repetitive,
and one can only hope you get better
the more you do it,
but you tend to start rushing.
The main thing is to try and get all
your squares in the right order.
But the more complex
the patchwork pattern...
I only like to take one stripe
at a time,
so I need to make sure I keep
the same design.
..the harder it is to keep track.
I've already had to rejiggle
my layout because I'd picked
something up the wrong way and not
put it where I wanted it to be.
I'm just undoing one panel because
I've stitched it on the wrong side.
Right. So that one...
Just a minute.
No, it's that way, isn't it?
No, this one needs
to come out as well.
I think I'm
going to start sewing this.
I am concerned about time
because that was what tripped me up
last week.
Annie. Hello!
Have you done patchwork before?
Nope!
It feels like a really fun thing
to know how to do
ready for when you're a granny.
Yeah!
VOICEOVER: Patchwork quilting may be
a humble craft to some,
but thanks to a small group
of quilters in America,
it's become an art form
in its own right.
In the Southern US state
of Alabama
is the tiny hamlet of Gee's Bend.
Back in the 19th century,
it was the site of
a cotton plantation worked by
enslaved people,
where quilting was born
out of necessity.
They were doing it to survive.
They were living in log cabins
with hardly any insulation except
for mud in between the logs,
so they had to make coverings
to keep themselves warm.
The women used scraps of old fabric
and clothing,
creating a distinctive,
freeform style,
partly determined by
the equipment available to them.
Because of the lack of scissors,
they had to tear.
And so that's where a lot of
the shapes came from.
Thanks to the Civil Rights Movement
in the '60s,
a new cooperative enabled the women
to sell their work through
department stores like
Bloomingdale's and Saks.
With the department store,
it wasn't a whole lot of creativity
in the quilts cos there was
a pattern.
So that was dreadful for them
because it had to be perfect.
And if not,
then they didn't get paid for it.
Quilts grew in popularity
and critical acclaim, and, in 2018,
when Michelle Obama's official
portrait as
the First Lady was unveiled,
the artist, Amy Sherald,
cited the quilts
of Gee's Bend as her inspiration.
So what the former First Lady is
saying to us is
that the first African American
First Lady
is a child of that tradition.
It's a beautiful signature.
OK, guys, according to the papers,
we're already halfway through.
I've finished putting my
patchwork together.
So, in essence, we created a fabric.
One of the most important things
was to try
and get these squares perfect.
There's one of them on
the front piece that's not right.
Now I can cut out my pieces
for the jacket.
Everyone's done all their patchwork.
They're all cutting things out.
Why am I really behind?
Thinking it was really nice
and restful sewing in squares,
then I realised I've stitched
the squares
the wrong way up.
Now I'm back on track so that
when I put them together,
they are a mirror of each other.
This is just the sheer legwork
involved in it.
Like, this isn't even it. After
this, we've got to make a jacket!
So, I am putting the lining fabric,
then the wadding fabric,
and then the patchwork fabric
together in a sandwich.
Their fabric sandwiches are then
secured with a topstitch.
How are you measuring your distance
between your stitches?
With a ruler.
Thanks!
Not only does this hold
everything in place,
it also gives the patchwork its
decorative quilted effect.
So I'm going to make sure that
the quilting lines are straight.
Using my ruler to make sure
that I'm sticking to
the inch,
you've got to sew accurately here.
I'm just, uh, measuring the lines by
eye. Yeah, I should be fine.
Right, that's the fabric done.
I'm basically at level zero cos I've
only just made my fabric.
SHE TUTS
Oh. You've got one hour
left, everyone.
Jacket front, finito.
Next, sewing the shoulder seams
and the side seams.
And now I am inserting the sleeve.
It's bulky, it's layered.
Just one of those fiddly things.
Fabric wrestling, here we go.
I'm just going to have to try
and take my time.
This is hard to handle, I tell you.
MACHINE STOPS ABRUPTLY
Just broke my needle.
See, I'm glad I'm doing this now and
not having to do this when I'm
rushing, because if I was rushing,
this would be terrible.
These are my quilting lines.
I am just going for one
and a half inches in between.
I've got to, like, prioritise
finishing the garment.
That's one.
That looks like quilting to me.
OK, everyone,
you've got half an hour left.
I'm screaming internally.
I think I'm just
going to throw it together as
a jacket of some description now.
I've got a jacket.
Here we go.
I just need to do the binding now.
Binding is to cover the raw edges.
So you have to stitch all
the way along,
and then, once it's done,
you can fold it in.
This has got a mitred corner.
I've not done one of those before.
You don't just go around the corner,
you have to have
the little diagonal.
This is really fiddly.
So confusing!
I did something similar with my
first dress, that's how I remember.
Ah. Like that.
That is as good as it's
going to get.
I'm just doing the binding now.
It's me panicking.
I don't understand a single thing
I'm meant to be doing with the
bias binding.
I just need to get all the way
to the end.
And then up the front,
round the neck...
SHE CHUCKLES
What time is it?
How long have we got left?
Five minutes!
This is going to be to the wire.
I've done it wrong.
That's so annoying.
I haven't mitred the corners.
Could you say you've got
a phobia of points?
You can say, "I once was injured
in a terrible origami accident."
Yeah. "And now I can't fold things."
This is the worst thing
I've ever done.
One minute left!
I have a jacket
and I absolutely love it.
