There was a time when most of us
made our own clothes
and the sewing machine
was as prevalent in the home
as the television is today.
So, for the quarterfinal, we thought
we'd take our sewers back
to that time, to use techniques
that our grandmothers used.
We never said this was
going to be easy.
Last week, the sewers had to prove
they could handle difficult fabrics.
That's going to be a brute!
For the first time, Tamara was
awarded Garment Of The Week
for her nylon anorak.
This is a jacket, I'd be very happy
to wear myself.
Leather was David's undoing.
I think they'll hate it.
But velvet was too much for Jenni,
who bid an emotional
farewell to the Sewing Bee.
I love you, guys!
Now, the five remaining
sewers are being taken back in time.
I will never use
a 1930s pattern again.
To face the most brain-teasing
pattern yet.
It's almost like
it's in Morse code.
The biggest alteration challenge
so far.
I'm being ambitious, but I think it
might be a risk worth taking.
And the heftiest made to measure
garment that pushes them all.
I've got a lot to do.
But who will produce
Garment Of The Week?
It's pretty ingenious.
And who will fall apart
at the seams?
Oh, Lordy!
Our sewers are about to bring
history back to life.
Welcome to the
Great British Sewing Bee.
The five sewers return
to the sewing room
to stitch their way to a place
in the semifinal.
Oh, I love this!
I can't tell you how excited
I am to be in the quarterfinals.
I feel like I'm buzzing.
Woken up every morning, dreaming of
some sort of sewing sleeves,
or broken sewing machines.
I need to keep my eye on Chinelo,
we're very similar in the way
we think about using fabrics.
Lynda, she's technically very good
and David, the underdog, is, like,
really climbing.
We're all sort of neck and neck,
I think, so it's difficult.
How are you? Lovely to see you all.
You might have noticed
that, on your stations,
the very fancy, big, clever sewing
machines have been taken away
and you now have much more
basic ones from the 1930s.
Have any of you seen or worked with
anything like this before?
This is the sort of machine
my mother had when I was little.
So, you're happy working with it?
Very happy. Anybody else happy
working with this?
Had it at school. You had it at
SCHOOL, Heather!
OK, so you two are fine, the other
three, you look slightly horrified.
This week it's all about making
the clothes we USED to wear
using authentic methods
and techniques.
May, what have you got?
This week, we want you to make
a blouse based on a 1930s pattern.
And you'll find, once you open up
the envelopes,
that the pattern inside has
none of the usual markings.
You will need to very much engage
the grey matter
to make this one work.
You have four hours,
good luck, your time starts, now.
Drapery fabric. Drapery fabric.
To reproduce a 1930s blouse,
the sewers should choose soft,
drapey material from
the haberdashery.
I've gone for something similar
to silk
in the way that it drapes,
but it isn't silk,
so I'm hoping that's a good choice.
It's an authentic choice.
During the 30s, most home sewers
would have used cheaper
and more available
alternatives to silk,
like a man-made rayon or viscose.
I don't want to give myself too
much of a challenge, fabric-wise,
cos this is going to be
quite a challenge, anyway.
Why historical clothing?
Why make them go back?
The traditional techniques are really
relevant for today's sewers,
because they're
the basics of construction.
A lot of the time, today's sewers
rely too much on technology.
We want to see whether they can
recreate clothes,
using the skills that traditional
dressmakers and tailors employed.
I've not made blouse before, so,
yeah, I'm a little worried about it.
The blouse pattern was part of a
line of Hollywood-inspired designs,
endorsed by the stars of the day,
in this case, Bette Davis.
The pattern is complex.
It comprises a back piece
and a front piece, which is
gathered at the waist and neck.
A two-piece collar,
made of four sections
is attached into the neck hole.
Inserted sleeves,
which are gathered,
and also, there's a shaped peplum
skirt at the waistline.
As if this wasn't complex enough,
the vintage patterns
look very different to the patterns
the sewers use today.
I've never, ever used a pattern that
has nothing on it like this before.
Until the 1940s, dressmaking
patterns didn't have any markings
apart from a few holes.
It's almost like it's in Morse code.
Like, dot, dot, dash, dash.
I think there will be an initial
amount of confusion,
because they don't have
seam allowances,
they don't have grain lines.
The basic shapes are the same,
but all of the markings
that are on that pattern that guide
them on where to stitch
and where to lay that pattern
have all been taken away,
so they need to think
very carefully.
It's going to test their absolute
basic understanding
of pattern and fabric.
To give them a fair chance
of following the pattern,
Patrick and May
have included a crib sheet
to help everyone read the codes.
Three dots forming a triangle means
the cut should be on a fold.
On a modern pattern, it would just
say, "Cut on a fold here."
It's fascinating that, obviously,
when this was current,
everybody knew how to sew.
It assumes you know
absolutely everything.
Absolutely,
because they're all home sewers
and that's how
they got their clothing.
How are you finding the pattern?
This is very OK for me, this
is usually the way I work, anyway.
Is it? It is, it's just...
What, with less information?
Yeah, because I would have
cut out my pieces
and I just put it
together from my head.
So, this is better suited for you,
because you never
work from a modern pattern.
Exactly. I usually wouldn't
have instructions.
For instance, I could have
looked at that top and made it.
Could you? Without the pattern,
yeah. Shut up!
Yes! Chinelo, can't you move in
with me?
Once the sewers are confident they
understand the pattern markings,
construction can begin,
starting with the side seams.
Stitch sides, leaving left side
open between large circles,
that's the next thing
I'm going to do.
