04x02 - Children's Week

[bunniefuu]

It's only week two, and already
our sewers have battled with bias,

felt the wrath of the judges,
and nine are back from the brink

to face three bigger challenges,
but on a much smaller scale.

That's right - it's children's week.

Last time... Aargh!

..it all began with a pattern that
demanded precision.

Oh, great(!)
Oh, why have I done this?

Savile Row's Patrick Grant... Sorry,
we've made you panic. Please go..

..and Central Saint Martin's Esme
Young... A little bit off here.

I love how tough you were there.

..ranked househusband
Jamie in the top spot.

Your matching is fantastic.
You've done a really good job.

Then, a maternity dress
alteration...

Oh, that wasn't very good, was it?
..failed to impress.

I'm really disappointed.

PR manager Angeline created a
made-to-measure skirt... It's sexy.

Is she making you blush?
PATRICK CHUCKLES

..deemed fit for garment
of the week.

Retired teacher Tracey...
I thought it was quite flouncy.

..put herself in danger.
I mean, it is flouncy.

But it was Duncan,
whose sewing bee, like his hem,

was abruptly cut short.

Oh, that's dangerous.

Oh, Duncan. It's fine, it's fair.

Now...
SHE SIGHS

..the sewers face
children's clothes...

Oh, my God, these cuffs are teensy.

..creating stretchy babygros...
One gusset, yes!

..shrinking down silky dresses...

Go on, Jamie! Rip it with your
teeth!

..and crafting exquisite
woollen capes.

GASPS

But who will survive to stitch
another week?

That's going to be fabulous.

And who will unravel under
the pressure?

It's got to come off.
CLAUDIA SHRIEKS

# Lollipop, lollipop,
ooh lolly lolly lolly lollipop. #

Back in Sewing Bee's second week,
very, very, very excited.

I think last week, everybody found
the judges quite harsh,

so we're hoping this week to
impress them a bit more, I think.

Oh, dear.

First week in the sewing room was
really nerve-racking,

but this week it's a lot more calm.

It's got a nappy on it!
LAUGHS

Mine's having a disco.

You break that before we start,
and you'll be in bother.

I haven't really made children's
clothes before,

but I quite like the idea
of creating for children.

The pattern challenge tests

the sewers' ability to follow
instructions,

but they have no idea what the
judges will ask them to make.

Hello, welcome back, sewers.
Please come and gather round.

You all look smiley.

Now, this week is children's week.
Patrick.

I'm going to give you each
the patterns,

if you could just hand those around.

SEWERS LAUGH

We'd like you to make a babygro.

What I want to see is
evenly-sewn cuffs,

and a beautifully-sewn binding,
that will form the opening.

You have three hours and 15 minutes.
Enormous luck. Your time starts now.

Good luck, everyone.
Right, let's have a wander around.

Active babies need stretchy
fabrics...

That's stretch, what's that? I think
it's too lightweight. Ah, right.

..so the pattern requires
the most flexible

and comfortable material
the haberdashery has to offer...

I like the tractor.
I'm going tractor.

..stretch cotton jersey.

I like the fluffy inside. I think
that'll be nice for a babygro.

Don't even like that.

What are you testing them
on with this?

You need a particular skill to sew
jersey, to sew stretch.

You have to understand the stretch
of the two bits that you're

sewing together.

It's just fine
material-handling skills.

Yes. The most difficult
thing will be the binding.

It's really important where
they stretch it,

and then, after that, the gusset.

They have to be very careful
when they sew the gusset in.

It forms a sharp point at the end,
and they've got to make sure that

they sew it very accurately, or they
could end up with holes at the end.

So, no pressure.

I did pick this fabric
with my little son Harry in mind,

because he likes things with wheels,
and this has got lots of wheels on.

Jamie met his wife when they were
both teaching at the same school.

Part of their home is now dedicated
to his passion for sewing,

as he makes all his own shirts
and jackets.

He does it when Harry's asleep.

He does it every day,
just as and when he can.

But Jamie does show him
what he's doing, and he's really

looking forward to the day
that he can teach Harry to sew.

Morning. Good morning. Right, we can
see here how this fabric is curling.

It does curl a bit,
so I'm just going to be careful

handling it, that's all.
Yes, OK.

And you've used stretch before?

Yeah, I've done a few bits
and pieces.

I don't sew a lot of children's
clothes, but we'll see.

Best of luck. Thank you.
Yeah, good luck.

I've made children's clothes before,
but when my niece was born

I was not sewing yet, so I never got
to do anything too small for her.

So, what do you think?
For Emily? Yeah.

C'est jolie.

Ghislaine grew up in Martinique,
where she and her sister

helped their mum run craft
activities at the local orphanage.

Ghislaine sewed
because our mother sewed too.

I think that gives Ghislaine the...
desire to sew.

What worries me
the most is the shape itself.

I mean,
I can't express anything right now.

Although small,
a babygro is far from child's play.

I didn't think a babygro had
this many pieces.

Right.

First, the front panels are sewn
to the back, then a binding strip

is attached round the neck and front
opening to enclose the raw edges.

Next, sleeves are fitted,

and the sides are sewn up
before a gusset is inserted.

To finish, cuffs are attached to the
wrists and ankles,

and nine jersey snaps are applied.

I don't feel too uncomfortable, cos

I make kids' clothes
quite often.

I think it's just...

I'm so used to it by now.

All the way round.

Jade has three younger siblings
to practise on,

but she doesn't stop there.

Jade's made her dad a lovely shirt.

She's made a pair of pyjama
bottoms for grandad,

make-up bags for nan. Any excuse to
get in the sewing room, yes.

# 20 tiny fingers, 20 tiny toes

# Two angel faces. #

I'm cutting out using pattern
weights on the rotary cutter,

which is really useful with
stretch fabrics,

because they do have a tendency to
shift about otherwise.