Just those corners.
This is anything but a corner.
The binding is awful!
Needles up, sewers.
That is your time.
Let's bring your mannequins forward
for judging.
Didn't even finish it.
Here we go!
# I'm gonna hold a jumble sale
# A jumble sale of second-hand... #
Nine patchwork jackets have been
fashioned from scraps
in just over four hours.
I'm enormously impressed.
This was a really tough challenge.
Making the fabric,
then making a garment. Amazing.
I like your bright choice
of fabrics.
And you were quite right, you've
just done them randomly. Yeah.
So that will have taken less time.
The quality of the patchworking
throughout is impeccable. Yeah.
There is not a corner out of place.
And the mitres are pretty neat.
That was the first one I did.
You folded it,
so got this little line.
But actually it's really well done.
Thank you.
The quality of the patchworking
is pretty good.
You've got some
slight inaccuracies.
Your quilting is neat.
You have attempted
to mitre your corners.
You've done the two round
the neck pretty nicely.
That one there stands out.
The quality of your patchworking
is actually pretty good,
if fractionally off.
Your quilting is really even.
It's just a shame about
the binding.
You haven't mitred that one
or that one.
That really jumps out at you
in how it's not lined up.
You've attempted
to mitre this corner.
You've just skipped around that one.
Then you thought, "Oh, gosh,
I'm supposed to mitre these,
"I'll mitre this one." Then you
forgot by the time you got
to this one! You can tell you put
this binding on in a real hurry.
Presumably because you spent too
long doing your patchworking.
I was happy. I was putting it out
all these nice shapes.
Yeah, I mean, you were having
a lovely time there,
shifting your squares around!
The colour works really nicely.
The patches,
it's really well lined up.
You've done a lot of topstitching.
It's very neat.
The binding looks very even,
very clean.
We've got four mitres.
It's absolutely smashing.
It's really fun-looking.
I mean, I wouldn't have put you
as a pink person.
I thought you were going to say,
"I wouldn't have put you as fun"!
I love the colours. It's very
strong, the red and black.
I like that you've randomised
your patchwork,
and that works really well.
These lines of quilting,
you didn't mark them.
I'm amazed at how neat they are.
No mitred corners. All curved.
I know. Did you find it difficult?
It's just a mistake.
Your patchwork squares are
well lined up.
You're pretty near perfect.
Your quilting lines are also
nice and even.
You have mitred
the corners around the neck,
but you've just got a bit of a...
A bit!
..a mess on this corner.
You caught the binding in there.
A messy blighter of a mitre. Yes.
Why are you pulling that face,
Man Yee?
I know what you guys are
going to say, already.
I like the colours that
you've chosen,
and I like the way you've
placed them.
The quality of the binding
is not up to scratch.
It's a curve and not a mitre.
This corner in particular,
it looks like all the animals
in the forest have come
and had a little nibble,
which is a shame,
cos actually there's some very
good work. Yeah.
I'm sure you absolutely know
what I'm going to say.
"You didn't finish."
You didn't finish.
The quality of the patchwork
is really neat and tidy.
Did you freehand all the quilting?
Free-handed it. Yeah.
You can tell.
That is quite a lot wider than that.
And it is just the binding.
The binding is such a mess.
She's not sugar-coating that.
ESME AND STEVE LAUGH
Patrick and Esme will now rank
the patchwork jackets from worst
to first.
In last place is Steve.
You didn't finish.
In eighth place, Man Yee.
Didn't get that binding on nicely.
Angela is seventh, Cristian sixth,
Annie is fifth,
Marni fourth, and Gill is third.
In second place...
..Brogan. Perfection apart from
that front-left corner.
That one corner!
One corner. It's all it took.
Thank you.
So, Debra, in first place.
# Nothing's impossible... #
Your binding was brilliant.
It's really well-made. Thank you.
# Nothing's impossible... #
Well, you could've knocked me
down with a feather on that one.
I've not performed well in these
challenges before,
so gosh, I'm over the moon!
I just, I'm in total shock
that I came third.
Honestly, that was the most fun.
I loved it so much that
I couldn't wait to get it on!
I broke the cardinal rule,
which is finish.
I think I just need to nail
the Transformation Challenge.
The Reduce, Re-use, Recycle Week is
going down the bin at the moment.
I am going to have to step
up my game.
# Because nothing is impossible
# As long as you believe. #
The sewers may have their first
challenge all patched up,
but their next is all about
the deconstruction.
Now it's time for my favourite.
The Transformation.
Turning frogs into princes with the
kiss of your sewing machine.
Patrick, what are they working
their magic on today?
Grab your coats, sewers.
You've pulled...
Ooh!
..a coat-based Transformation
Challenge.
Charity shops and wardrobes of
Britain are filled
with unwanted overcoats.
So we want you to deconstruct
two of these,
recombine them, use the features
on both
to make a stylish, wearable coat.
So Patrick and Esme won't be
with us for this challenge
because they've been
so inspired by this week's theme
and need to root through
the bins for their lunch,
so off you go.
As the Spice Girls sang,
2 Become 1.
We just didn't know it was
about coats.
You have 90 minutes,
and your time starts now.
# Take out the papers and the trash
# Or you don't get no spendin'
cash... #
Are you not taking that thing on?
So hard to choose.
That's cute.
Let's go for that.
I feel very nervous about
this challenge.