To give them
a true 1930s home sewing experience,
the sewers have been given the same
model of antique sewing machine
in a variety of colours.
The machine are capable of a
straight stitch, but not much else.
I'm just stitching the front
to the back,
this is basically what
I learned on at school,
when I was eventually allowed to
use one of the electric machines,
because up until then we all had to
flog away on the treadle machines.
What I REALLY wanted, was to use the
one and only electric sewing machine
and this was it.
When those machines came
on to the British market in 1935,
they were really expensive.
It would cost the average person
about six months of wages,
but still they flew off the shelves
and became the must-have gadget.
That's because the person
behind them
came up with a revolutionary
repayment scheme,
that would change the way
we shop forever.
Production line engineering
developed during the w*r
and the supply of electricity
into houses
combined to revolutionise
the post-w*r sewing machine.
The new technology would bring
industrial quality dressmaking
to the domestic market.
The Singer 201 was fast, it was
smoother, it was quieter,
but much more importantly
it was very, very reliable,
you could go through multiple
layers of cloth,
you weren't messing around
with the tension all day long,
the thread just slipped through,
hardened steel teeth that pulled
the work through it.
For the first time, they had
a stitch length dial
and if you put it on
eight stitches an inch,
you got eight stitches an inch.
The Singer 201 was supplied
as a manual treadle machine
with an add-on electric motor,
which allowed it to sew at over
a thousand stitches a minute.
Three times faster than a manual.
But costing upwards of £13,
it represented a massive investment
for home sewers.
People say the 201K was the most
expensive item in the house,
besides the house itself
and that was way too much money
for most normal wages.
But despite the cover price,
there was one way,
that the 201 was made affordable.
A revolutionary
hire purchase scheme,
first devised by Isaac Singer
and his lawyer, Edward Clarke.
What did this system mean
for people?
The first real benefit was
for poorer people, undoubtedly.
Rather than just having
a one-off payment,
you could save up for the deposit
and then she could
gradually pay it off
with fairly modest, I think,
monthly payments.
Did people ever group together
and buy a sewing machine
as a collective, if you like?
Clark, who was the financial brain
and legal brains behind Singer,
he'd already thought of a scheme
where groups could do that,
they could buy one in a village
or a street or as a big family,
so there was one sewing machine
and it could be shared.
Between the wars, when millions of
men found themselves out of work,
the Singer hire purchase plan
provided women with the opportunity
to earn a living from home.
For women
it was particularly empowering.
Not only could she make
clothes for her family,
but she could probably
also make clothes
and sell them to the better-off,
so she was earning money
at the same time.
So this gave women freedom, really?
For the first time, I think,
it gave them a true sense
of being independent.
It was a new world for them.
By the 1950s, almost every home
in Britain had a sewing machine,
enabling families to make
all kinds of garments and fast.
Not only that, those skills were
passed down the generations
to sewers, like the ones
in our Sewing Bee.
When I walked in and saw
that sewing machine,
it really brought me down to earth
with a bump,
because it just reminded me
so much of my mother.
Where's your mum?
Is she on the wall? There's my mum.
We always, always,
until the day she died,
had a sewing machine set up in
the corner of her living room. No!
Two-and-a-half hours remain
to finish the 1930s blouses.
Now they're joined at the sides,
they need to be gathered
at the front of the waist
to create fullness around the bust.
I'm just doing a running stitch
on the bottom of blouse
to make sure the gathers are even.
Lynda's doing hand gathering,
Heather and David have both done
machine gathering.
Oh! I found reverse!
If I was under the time pressure
that they're under,
I would probably machine gather.
I really love hand-stitching
so any opportunity I find to do it,
I do it.
Crikey! Is it really fast?
It is, very fast.
That's that bit done.
I'm attaching the sort of
blouse top bit
to the bottom skirty bit.
I think they call it a peplum,
but I'm not sure!
The gathered bodice is
attached to the peplum,
which should sit flat
against the body.
I'm just making a mark on here,
so I know how wide to stitch.
There's your gathers. Straight bit,
straight bit, gathers in the middle.
I don't know if that's the result
I'm supposed to achieve,
but that's what I've got.
Sewers, you've got two hours left.
You're halfway through.
SIGHING
Which side have I got to leave open?
The left side's that side.
The blouse has an opening
at the waist called a placket.
They were commonly used
in 1930s garments
as a cheap alternative to zips.
In its simplest possible terms,
the placket is just a flap of fabric
to which you will attach
your fastening
and the placket also serves
to fill in any gaps
between the seams.
OK. All right, hide this.
The perfect placket.
Creating a placket opening
isn't familiar to everyone.
Tamara?
I need your help
or opinion on something.
So, literally, what I've got to do
is cut this bit here?
I think that's right, yeah. And then
just top-stitch along there?
I think so, yeah. I'm still trying
to work it out, to be honest.
I don't really understand.
I don't know what a placket is.
Hopefully what I've done
is good enough.
You got to cut that with
the pinking shears. Yeah.
And then you fold that back over
to the seam like that.
You sew across there and then you
turn it through. Then turn it out.
Oh, OK, I get it. Thank you.
I think!
I tell them all what to do.
I might be wrong!
Just getting this little placket
sorted out.
I'm hoping this is correct.
Oh!
Just as they've mastered one
new technique,
the neckline of the blouse
requires another.
Shirring on the front, isn't it?
Yeah, that's what I'm thinking.
So, these lines have got to be
the shirring lines. Yeah.