It's just completely
out of my comfort zone.
# You just put on your coat and
hat... #
Never done anything like this.
May do it again.
We'll see.
It depends how this turns out.
CHUCKLES
I have several coats in me wardrobe
that maybe I should deconstruct
because they've been there
that long!
# Yakety yak, yakety yak... #
So we want them to use elements
of each coat or jacket.
Things like buttons, collars.
Patch pockets. But they really have
to think about
how they combine them.
Where they place different
colours and patterns.
I mean, they also have to still be
wearable garments as well,
so they have to think about how
they fasten, how they fit.
What will be important is that they
have a very clear plan.
I have picked up a quilted jacket,
so it's a burgundy colour,
and this really long jacket.
I'm going to take a bit off
the bodice
and then I'm going to replace it
with the other bodice.
I want it to feel like it's
still one item.
I've gone for actually two quite
similar styles.
Gingham, which makes me happy,
and then also this light pink.
I'm going to do, like,
a mishmash of both jackets.
Maybe put in a puff sleeve.
I'm thinking some sort of...
I know, really different.
Colour blocking is my first thought,
so putting camo accents.
The camo might help me hide
all my flaws.
I love a contrast.
And basically I'm going to use this
jacket as my base,
cos it's got that masculinity
with the army camo.
And then there's this bright
pink coat, which is me.
If you asked any of my friends,
they'd be like,
"Yeah, he's a mix of Action Man
and that lady in Legally Blonde."
This burgundy check,
it would be more me than this
navy print.
It's like someone who's half Aztec,
half Scottish.
And they've finally found
the coat that really defines them.
I've gone for a pink wool,
and this black-and-white one's got
some frills on it,
so I feel that those can
come onto this one.
Well, I got the leopard print,
inspired by my own outfit.
It's a bit Pat Butcher,
to be honest, but...
But at the moment,
just trying to deconstruct them,
redesign the coat.
I'm trying to incorporate
the original features
off the mustard jacket onto
the blue jacket.
So...I'm thinking of a cape.
That's what I'm kind
of veering towards.
WHISPERS: I don't know.
You've had half an hour.
You've got one hour left.
Time goes so quick in here!
So I've combined the side of
the jacket,
so I've got this part from
one jacket,
and this from the other jacket.
I feel like there's
a lot more pressure
to do well in this challenge.
I have just sewn the collar
together.
It's different, like a
triangle.
I'm attaching that collar
to this one.
I'm going to change the shape
a bit.
I'm transferring
the collar that was on
the mustardy-coloured jacket
onto the blue jacket.
The fabric is so thick.
This is going to be really
tricky to do this.
I've upset it. Again.
Ooh!
Go on, go on.
Oh, that does not sound happy.
And the needle is broken.
I'm just doing some draping here.
I'm trying to shape something
on it,
and I'm kind of playing a bit
at the moment.
OK, you've got half an hour left.
So I'm just performing a bit of
surgery on my sleeves
on my pink coat. I'll add it to
the sleeves that I've ripped off
of here.
I might add a bit of cuff to this,
and then there's a bit more of
an attachment.
We're going for a puff sleeve.
When did you get into puff sleeves?
When did this love story start?
Basically since I've been sewing.
It just looks cute with everything.
Yeah, it'll look really cute.
I wonder if we'll look back like
shoulder pads in the '80s and go,
"Why did we all have these massive
sleeves on?" I know!
I'm just getting my last sleeve in.
I'm keeping some of the seams
on the original coat.
You've got to remember on
the cape to do some armholes.
When you put your hand through,
you just put it in like that.
You're using the baby ironing board.
That's my favourite thing.
The big ironing board's
a single parent,
and they've just got one little
baby.
HE LAUGHS
Yeah, yeah, I really hope so.
I think I could be just like the
David Attenborough of sewing.
Yeah, hang on.
You've got 15 minutes left!
Cos there is a gap in the market
for that.
Just about fits on here.
I've cut down the jacket to size.
I've, like, made this waistband,
including the cuff of
the green jacket,
and then that's
going to go around here.
I'm going to attach, uh, a peplum.
I've joined together
lots of different panels
and I am going to attempt
to gather these up,
put it on as, like, a peplum.
What's going on? I am attaching
the top and the bottom.
I'm basically rushing this
part now. Yeah. OK. Yeah.
Cos I would say -
and I'm not an expert -
but I do think that everything
will need to be sewn together.
It is simple what I'm doing,
but for this time,
that's what we all have to do,
is keep it simple.
Would you like your initial on
the back in camo?
I don't want Patrick and Esme
to mark you down cos they're
jealous of me.
They're already so jealous.
I have a bigger dressing room,
I get better snacks.
When we leave at night,
I get a Rolls-Royce
and they're both in a wheelbarrow!
Five minutes left, everyone!
Five minutes?! So I'm just going to
try and replace the buttons.
They're pretty much the same size.
I'm looking for some sort of trim
to kind of like tie this
and that together.
Annie, I love the mess on the floor.
There's been, like,
a battle between two coats.
The coat m*ssacre of 2022.
I just literally need to put
the toggle at the top.
Are we double doing it?
Well, I burnt it, so...
You burnt it?
Yeah. Well, you could just say
the coat was already damaged.
I'm topstitching the opening
of the cape.
The neck could've been nicer.
I decided on an S. Sara said if I
didn't do it, I'd get into trouble.
You've got one minute left!
I just need to rush
to get it done. Rush, rush, rush!
Press, press, press!
The collar is crooked
and ill-shaped.
Last step, I'm putting on the belt.
I'm just glad I've made a garment.
It's not great around the front.
Needles up, sewers.
You're out of time.
Et voila!
Please bring your mannequins
forward and model them up.
That looks great.
Oh, wow! Man Yee, it looks amazing.
# You're not choppin' and changin'
# Wanna make up your mind... #
Once a wardrobe of worn-out coats,
now recycled and given
a new lease of life in just
90 minutes.
Welcome back, the judges.
Esme and Patrick have no idea
whose is whose.
18 coats gave up their lives
for this challenge.
They did not die in vain. No.
# I'm chopping and a-changing... #
This works really well for me.
I love the blue trench
with this slightly ugly
yellow tweed.
They've thought about how
to put it all together.
So they've cut yellow tweed
on the collar.
I think it works really well.
Quite a lot of work's gone
into this.
We've got gathered sleeves,
and then a gathered peplum.
I like the way they've inserted
the pink in the side.
They've kept some of
the original features.
I think it's been
well thought about.
I think the two fabrics actually
look pretty good together.
They've sort of made a collar.
Would you call that a collar?
I think it works pretty well.
Echoes the fabric here.
I'm not sure I'm convinced.
Oh, look. Wonder what that means?
S for something.
Oh, here we go!
Super Esme. Looks good on you.
What does it look like on
you, Patrick?
I'm not sure it'll go on me.
I'm also not sure it'll go on
this mannequin.
No.
I mean, they've thought about
the combination of colour.
I actually think the pink buttons
looks great on it.
Unfortunately the buttonholes are
a bit small.
What is this here?
You know, I wonder if
this was just not quite wide enough
and they've had to insert
a green piece? I don't know.
I like the colour combination.
I don't love the frill,
but it works with this
frilled bottom.
I mean, I'm not sure they were
supposed to be different lengths.
I think this works extremely well.
You've got two very
complementary colours.
I also love this sort of quartered
appearance with the sleeve,
and they've added ribbon around
the bottom, just to balance
the whole thing off. It's fantastic.
So this is a cape.
Your hands come out
and go into your pocket.
I like the idea, but I just think
they haven't got the shape quite
right. To me, it needs
to have some sort of button,
and that needs to be
a slightly different shape.
I think the combination of
the two works really well. I agree.
The original duffle coat button,
very dramatic transformation.
And a very nice shape.
The judges must now rank
the coats from worst to best.
In ninth place,
it's the green and plum cape.
That's Debra.
It just lacked original features.
It looks like you've taken
the fabric and made something new.
In eighth place is the pink
and camouflage b*mber jacket.
That's Marni.
Just felt like not
a complete transformation.
Steve is seventh, Angela sixth,
Cristian fifth,
Gill fourth, and third is Brogan.
In second place is
the leopard skin with the red.
That's Annie. We should've guessed.
Yeah, we should've guessed!
LAUGHTER
We loved the combination.
Thanks very much.
Which means in first place,
it's Man Yee.
APPLAUSE
It's really cleverly thought through
and really, really well-ex*cuted.
Thank you.
I am over the moon.
I am so relieved.
I am absolutely gobsmacked.
Can't believe they liked it.
That's so mad.
I'm disappointed in my place,
just because I quite like my jacket.
Hasn't really done much
to improve my position.
I'm not going to get coming last
put me down.
I'm going not try and remember the
first challenge more
than the last one!
# I'll never say never again again
# Cos here I am in love again... #
One challenge remains.
In just a few hours,
one sewer will win
Garment of the Week
and one will leave the sewing room.
So, who's impressed you this week?
Brogan.
Her quilted jacket was one tiny
corner off coming first. Yes.
And her transformation was
really fun.
Annie, I think,
has had a fantastic week.
I love the colour and pattern that
went into her quilted jacket.
And Annie's transformation was
incredibly chic.
So what about the other end?
Who's struggling this week?
Steve didn't finish his
Pattern Challenge.
That seems to be his
favourite thing.
I think it's cos he's
a long-distance runner.
Yeah. He's not a sprinter!
And Man Yee,
who struggled in
the Pattern Challenge...
Yeah. But her transformation,
she did a really good job.
Man Yee and Debra have both sort
of flip reversed.
Debra took a risk
with her transformation.
Yeah. Yes, she did.
And it didn't come off.
So going into Made To Measure...
Steve's sitting at the bottom.
He needs to do a really good
Made To Measure. Yeah.
And somebody else needs
to slip up a little bit.
# I'll never say never again
again... #
It's the Made To Measure
and the real-life models are back.
Hello. Hi!
Morning.
Still here.
How's it been going?
It's been a roller-coaster.
Hello, sewers, and welcome back,
models.
For this week's Made To Measure,
you're going to be making
a maxi dress.
Easy-peasy!
But you have to make it
out of old duvets.
Is this the dream?
Or is it a nightmare?
Either way,
you can't sleep on the job.
You've got five hours
and your time starts now.
Here we go.
Do you want to take your
dressing gown off?
Let's measure you up.
The tape measure's cold, isn't it?
The sewers have had a chance
to practise their garments.
Could you lift your arm up for me?