Shirring gathers up fabric
by using elastic on the bobbin.
So, the bobbin now has
my elastic in it.
So, I guess I need to have
some threads free here?
Maybe you have to pull on them
or something.
The shirring should be sewn
in long, neat parallel rows...
The more lines you have,
the more gathered it is.
..along just one section at the
centre front of the neckline.
I think that's looking shirred.
So, now what I need to do is try
and keep the tension the same
through this next row.
The lines need to be
evenly spaced...
One, two, three, four lines.
That's line one.
..and gather just the right
amount of neckline...
It's not easiest thing
in the world to do.
..to get the perfect fit.
David hasn't shirred nearly
enough of the front of the top,
his shirring's too short
so he's got a big gap
and now what he's having to do is
go back and shirr over the top
of his original shirring to try
and bring that neckline in.
It's going to look messy.
It may not even work.
Frankly, it could be a little bit
of a boo-boo.
I shall never, ever, EVER
use a 1930s pattern again.
Sewers, you have one hour left,
one hour.
Well, I better get a shifty on.
Shirr the front of the blouse.
Where's the rest of this?
I've never made a collar
like this before.
Seem to sew these together
and then there's two there.
You doing your collar? Yeah.
You got four bits? Does it
say in the pattern to do four?
No, but it's common sense. No.
Thanks very much! For a woman!
To help the sewers
match their collar
to the neckline of their blouse,
the pattern includes little points
called notches,
which mark the joining position
on the seams.
Normally I wouldn't bother
with these,
but because this is such
an old pattern
and I haven't got much instruction,
I'm going to mark it exactly.
When I was joining
the collar bits together,
I chopped off the markings,
the notches
and it's made it really difficult
for me
to find out where
the collar should be.
My mother would say,
"Calm down, for goodness' sake,
"it's only a blouse,
it's only a collar!"
That's what my mother would say now.
I'm just sewing the side seams
of the sleeves together now,
and then I'm going to attach
the sleeve to the shoulder.
This is tricky because what
you don't want to do is get rucks
and puckers, very difficult to say,
in other places other than
where they should be.
I'm gathering my sleeve
into the sleeve end,
but I'm not doing it
the traditional way.
This is how I would gather sleeves.
Don't know if I'll be able to get it
done, but I just have to do my best.
What they have to be careful of,
is that they gather
only between the points
on the pattern
and that they carefully put
that sleeve in the armhole
and we want all the fullness to be
at the top, so that it puffs.
Have you matched your dots, Dave?
No, no.
What will the judges say about that?
I think they'll have plenty to say
without worrying about
matching the dots!
Sewers, you have six minutes!
There's no way I can fit a sleeve
in six minutes.
Any button will do!
When it's stitched up,
this button will go through.
I've got a minute just to
get this button on.
Stressed. This looks lovely.
What is this?
Don't start!
Patrick and May might see.
You've got to do
something about this.
You've got to do something about it,
fast. What have you done?
I didn't do anything!
Oh, yeah, I did that, yeah.
You've got 30 seconds!
I can't believe we've got
another challenge after this.
OK. That's it, times up.
Well done, all of you.
Don't even thread that needle,
I don't know why you'd do that.
Five blouses produced from a 1930s
pattern in just four hours,
but what will May
and Patrick think of them?
We have a beautifully flat collar,
but we've got quite
a big gap in the middle.
I know, it expanded,
I don't know what happened!
I think this was a case of,
when you pinned it together
and put the facing in, you have to
handle this carefully,
because your shirring has obviously
tried to escape.
It's even.
If it had just been together,
it would've been spot on.
We have got a hook and bar
and we have got a placket.
It's not 100% as requested,
little off at the centre,
but otherwise, it's a perfectly
wearable blouse.
Well done. Thank you.
We've got some good set in sleeves
with the fullness at the top.
The collar is fairly even
at the back,
but it's just pinging away
from the body, unfortunately.
We've got a faced opening and
you've neatened the edges of that,
well done. Some really good points
on blouse. Well done.
Thank you.
The first thing to notice, obviously,
is you've had a lot of trouble
with this collar.
What's happening is, it's coming up
and bouncing over,
because the seam is too
tight in the inside. Yeah.
Also, all of your shirring
is skew-whiff.
It's all on one side
of the collar, pretty much.
Where's the placket?
Not stitched down to the underside.
The level of finish of it
is not terrific, I'm afraid.
The first thing I notice
is how beautifully flat
the collar is sitting
around the neckline.
This, to me, is the most important
part of any garment, really.
This is where we're always focusing,
and this collar is beautifully flat.
The shirring is neat,
sitting in the centre
and all of this fullness flows
straight through into the gathers
at the waist, which is
exactly the way we want it to sit.
Well done.
The collar, unfortunately,
is very uneven, very much bigger
on the right side than
the left side.
So you've made a placket? I did!
Just need to put some
fastenings on there.
You've made a feature
of these pins throughout.
We've got pins at the back neck,
pins on the sleeves
and pins on the side seams.
They all match, Patrick! They match!
I've seen you do better work.
I know!
And I think we'll just
leave it at that. I think so, too.
Thank you, Lynda.
Patrick and May will now rank
the blouses from five to one.
Number five, sadly, David.
There were just a few things
that could've been better.
Fourth, and not terribly
far ahead, Lynda.
Third is Tamara.
You've got a very big gap
in the middle at the front
where your collar sits.
Second place...
Chinelo. A really good sew overall.
Just a few areas
where it wasn't quite neat enough
and that collar pinging up
at the back, I think, has cost you.