But this is the first time
they'll get to adjust their
pattern pieces to fit their models.
Oh, God! Yeah,
we need to add quite a lot.
I'll extend those shoulders,
cos we always do that.
I used to make maxi dresses
in the '70s.
I remember them being
Laura Ashley fabric,
and tiers, and things like that.
I love a maxi dress, although
to be fair I'm quite short,
so I would say I'd probably wear
a midi dress.
I usually like to keep
the ankles out,
just to remind people I have legs
under there.
Maxi dresses have been
a wardrobe staple since
the late '60s, with their
ankle-grazing hemlines
and loose-flowing silhouettes.
And their popularity has exploded
once again,
as the epitome of easy-to-wear chic.
So the maxi dress is
highly fashionable,
while old duvet covers are gross.
Why did you pick old duvet covers?
I suspect every linen cupboard in
Britain has
at least a handful of unwanted,
old duvet covers.
And for something like a maxi dress,
where you need a lot of fabric,
it's the perfect starter. Yeah.
So what are you looking for
from the dresses?
We want them to be wearable,
we want them to fit well.
And a really imaginative design.
Choice of duvet is crucial.
It's important how they put
the colour or print together.
There could be geometrics,
there could be florals. Mm.
What I like is Egyptian cotton.
White.
'Course you do, fancy lady. Ooh!
Yes!
SHE LAUGHS
This is so much fabric.
Oh, wow.
That's a really cool duvet cover.
It smells of my washing powder.
Yeah!
It's quite nice, actually.
Yeah, it is. Smells of home,
doesn't it?
Good morning! Good morning, Angela.
Whose duvet was this?
This, my daughter Sarah bought in
a charity shop for £3.50.
Very good! Yes.
So you get some good charity shops
in Lancashire. Yeah.
Angela's dress will be made
from both sides
of her reversible duvet cover.
She'll use the green side
to create the skirt
and front bodice panels,
and the pink fabric will make up
the sides.
Buttons will fasten the dress
all the way down the front.
I got these in a charity shop
as well.
Oh, well done. Oh, they're gorgeous!
Yeah. The pattern says 11,
and there's only ten,
but I'm quite sure I can... Yeah.
..manipulate it a little bit.
11 buttons is overkill.
I found this peacock duvet in my
local charity shop.
I literally went in there,
I was like, "Let's just see what
there is."
It's just an old duvet from eBay.
I just really like the print.
Where did this come from?
It's really pretty.
So this fabric came from India.
It was a gift from my dad
to my mum.
Yeah? In one of his trips.
So when we said old,
unwanted duvets,
you were like, "Family heirloom!
HE LAUGHS
"I'll slice it to pieces, Mum!"
Cristian's using sections
of his mum's duvet cover
to colour block his dress,
using the cream for his bodice,
the turquoise as bands,
and the purple for
the main skirt and ruffle.
So my model is quite tall, so I
don't have enough of this
purple fabric to create
the length of the dress.
But I didn't want to change
cos I really like the fabric.
I'm going to have a flounce
at the bottom from
the pillowcases. I know it's risky,
but if I can pull it off,
it will look really nice.
Gill's duvet cover also comes
with family history.
This duvet set is one of
the children's. Is it?
Probably about ten, 15 years old.
OK. I can't remember.
We've not used it for a long time.
Yeah. It was just sitting in a
cupboard. Yeah.
You're sort of slightly
curling your... You don't love it?
I'm just not sure how it's going to
look because I've not practised it,
obviously, because I've only
got this one.
In this fabric, cos you
only got one, yeah. Yeah.
Gill's using the striped side
of her duvet cover
to create the bodice.
The spots will form
the split cape-like sleeves
and she plans to create
a chevron effect out of both
fabrics, to make a striking skirt.
The pattern that I based it on,
it has a large skirt,
but I've actually cut those up to
use different pieces of the fabric.
So I've made...
an easier pattern more complicated.
I'm hoping that it doesn't...that
doesn't work against me.
I hope that I can pull it off.
Wow, this is a little bit special,
isn't it?
What sort of era of duvet cover
is this, do you think?
I think it transcends era.
PATRICK LAUGHS
Yeah! Is it all this
mad, psychedelic...?
So that's the pillowcases.
OK, so that's the slightly smaller
print. And the duvet's bigger. OK.
Steve's psychedelic animal print
dress will sport
a deep V neckline,
an asymmetric ruffle skirt,
and an invisible zip at the back.
So my main inspiration
for this dress is,
uh, like, glam and hair metal
from the '80s.
So bands like Ratt,
Poison, Scorpions.
This is like what Scorpions would
wear if they were going
for afternoon tea at the Langham
and they wanted
to wear maxi dresses.
Annie is going further back in time
for her maxi dress.
So I really like some of
the brands at
the moment that are coming out
with lots of '70s shapes.
So I really like that deep V,
with the kind of bigger,
saggier sleeves.
Annie's dress will include another
classic '70s feature, crochet,
which she'll insert into the front
and back of her sleeves
and the back of her bodice.
I have to make sure it looks
well spaced.
Hopefully it will be, like, another
feature that makes it stand out.
Brogan's going vintage in more ways
than one.
I think this wins the award
for being
the most kind of nana-looking
duvet set!
Where did you get it?
I got it from a charity shop,
online,
so it is actually
an original '70s duvet.