So, Heather, you came
first on this challenge.
A huge well done to all of you.
Go and have a relax
and when you come back we'll give
you your next challenge. Off you go.
# Forget your troubles,
come on, get happy
# You better chase
all your cares away... #
I loved that vintage sewing machine.
Lovely memories for me,
and my goodness, coming first
as well. What a bonus!
I can blame my tools all we like,
it was down to my performance
which is why I was last.
You know what? I still don't know
what a placket is!
Time always gets the better of me.
I talk too much,
I mess around too much.
But, at the end of the day,
I'm having a fantastic time, so...
Now brace yourselves
because the next challenge
isn't going to be any easier.
The judges want to take
the sewers back
to the time of
"make do and mend"
to see who can produce something
new from something old.
We've given you a man's suit.
We would like you all to
re-tailor these garments
into one useable, wearable
piece of women's clothing
that fits on the mannequin.
In the post-w*r years this was
all that some people had
somewhere tucked away in a wardrobe,
so see what you can make us.
This is your hour-and-a-half
to make do and mend. Off you go.
The sewers can choose
any of the suits on the rails...
Cor, that's a big bloke isn't it?
..take it apart...
I wouldn't be asking him out
on a Friday night!
..and reconstruct it
into a piece of clothing
to fit their female mannequin.
I've got something in my head.
I've never done anything
like this before,
but tell you what, it's good fun.
Feels wrong cutting into a suit
because I wear suits all the time at
work. It's almost like,
"Right, I've had enough!
"Cut my suits up,
I'm not going to work again!"
Well, there's nothing to do
but get the seam ripper out
and hope inspiration bites
somewhere along the line.
I'm just cutting it up.
I'm not following the suit at all.
I'm, like, using my freehand
cutting style,
making my own pattern
out of the suit.
This is the first time the sewers
have been limited
to only using the garment
they have in front of them.
In previous weeks, our sewers have
used the haberdashery to create
all of the effect in the garments
and what we want to see them do this
week is use their tailoring skills
to re-engineer something,
still create that dramatic effect
but without the crutch of
all that embellishment and trim.
You've got an awful lot in a suit.
You've got buttons,
you've got pockets on the trousers,
you've got a lot of fabric, you've
got a lot of processes in there,
which, if they're careful with
the suit, they can recycle them all.
What are you making? I am making
a pencil dress out of this.
I'm just looking at this
suit as a piece of fabric.
I'm going to extract the things
that I want from it
like the collar, I want to use.
So it's going to be like
a sort of tailored dress
and I'm just going to make
the collar the feature.
Have you got enough time?
I'm being a bit ambitious for time,
to be honest,
but I think it might be
a risk worth taking.
You're excited, I can tell.
It is emanating from you.
While Chinelo's deconstructing
the entire suit,
Tamara's just using the jacket.
I'm going to do
like a backwards tuxedo.
You see these V shapes here?
I want to incorporate something
in the lines at the front.
I actually want it quite loose.
It's just the front I want fitting
because I want it to be
sexy and gaping at the back.
OK. What about -
I hate to use the word - side-boob?
Oh, yes, well, that'll be taken in.
It's on backwards, Tamara.
I realise that!
I'm making a halter neck from
the main fabric of the suit.
I want to keep the fact that it
once was a suit as part of
the design, if you like.
I've got a great picture in my head.
What actually gets produced
are two different things.
I think I'm going to make
a little top. Are you?
With some nice darts in. Yeah.
Simple and beautiful.
I think they'll love it.
'Lynda is the only sewer
using just the trousers.'
What is this?
That's upside down, my love.
Never mind!
Is this a gorgeous skirt?
This is going to be a pinafore slip.
It's going to be a bib on top.
Oh, divine!
Should you just be doing that,
David, just ripping?
It's great. Very therapeutic.
Want to try some?
Can I rip it? Hang on. You pull it.
OK, if you cut me, I will k*ll you.
You should know that,
on crutches or not on crutches.
Are you sure we should just be doing
this? Nobody else is doing this.
Other people are, like,
being a bit more careful.
This is reminding me
of my school skirt.
We had to wear gymslips in
the summer.
When I was about 13 I decided, no,
I'm not wearing gymslips any more.
I cut it like this and I cut it
into this tiny little skirt,
instead of a big gymslip with a zip.
I was naughty. I used to mess about
and tie people's shoelaces
together and stuff.
You can imagine that, can't you?
Sewers, you have one hour left.
One hour.
I'm putting in darts to give it
shape around the bust line
and I'm going to do it
before I do any of this seaming.
I actually quite like the length.
I might make it a dress.
We'll start with the darts
otherwise I'll get confused.
Whilst some of the sewers are using
darts to shape the waist and bust
of their garment,
others are using them as a feature.
I'm just going to try
and put in the tiniest little darts
just as a decorative measure
so that it'll look like
it's supposed to be like that.
Heather has been thinking
along the same lines.
I'm going to try and use
all the darting as a feature.
There's going to be
an asymmetrical back on it.
An asymmetrical back? Love it!
It looks like something we'd all
want to wear. Super chic.
These are pleats and darts
and what I'm going to do
is actually stitch them
on the outside of the garment
instead of the inside
so you can see them.
I'm going to top stitch them.
I've got to cut into the jacket
and I really didn't want to.
My straps are just going to be
rectangles folded over,
hemmed, turned the right way
and pressed.
Oh, what a waste of a jacket.
Sewers, you have 15 minutes left.
15 minutes.
I've shaped my garment so
I've completely restructured it.
Tamara is using the cuffs to
create a ruffle across her top.
And I just wanted to use
a bit more of the suit.
What should I do with the collar
at this point in my life?
Is it going to be tight? Yep.
David, this bit is gorgeous.
I just want you to put...
This feels...
A little empty? Correct. You're
a policeman, for goodness' sake.
It's gorgeous, Lynda.
Yeah, you'd wear it,
wouldn't you, Claudia?
I'd wear it with a black polo neck.
Yeah, and kinky boots.
You've got one minute 30 seconds.
Love a good bodge.
This girl really needs to
go on a diet. She's too fat.
Oh, God, I can't watch. That's not
going to fit, is it, David?
Yeah, yeah, it's going to fit.
Never had any doubt it would fit.
Right, that's it. Time's up.
Don't touch it.
OK, everybody, let's take them
to the front and jumble them up. OK?
# Got a brand-new suit
# Got a brand-new tie
# Got a brand-new
twinkle in my eye. #
Patrick and May have no idea
which sewer is responsible
for which transformed suit.
Amazing. Absolutely amazing.
Well done, everybody.
I'm mightily impressed by
everything I see in front of me.
Have a closer gander.
It's pretty ingenious actually.
It's extremely well-shaped.
Sleeves chopped off,
brought up and reinserted.
We've got the revere coming
round the back here, look.
There's the button from the revere.
It's a really good idea, using the
trouser leg and shaping up. Yep.
Clever. You're impressed?
We are impressed, yes.
One of the simplest transformations
but a wearable top.
It fits the mannequin well.
Quite a simple design altogether.
It's one central panel
and two panels which form
the side and the back.
It's actually a very
straightforward piece of engineering
and quite cleverly done.
We've got some insertions here. OK.
Some shaped insertions.
Extra darting to
give it bust shaping
and we've got these darts down here
which were in the original suit.
It's neat,
it fits the mannequin well,
it's definitely
a big transformation.
It's an effective
little pinafore dress. It is.
A seam that's been matched
all the way up the centre front.
That looks like the bottom of
a trouser leg by that tape there.
You're right. It is.
We've got some rouleau fastenings.
Neatly sewn,
fits the mannequin well.
That works incredibly well.
This is a substantial piece
of re-engineering
and it doesn't fit perfectly.
Row of three buttons.
We've taken both cuffs apart
and used both cuffs to create this.
It looks transformative
but it is just the suit jacket
turned back to front,
sleeves and shoulders out.
I'm not convinced it will stay
on terribly comfortably but...
I think it's a really interesting
use of the fabric. Yep.
May and Patrick now reveal
who they think has made
the best use of the suit
and exhibited
the finest tailoring techniques.
This one just makes me smile.
I love it, absolutely love it.
Happy with that. OK.
So in fifth place please come up...
In a line-up of pretty radical
transformations,
we felt this still retained
a lot of its jacket-ness
and I think the fit over the bust
wasn't terrific.
And in fourth place...
David.
A really good transformation
and the only thing we could say
was that looks a bit
like a jacket still.
I did want to keep
the fact that it was a jacket.
If I was going out for a night on
the town and I was a young female,
I'd think,
"Look! Showing off what I've done."
That's a dream picture in my head,
just so we're clear.
I've got disturbing images.
David, thank you.
In third place is the very
beautiful tailored boob tube.
There were more complex
and more creative ideas,
but really well-ex*cuted
and really well done. Thank you.
Is Lynda second place? Yes! Lynda?
Really great transformation,
lots of shaping, lots of processes.
Thank you. Well done.
So the winner is Chinelo!
I'm so happy! Finally. Yes!
I mean, just terrific. It made me
smile the moment we walked in here.
Brilliant. Thank you.
A huge well done to all of you.
Go home, have a nap, have a cuddle.
We will see you tomorrow for the
big challenge. Thanks very much.
I'm so excited, honestly,
to finally come first in
the alteration challenge.
I've hogged second place for ages
so I'm so happy to be first.
It was a shock to come last
but, you know, after my heart
sunk to my boots I thought,
"You know what? Pull your socks up
and get on with it."
Not great results, to be honest.
Last and second from last
which means I have to
work doubly hard tomorrow.
A brand-new day and just one
challenge to go
before one sewer will be sent home
How have they all done? May?
Lynda, who's been
our most consistent,
her blouse wasn't very good,
which was a real surprise.
David needs to really excel today or
he could be in a bit of difficulty.
Of everybody yesterday,
I think Heather had the best day,
but Chinelo also I think
acquitted herself pretty admirably
in both challenges.
Tamara's blouse
was in the middle of the pack.
She needs to do well
on the next challenge.
With a place
in the semifinals at stake,
there's a lot riding
on this last challenge.
As usual, it's all about fit.
The sewers will be recreating
an historic item of clothing
and must make it fit a real person,
so their models have
returned to the sewing room
Good morning, everyone.
Today the judges want you
to make a historic coat.
This could have come
from an old pattern
or maybe a beautiful photograph
of an old coat that you've
always wanted to make.
As well as fit, the judges will be
looking for authentic techniques.
Sewers, you have six and a half
hours and your time starts now.
The sewers have done
lots of homework for this task.
They've been researching
old sewing methods
and sourcing appropriate fabrics,
which May and Patrick
have suggested they bring
to the sewing room pre-cut.
What we want to see
from our sewers this week
is a return to substantial fabrics.