And it's got two sides to it?
Yeah, so the main dress is
going to be in this,
and then I've got some little
details on the reverse side. OK.
And then I'm also
going to be using the lace trim.
To fully embrace her nana-chic look,
Brogan's floral dress will include
a ruffled skirt, puff sleeves,
and an oversized collar
trimmed with lace.
I wanted to go for the collar cos
the fabric's quite bold,
and I think you either go all out
or you go really simple,
so I've gone all out on this one.
So far,
we have constructed the bodice.
So I just want to try it on
the model,
see if I need to do
any adjustments.
Because this is a fitted bodice,
it does need to fit well.
You can make the best-styled dress
in the world -
if it doesn't fit, it's no good.
With shoulders and bust to consider,
getting the right fit on the bodice
is the most challenging part
of the maxi dress.
It fits you like a glove!
I probably needed to do it tighter
at the waist.
But while the other sewers make
their adjustments...
I'm just going to take it
in a little bit.
..Man Yee is still putting her
bodice together.
I think I should probably be a bit
more careful on time cos I do have
a lot of frills and ruffles.
Man Yee's ambitious design will
feature peacock fabric ruffles on
her blue fitted bodice
and blue ruffles on her
peacock skirt.
And while she's following her
pattern for
the top of her dress,
the rest will be improvised.
How many layers are you doing
on the skirt?
Depends how much time I have left.
If you had infinite time,
how many would you be making?
Ooh, hundreds. Um...
Oh, OK. Hundreds?!
I mean, I can see three cut out.
Yes. OK.
And I'm also thinking
in between them,
I kind of want to add
a bit more, like, short ruffles.
YAWNS
Halfway through, sleepy heads!
It's really important
to do well in this if I'm
going to have any chance of staying
in the competition, really.
I'm just trying
to remain as calm as possible.
Put your arm this way,
and arm that way.
Actually, I think it fits all
right.
OK, cool. No, that's fine.
Thank you.
Great! I'm not quite there yet.
I've still got the rest of the dress
to do.
I'm just about to hem the sleeves.
I'm doing like a cape sleeve.
I'm trying something different,
so it is a bit of a risk.
I feel like puff sleeves have become
my thing without even me
really realising it.
So now I'm running gathering
stitches across the top,
so that I can make it puffy.
They're cap sleeves,
so I've got the tiger one side
and I've got the leopard skin
on the other.
You see it through.
It gives it quite a nice effect.
Debra's leopard print dress
will be layered with
a jungle scene fabric and finished
with neon orange cording.
But while her dress is all about
the big cats,
her inspiration comes from closer
to home.
This is my cat, Olive.
She's a rescue cat.
Um, but we do have
a couple of toms that come
to our garden that want to have
a fight with her,
and she'll have a go. You know,
she's only little.
She's a scrapper! So I run out the
house going, "Rarr!" to get rid of
the toms. And she's behind me,
you know, like, "I'm there too!"
I like Olive already. Yeah.
Yeah, she's plucky
and she thinks she's one of these.
Right. Oh, I see. Yes.
Oh, I love it. OK, great.
Marni's dress is more catwalk
than cat print.
I just saw a picture of
an Elie Saab dress.
It was leopard skin, but I don't
know if I'd ever want to buy
a leopard skin duvet cover.
So I've picked this one,
but I thought it had that
spotty effect.
Hi, Marni. Hi, Sara.
Was it one of your duvets
from home?
No, it was a charity...online
charity shop.
So you even donated money
to charity before you even started?
You're just an angel on Earth.
St Marni, I know. Yeah!
Marni's cross-front bodice dress
will be decorated with
a pink trim and sash made from
the pillowcases of her duvet set.
I did a bit of kitchen sink dyeing.
OK. Actual kitchen sink?
Actual kitchen sink dyeing.
Yeah, yeah. So I did a wide strip
in the dark colour,
and then I stitched
the pink one on top. Yeah.
OK, great. A lot of work. Yep.
Oh! Oh! Oh, God,
I had the most horrible dream!
It's true!
You only have one hour left!
Oh, my God. Time goes so quickly.
Right, I need to speed up.
We're onto the skirt. Hallelujah!
I am applying the trim to the skirt.
I've actually drawn a ruler line
to get it as straight as I could.
I've just started to assemble
the panels that make up the skirt.
So the chevrons will be visible once
I've attached these pieces together.
And what's really important
is I get the joins
for each piece lined up,
otherwise it'll look really obvious.
This is risky.
This is the skirt,
and I'm now going to put
the gathers in.
With metres of fabric to
wrestle with...
I do have a ruffle.
It's twice the width of the skirt,
so I have a lot of gathering.
..getting the gathering neat
and even is no mean feat.
You don't want like a whole
bunch here and a whole bunch there.
It's quite fiddly, to be honest.
Cristian, I'm regretting this
ruffle situation!
I know. Tell me about it.
And Man Yee has more gathering
to do than anyone.
I'm doing the ruffles right now.
It's not tricky to sew,
it's just very time-consuming
cos it's really long.
One down. Ooh, yeah.
So I'm going to have
to cut this out.
Man Yee. She is a bit behind.
She was just gathering the skirt.
She's probably made her
life difficult.
Well, she has.
Steve seems quite calm and relaxed.
I think that fabric he's chosen
is really strong.
So I'm just clipping, uh, one of the
sides of my invisible zip to
the back of my dress.
But hopefully it is
indeed invisible.
This is, uh,
two back panels of the skirt.
I'm making sure that they're
properly aligned.
Gill is getting on pretty well.
I think she's made quite
a lot of effort. Yeah. Definitely.
And, you know, quite a lot of work
to add that to the skirt.
I have to hope that the calculations
that I made in terms of adding
the extra seam allowance are right.
Debra... I love that she's put
the orange on.
Mm. The cord.
I'm not sure about how bright it is,
but I've got to go with it now.
That is quite difficult to sew.
It's hard!
It's not designed for this job.
MACHINE STOPS ABRUPTLY
Needle's broken. Ahh!
Zip isn't 100% perfect. I'm unhappy
with the little gap there,
and because of that, it's just very,
very obvious.
The option I have, though, is
I could just Sharpie it.
Like, just that little bit
of purple.
I might be able to get away with it.
Ten minutes!
Oh, my God.
It needs to sew faster.
Finally put that ruffle on.
Better blooming look good.
Priority is the hem.
Just a little bit fiddly cos it's
quite a lot of fabric.
I've got ten buttonholes to do.
I used to like making buttonholes
by hand,
but now obviously it's a lot faster
on the sewing machine.
I'm going to be gathering these
two pieces at the same time,
to save time. So I need to hurry up,
and I need to focus.
And that's incredibly bright orange,
isn't it?
It hurts my eyes a little bit.
Yeah, it hurts my eyes
a bit as well.
The person wearing that will
also have road safety. Yes!
I am overlocking the sash together.
I think we're going to see some
pretty cool maxi dresses here today.
Was this lace on the original duvet,
or have you added that?
No, I added it in.
Makes it slightly fancier.
Because with a floral dress,
what you don't
want to look like is like,
"Oh, yeah, I inherited this
from my grandmother."
I think it might be on the verge of
Bo Peep nana, but we'll see.
Five minutes, everyone!
Need to focus right now.
I'm not going to look up.
Right, four buttons to go.
Just trying to finish now.
It's going to be a dress.
It's not going to be
a naked girl walking down
the catwalk!
I can't really tell if it's
going to be long enough.
Get your dresses on your
models, guys.
Your hand, where's your hand?
Give me your hand. Yeah.
Needles up, sewers.
Your Made To Measure is finished.
SHE SIGHS
You took a duvet
and made it sachet. Hooray!
# I couldn't sleep at all last
night... #
I can breathe now. You look
fantastic in that dress. Yeah.
I was really worried it was
going to be a bit granny.
It's all right.
THEY LAUGH
# I was tossin' and turnin'
# Turnin' and tossin'
# Tossin' and turnin' all night... #
Nine old duvet covers transformed
into sweeping maxi dresses
in just five hours.
# I never never did before
# Because I was tossin' and turnin'
# Turnin' and tossin'... #
Gill, I really like this a lot.
I think the fit looks great.
I love the placement of fabrics.
These big chevrons just work
so nicely.
The way that you've placed
the big pattern with
the much subtler pattern feels
very well balanced as a piece
of clothing, and I think these open
sleeves work incredibly well.
And it looked great on the catwalk.
Really had impact.
Thank you.
# Last night,
I didn't get to sleep at all
# No, no... #
Debra, I love the way you've taken
the leopard print
and overlayed it so we can just
see hints of leopard,
and I think it works really nicely.
And I love the story about your cat.
The neon orange really makes it
come to life.
I want to do one thing.
Without that bow,
all of a sudden we've got
this beautiful, long, bold,
continuous vertical line
of neon orange,
which I think feels,
to me, more impactful.
All in all, I really like it.
# Last night, I didn't get to sleep
at all... #
I do like the story of this fabric.
Your dad buying the duvet
and the pillowcase for your mum.
And you've really thought about
where you've placed the fabric.
That panel of turquoise is inserted,
and is that one inserted as well?
Yes.
It's doing a lovely job of balancing
the whole garment out.
This frill on the bottom I think
works extremely well as well.
I think the whole thing feels
very well-considered.
# Had a dream last night
# He's coming home
# Had a dream last night... #
I was very impressed that you'd
made this trim.
Personally,
I don't think it needed the belt.
That on its own is so impactful,
it didn't need all of that.
Turn to the side.
This blousing is going to her bust.
You should've put a dart here. OK.
You've gone the extra mile in
every bit of that trim,
and I really applaud you for that
because that's what
we all need to be doing.
# How can I
# Ever change things that I feel?
# If I could
# Baby, I'd give you my world... #
Annie, I think this really
is terrific.
I love the print. That dark base
with those really vibrant pink,
yellow and white flowers.
It's so appealing.
The bust darts are a bit too high.
The top of the dart's higher
than the bust point.
You've updated it
in a really clever way by
inserting strips of lace,
and you've done those insertions
incredibly neatly.
Yeah, I think
you've done a good job. Thank you.
# You can go your own way
# Go your own way
# You can call it another
lonely day... #
It's a very nice combination of
the pale floral print
and more intense in the middle.
I think that works really well.
The overall fit looks right.
You know, the waist, the fit across
the bust is absolutely spot on.
The gathering on the frill,
it's not very even.
So we've got pieces where there
is no gather.
But I think it works extremely well.
I could see lots of young women
queuing up
to wear a dress like this.