Construction techniques
that mean that a coat will last,
so canvassing, hand finishing
on button holes,
anything that makes the coat
something that you will keep
in your wardrobe for years.
Where might our five sewers
come undone?
You need a coat to have
a really beautifully clean edge
and a really good finish to it,
and some people might find that hard
to do because it's quite bulky.
The sewers have practised
making their coats at home,
but now they must try
and achieve the sharp finish
the judges are looking for,
and ensure they fit their models,
all in just six and a half hours.
That's the back!
Tamara's chosen to make a coat her
mum made for herself back in 1967.
It was one of the first complicated
patterns she'd attempted. Oh!
She told me all about it
and we had a look through
all the vintage patterns together,
so it was quite nice.
Tamara's homage to her mum's coat
is a classic '60s shape,
fitted at the bust with princess
seams and an empire line.
It's lined with contrast fabric
and finished off with
matching bound buttonholes.
Tamara's making her coat
in a bright yellow wool.
My grandmother and my mum found
all of these 1960s pattern books,
which are amazing.
The type of fabric that they used
is very similar to what I've got.
Quite a heavy wool.
As I make this coat,
I'm thinking of my mum going through
the same processes as me.
It's like reliving the past.
Lynda's also been
inspired by her mum.
The pattern I've chosen really
reminds me of my mum.
The coat really brings back
memories of that time,
of when my mother was young
and when I was little
and her lovely clothes
and swishy skirts... Sorry.
In this photograph,
she's actually pregnant with me
and in that photograph there,
she's actually wearing
almost the same coat.
Lynda's 1950s wool flannel coat
has a shawl collar and full skirt.
Have you quite enjoyed this task?
I've loved it.
I've been upset but I love it.
I'm upset about my mother.
She would love to make this.
Would she?
She would, yes. Because also she was
a brilliant seamstress. She was.
A tailoress, actually,
so this is her thing.
She made everything but when
it came down to what she loved
and did the best,
it was tailored things like this.
Good luck. See you later.
After the w*r,
fabrics weren't rationed any more
so that point of austerity
was over and done with.
Christian Dior came in with new
fashions of using a lot more fabric
in a much more flamboyant
and luxurious way.
I have a photo here of just
how much fabric one can put
into a swing coat.
I mean, awesome or what?
Just beautiful.
Heather's 1953 swing coat
is a voluminous
three-quarter length design
with contrast drape collar,
patch pockets and turned-back cuffs.
You have the same fabrics but
you've just got red and black? Yeah.
What's the fabric composition?
It's a cashmere and wool blend and
I'm going to line it also in silk.
You will have to make sure of course
that it's hanging perfectly level
and horizontally all the way around.
The New Look
Heather is referring to
was launched by Christian Dior
in 1947 in Paris,
and it had an enormous impact
on the fashion world.
Chinelo has also been inspired
by the Dior full-skirted look.
Is this the photograph?
This is my inspiration.
Oh, it's beautiful.
Absolutely stunning.
Chinelo's 1940s style coat
is fitted at the bodice
and flares out at the waist.
I've never made a coat before.
I have attempted to
make something like a jacket,
but I've never made
a proper tailored jacket.
David's been inspired by something
rather closer to home.
I've decided to make a 1940s
police coat because I'm a policeman
and I just thought it would be nice
to go back down memory lane,
although I wasn't even born then.
The police coat David's making
has a high collar, side pleats,
breast pockets and original buttons,
all the result of his own research.
Quite enjoyed phoning up the old men
at the heritage centre
and they were like,
SQUEAKY VOICE: "Ooh, yes.
It's very much like this. They had
pointy pockets and everything."
If they're watching, they might be
slightly upset at your
impersonation. I'm just saying!
They were very helpful.
They were very helpful? Good boy.
This feels ridiculous. What is this?
It feels like a carpet.
Very heavy wool.
Well, it's not far off it.
It's really, really heavy wool.
For the coats to be robust
and retain their shape,
they need to be structured
inside with extra stiffening fabric.
Canvassing, apparently.
Around the room,
we've got different sewers doing
different types of structural
canvassing inside.
This canvas provides stability
and the ability
to shape the garment.
If we took all of this out,
what you'd find is you've just
got cloth draping on the body.
The point of tailoring is
there is an internal structure
which creates all of this shape.
So much work goes into it.
This is hair canvas, and it's
very springy and resilient,
so this is going to give body
and substance and a little
bit of spring to it, so it will keep
its shape through the front line.
Tamara's giving structure
to her coat with
interlining, which she is
tacking to the inside of the coat.
Normally, I would iron this on,
but because I'm using '60s methods,
I'm hand-stitching.
So I'm just using really long
stitches in a contrast thread that,
when I'm finished
doing my machine stitching,
I can pull this thread out.
You won't be able to see it.
'Chinelo might be making a 1940s
coat, but she's not sticking
'to the 1940s methods.'
What is this, by the way?
This is interfacing. I'm cheating
a little bit, because they would not
have used fusible interfacing,
but as we've only got six and half
hours to do this,
I have to cut some corners. Yeah.
Are you worried that you've been
slightly too ambitious on this task?
I have definitely been
ambitious on this task,
but that's what got me
first for yesterday's challenge,
so hopefully it'll pay off
again today.
Two and a half hours down,
four to go...
..and at last,
some construction begins.
I'm doing the side back panels,
which hopefully will give it
a nice fit around the kidneys.
The biggest challenge the sewers
face is the sheer amount of fabric
they have to handle.
Achieving a sharp finish
will not be easy.
A lot of fabric bulk here to
actually get under the machine foot.
David's fabric
is already causing problems.
It's twice as thick as what
I thought it was going to be.
I ended up buying it over the phone.
The fellow went, "Yeah, we've got
exactly the thing for you.
"Don't worry about it. Leave it
with me." And he gave me this stuff.
This fabric's proving to be really
difficult to work with,
and I didn't practice
with this fabric, either.
It's just falling to pieces
the more I work with it.
I could have done with
something that wasn't so open.
Heather's collar
forms the front of her coat,
so she's strengthening it
with canvas and cotton poplin.
This is a poplin interlining.
I'm going to use it
just around the back of the collar,
and then I'm just going to face
down the front through the hemline.
David's adding a rather more
personal touch to his collar.
707 was my first collar number
from when I used to walk the beat
in Brixton.
The collar is made from two pieces,
and would have prevented you...
..from being garrotted.
According to the history books,
anyway.
Sewers, you're halfway through.
You have three hours
and 15 minutes left.
The collar is now on. Sleeves
are next - we'll see how they go.
To allow for movement in the elbow
of his heavy wool tunic,
David's sleeves are made up of
two parts, to produce a curve.
The thing that worries me, though,
is fitting sleeve heads in, because
it's something I've not had practice
at. Could be a complete disaster.
Can you hold your arm out?
Lynda's coat has simple dolman
sleeves, which are cut out as part
of the bodice. They're named after
a Turkish robe called a dolaman.
I think that's just about right.
Yeah?
Heather's more intricate coat
includes cuffs.
Now I am going to slip
this sleeve into this sleeve,
and here are my locating pins,
so that goes on that side, and,
obviously, my seam goes on that side.
This is a gathered sleeve head,
so you want it to have that shape,
so when it fits into the arm
hole, it falls down nice and flat.
I'm just going to put it on him.
Got to sort of work out
where I need material
and where I don't need material,
and it's not easy.
With the tricky
bodice section complete,
the sewers can finally
get to work on the skirt.
I'm attaching the skirt
to the back bodice now.
These pieces are the skirt
of the jacket,
so I'm going to sew it all together.
Sewing a hem along a bulky fabric
takes real patience,
but Lynda and
Chinelo have given themselves
the hardest task of all - they both
have three metres of skirt to hem.
This is what
I was panicking about.
There's so much of it.
The stitches shouldn't show
on the outside of the garment,
so Lynda is painstakingly
hand-sewing.
When I did the coat at home,
the hem took me the longest.
And that's what's worrying me -
there's yards and yards of it.
I'm not going to hem it.
That's going to take forever.
I'm going to bag it out with
top stitch and then press it.
Bagging out involves
attaching the lining
to the bottom of the coat,
right side to right side.
It's then machine stitched,
and turned right-side-out,
so all the raw seams
are hidden inside the lining.
Time at the moment is
not my best friend.
One hour to go.
I'll be lucky if I get
a finished garment
in the time that we've got left.
It'll probably all unravel into
a pile of wool on the floor
by the time it gets judged.
How is it?
Well, I'm halfway round the hem,
so I'm really chuffed.
You're working so fast!
I'm boiling. My hands are sweating.
This is really...
Really hard, to do this quick.
Look! You can't see it at all!
RIPPING
SHE GASPS
Oh, lordy. This stuff is so fragile.
That's where I ripped my coat.
Sad face.
Sewers, you have 22 minutes left.
'As well as using vintage
patterns for their coats,
'the sewers have had to research
authentic fastenings.'
The buttons make the dress uniform -
they've got to go on.
'While David is using
a modern buttonhole foot,
'Tamara's using a more traditional
method to create buttonholes.'
I'm really trying to make
the lips of the buttonhole even.
I'm having a real nightmare
with the fabric.
Tamara's also covering
her own buttons.
I've done a couple of trials.
I tried to make the button with
this, but of course...
Guess what happened!
So I'm using the fabric
that I used on my buttonholes.
Five minutes to finish your coats
and your policeman's
dressing-up outfit.
I have got a lot to do.
SHE EXHALES HEAVILY
I need to hand-stitch the inside
of my buttonholes,
which I have four to do.
I'm putting buttons
on the princess line.
And there would've been two on
the pockets, except time has got away
from me and I haven't
been able to do pockets.
I'm definitely not going to have
time to put my pockets on.
If I can't get my buttons on, I
definitely can't get my pockets on.
You have one minute, everyone!
One minute to make
these beautiful coats.
I've bruised my velvet.
You've got ten seconds!
Oh, good(!)
Heather? I need the ten seconds.
It's so bulky.
That's it - the end.
Ooh! Did you get a prick? Yep.
Seriously? Oh, yeah.
Sorry, I forgot to say,
there's some pins down here.
SHE EXHALES HEAVILY
I just think everyone else's
is amazing. I love Tamara's one.
I love Heather's.
I think that's garment of the week.
Absolutely exhausted by that.
I'm actually quite surprised
it looks that good on.
Ah, the medals
are for seamstressing,
cooking,
and polishing brass.
After six and a half hours of
intense sewing, five historic coats
have been produced, which
Patrick and May will now judge.
Lynda, please come forward.
I think it looks good.
From the front,
the collar is sitting very nicely.
The coat's running level
all the way around the bottom.
The sleeve looks nice and slim.
They're both finishing
at the same point
on the crook in the hand.
Darts are even.
You've got lovely invisible hems.
Lovely?
Well done, because they are
really invisible. Yeah.