Angela, I think this works
extremely well.
These big flower buttons
down the centre,
they're really creating
a lovely, long,
slender line in the garment.
And because you've put these pink
panels in the side,
it creates a lovely slim line.
Oh, we've got ten buttonholes.
Yeah, it's stopping at...
But only nine buttons.
The quality of the gathering
is really first-rate.
I mean, that is a lot of skirt
to gather into quite
a small bodice, and you've done that
extremely well. I really do think
this is very good indeed.
I just think it's just
a bit too long.
# It's a cruel
Cruel!
# Cruel summer
# Leaving me here on my own... #
I really like your choice
of fabrics.
How you've placed everything
works really well.
We've got two frills here,
so did you intend
to put this here as well?
I did, actually.
I did run out of time.
I think it really does need
that frill in there.
Without it, it does feel a
little bit incomplete.
The gathering round this layer
isn't very good. Yeah.
And you've caught the top bit. Yep.
You're obviously doing it at speed.
I think overall there's
a lot that's good in it.
If you'd got the frill on, it
would've taken it up quite a jump.
# Take me to the magic of the moment
# On a glory night
# Where the children of
tomorrow... #
It has real punch on the catwalk.
The duvet cover that you started
with is incredibly vivid.
You've thought about where
you've placed
the different scale of the pattern.
Overall,
it feels very well-balanced.
I like this asymmetric seam.
If you turn round,
you've had a little bit of
a problem with the zip.
This is slightly out here.
Was that where you were
going to get the marker pen out?
Maybe! I heard a rumour.
Yeah.
PATRICK LAUGHS
Who would think that was
a duvet cover and a pillowcase?
What would that look like... Yeah.
..on a bed?
SARA LAUGHS
Well done, Steve.
Awesome. Thanks. Cheers.
I'm feeling pretty good after that
Made To Measure.
Nine months ago,
I hadn't sewn anything,
and I just made
a dress in five hours.
I don't know if I've done enough
to stay in the Sewing Bee.
I'd love to make it through
to next week.
Well done. Well done to you too!
Well, that was not my best piece
of work at all.
The annoying thing is
I didn't get round
to finishing adding the ruffles.
Uh, I feel like I'm definitely
at risk here.
The judges have made their decision.
Who will win Garment of the Week,
and who will be leaving
the sewing room?
What a brilliant Reduce,
Re-use, and Recycle Week.
There's just a couple of things left
to do. First up, Patrick.
Our Garment of the Week
this week is...
GASPS
Wow! It's Gill.
Gill, we thought it was
absolutely stunning.
So imaginative, you know,
and also we love that this was
genuinely your duvet.
When I saw it come down
the catwalk, I thought, "Wow!"
Thank you.
Well done. I'm a bit shocked.
Well done, Gill!
This week,
more than any of the others,
you have all been so strong
and produced such incredible work,
but the person going home is...
..Steve.
That's cool.
Yeah, well done, Steve.
Nice one. Thanks so much.
Oh, what are we doing? Get a hug!
Cheers, Patrick. Yeah, well done.
It's been brilliant.
You've been great.
This has been just
absolutely fantastic.
Every minute of it. Loved it.
Even the stuff that I absolutely
tanked on.
Handshake, hug?
What would you prefer? A hug!
ALL: Aww! Thanks, Esme.
Steve's Made To Measure today
was absolutely fantastic,
so he can absolutely hold
his head high.
But he's used the last
of his sewing nine lives.
I'm really proud of what I've done
and how far I've got.
The Sewing Bee was like ten
ultramarathons one after the other,
and after the fifth one,
you're set on fire,
but in the best possible way!
It's a lot of mixed feelings.
I'm really sad to see Steve go.
I am grateful that I'm still here.
I think if it wasn't for
the Transformation Challenge,
I would be packing my bags
to go home, right now.
Gill got Garment of the Week
because it had so much impact
and imagination.
When it walked down the catwalk,
it looked amazing.
When they said my name,
I was literally,
well, I still am, just in...in
shock.
Gill, you superstar!
I came into this wanting
to show people that it's OK
to be different.
You can do things and just
because somebody might be different,
doesn't mean that you should write
them off.
I think it's going to help build
my confidence,
and believe that my place here
is justified.
It feels incredible
to have won it.
Oh, my husband, Darren, would
just say, "Well, of course!"
Next time, it's Children's Week.
It's adorable!
A mini sailor suit has
the sewers all at sea.
I am so confused.
I have no idea what I'm doing.
A back-to-school Transformation...
Do you think this is how they fit
clothes on children normally?
..and a spooktacular...
Ooh! ..Made To Measure.
It's genuinely spooky.
Who will find it child's play?
Whoops!
And who will fall apart?
Agh! Sorry, I lost an arm!
Welcome to our World! Where we serve you cookies to ensure you get the best viewing experience on our site.
Did you know that you can remove censorship board-wide, use our advanced search functions, be notified when new content is posted, join our memberships, set episodes to show in any order you want & more if you are logged into your account?
Register or sign in here: ucp.php?mode=register
Did you know that you can remove censorship board-wide, use our advanced search functions, be notified when new content is posted, join our memberships, set episodes to show in any order you want & more if you are logged into your account?
Register or sign in here: ucp.php?mode=register
08x04 - Episode 4
Watch/Buy Amazon
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.