I think, overall, it looks like
a well-fitted, well-balanced,
well-ex*cuted coat. Thank you.
The first thing I notice, David,
is you got those sleeves in.
Well done. I saw you struggling.
They're not in the perfect
place on both shoulders.
However, you haven't got any
pleating, so well done.
Thank you.
I think the fit is really good.
Unfortunately, something a bit funny
has happened with your collar.
This one's sitting prouder than
this one. I don't know whether
it just wants...
Needs a good press.
It needs a good press to bring it
back up where it ought to be.
A tricky garment.
I think you've fitted it well.
I think there's
a lot of good sewing in it.
Just a couple of areas.
But overall a pretty good
stab at that.
Thank you. Well done.
I like it.
You know, it's almost like I'm
looking at the next Mrs Don Draper
here. Fit-wise it looks good.
The shoulders look good.
Your buttons line up nicely
with the holes ,and I like the fact
that you've done your own covered
buttons in that silk there, too.
I'd rather not be seeing
the under-collar.
Especially when it's a contrast.
When you're doing hems,
particularly on such a bulky fabric,
don't turn it up double.
What's happening,
it's a beautiful shape,
but we've got this ridge
all the way round the hem,
and we've got the same
all the way around the sleeves.
I was really rushing to get
it all done! I know.
I'm a little sad, because it's
so close to being a real knockout.
There's so much that's good in it
that's just let down by just
a few little details.
Just seeing that little bit of red
on that front edge there,
that one little thing sort of spoils
the front of it. I know. I know.
Didn't get round to doing the hem?
No. Just ten minutes too late.
That draped sort of shawl
is really effective.
I really like the way it's done,
and you've handled the pockets very
neatly. They're very well balanced.
Sadly, we've got one sleeve head
that's sitting quite flat
and the other that's
just a little bit proud.
For me, it's a real shame,
because it was that close to being
a really lovely-looking garment.
There's a couple of fit things.
I think there's just a little bit
of a wave around that bottom edge.
The straight grain on the skirt
is running from here, this way,
rather than from here, this way.
So it's just riding away
from you a bit.
The other thing that leaps out
is this front edge, here.
This needs to be absolutely flat,
but it's lumpy around the edge.
So we've got a beautiful
lining, and also,
you've bagged out your lining and
your hem, and you've understitched.
The shape through it is really
very nice. It's draping well.
The back is good.
You've left a little bit of back
drape there for movement.
A lot of good stuff.
I think it's a good-looking coat.
It's just really control
of those edges throughout
that's let you down.
It's in the details.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
A huge well done on that
extraordinarily difficult challenge.
It's now time for you guys
to have a break.
When you come back in,
the judges will announce
the best garment of the week,
and, unfortunately, they're going to
announce who's leaving
the Sewing Bee.
I'm not sure I've done enough.
The girls' coats are just
amazing, aren't they?
I just hope I've done enough
techniques to pull it off.
Going in to the last challenge,
I felt really confident, but then
hitting that wall with the fabric,
my confidence just went to zero.
It is a competition, of course,
but we're all incredibly friendly
and nobody wants anybody to go.
So this is the tricky bit.
Who do you think needs to now leave?
We had two blouses yesterday, both
in polka dots - David's and Lynda's,
neither of which were
particularly good at all.
The alteration challenges,
there were a few
that were relatively close.
One of the weaker ones
was Tamara's, wasn't it? Yes.
That one, we felt,
was the least well-managed.
It's a difficult decision
whichever way we look at it. Yes.
I mean, I have an inkling myself...
Yes. ..but I think May and I
just need to talk about this one
a little bit further. OK.
Look at Lynda - already gone.
I haven't even said anything.
Well, I can't help it! I'm sorry.
THEY CHUCKLE
Let's do the good bit first.
Our garment of the week
this week is...
..Lynda's coat. Oh, my God!
APPLAUSE
This was all about using
vintage-style fabrics,
old techniques,
and what you did was perfectly
on-point for that.
Well done. Thank you!
So here comes the horrid bit,
and we've got to do it.
The person leaving the Sewing Bee
is...
It's David.
THEY ALL EXCLAIM
I'm sorry! Come on!
David! Oh, David!
We're going to so miss you, David.
David has been a joy
to have in the sewing room.
He has learnt so much every week
and it's been fantastic watching
somebody who's much more competent
than when he started.
Really upset that David's gone.
I can't tell you how upsetting
it is. He's just been amazing.
It really won't be
the same without him.
I'm really, really sad
that David's gone.
Really sad. I love him.
He's been my hero.
I've reached my limit
and that's fine.
The girls deserve to be here.
I'm really glad they're
not going, actually,
because I'd be quite upset
if one of them went.
I just realised, I'm through to
the semifinal! Throat's hurting...
from trying not to cry.
Next week, it's the semifinal.
You could cut the air with a knife.
Tamara, Lynda, Chinelo
and Heather go head-to-head.
I shall be really disappointed
if this doesn't work.
Who will manage a dress
with no pattern?
This is the scary part!
Which of them will produce
the perfect alteration?
That's not too bad.
They're not going to be happy.
Has Chinelo finally bitten off
more than she can chew?
These are all sewn on in individual
pieces? Individual pieces, yeah.
You're absolutely crazy.
And who will make it to the final?
I really hope I've done enough
to stay in.
That's really exactly
what I didn't want to do.
SHE EXHALES HEAVILY
If you'd like to sharpen up your
sewing skills, please go to...
..for ideas and projects
based on the series.
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02x06 - Episode 6
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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.