I've already made a mistake.

I didn't realise that I've
actually cut it too short here.

Nice cut pieces will guarantee
a nice garment.

I'm using a combination of pins
and pattern weights,

just to make sure it
doesn't move around.

I've made some baby clothes,
but I've never done anything

with stretch for a baby, so I'm
a little bit anxious about that.

That probably needed to be shorter.
Rumana's latest project is

creating outfits for her
four-month-old niece.

I know when she makes
things for people,

she gets really excited,
they get really excited,

and then they keep asking for more,
and I think that

satisfaction that she gets is
probably the most important thing.

Just going to try and keep calm,

and just follow
the instructions carefully.

That's my plan.

I have made
dresses for my little niece.

Princess Elsa dress, a couple of wee
summer dresses as well,

but I have never made any babygros.

Newlywed Angeline made all her
bridesmaids' dresses,

and she makes all her own
outfits for special occasions.

Many of the garments Angeline's

made are formal wear,

so a lot of them are breathtaking.

We were actually at a
wedding, and a woman was like,

"Oh, who's it by, darling?"

Angeline was like, "I made it
meself," and she was like, "Oh."

CHUCKLES

Let's go. Let's start sewing.

Right, to start with on this,

we're going to join the fronts
to the back at the shoulder seams.

I've never made a babygro before.
I like making pretty dresses.

# Bring me a higher love. #

Tracey likes nothing better than
a weekend sing-along sewing

session with her daughter, Laura.

I love my mum's sewing.

She made dresses when we were small,
and all through being a teenager.

I was so excited that Mum's
doing the Sewing Bee,

and I'm so proud of her for trying.

Morning. Morning. Morning.
What are you up to?

I've cut out... Oh, you have.

Yeah, I've sewed the shoulder seams,
but that's as far as I've got.

Very cosy for the baby. Lovely, in't
it? Yeah, I was very drawn to that.

I'd like a babygro in this,
I think.

I've not got enough fabric,
Patrick, sorry. Haven't you?

Must be more somewhere, can we...?

Now I'm going to make
the bias binding,

just sew the bias binding together

so there's only one piece of binding
that goes around the garment.

Josh makes most of his own t-shirts,

and he's got his mum to
thank for that.

I first gave Josh a sewing machine,
because I needed him to do something

in the summer, from university,
and not waste his ten weeks off.

Within a week or two, Josh was
a better sewer than I'd ever been.

You've made things in jersey before,
haven't you? T-shirts and...

Yeah, naturally
I would work with jersey,

rather than pretty much anything.

Yeah. Right. I feel a little bit
more comfortable today.

This should be a doddle,
for you then. Er, we'll see.

Once the binding's made,

the sewers can use it to enclose
the front edge of the babygro.

I'm just trying to carefully pin
the bias binding to the edge.

It's quite hard,
cos it's on a curve.

The difficulty with this stage is
that you do not want to stretch

as you pin, because otherwise it'll
be all bunchy and hideous.

The binding is sort of the prominent
feature of the front

of the garment,
so you really want it to look nice.

If it looks dicey in any way,
it'll just ruin the whole thing.

Charlotte's been sewing
since the age of seven.

She's made everything,

from prom dresses to jeans to
her own swimsuit.

Charlotte's life is
wrapped in thread.

Everything she does,
just about, involves sewing.

When she wears something that she
made, I can see a little glow.

You've got three babies.
Did you ever make them a babygro?

Don't be ridiculous. No.

Cos it's just... What's the point?

They throw up on it, they poo on it,

and then it's grown
out of in five minutes.

I love the throw-up and the poo.
It's my favourite bit of parenting.

The key to a good binding is having
a really even distance,

right the way across the garment.

Slow and steady, and you must be
really careful not to pull it,

cos it'll stretch out of shape.

Yeah, I never sew this slowly.

But then, nothing else normally
matters this much.

The binding should be an equal
width on both sides of the raw edge,

but Jamie has
decided on a different finish,

making his binding
narrower on the outside.

I topstitched through
the main fabric.

I'll be honest, I thought it would
give enough of a binding,

so it's not too wide.

I hope.

God, this baby is so tiny.

There we go. Binding done.

Ah, now, look at this one.
This one has...

Joyce met husband Hugh when
they were learning to fly gliders.

They've been married for 50 years,

and sewing has always been
part of family life.

I remember Mum sewing even
when I was little.

I remember playing with
the button box.

If she didn't have her sewing
machine out,

there'd be something wrong.

You must have made nine million
babygros. No, I didn't make one.

Oh.

Because, you've got to remember,
when my children were babies,

babygros weren't invented.

What did your babies wear? Hessian?
JOYCE LAUGHS

No. You dressed them up in those
days, you didn't chuck them

in a babygro, and for bed you
put them in a pyjama.

Even when they were little
tiny creatures?

Babygros weren't invented! In fact,
I'm not sure stretch was invented.

JOYCE LAUGHS

Babygros are a relatively
recent innovation.

Before the dawn of the 19th century,
rather than comfy clothes,

babies were often wrapped in tight,
restrictive bandages.

Carers swaddled their children

because they wanted
to keep them warm,

and they wanted to
keep them protected,

but also to try
and keep the limbs straight.

They felt that children's limbs
were like twigs that could be bent

and broken, so they wanted to keep
them immobilised.

Swaddling continued
until the 18th century,

when an era of scientific discovery
called the Age Of Enlightenment,

led to questions about its supposed
health benefits.

One physician who voiced his concern
was William Cadogan.

He looked into the effects
of swaddling,

on how it affected the bones,
how it affected the organs.

He found that those who hadn't been
swaddled were healthier.

Cadogan published
his findings in 1748,

and by 1800, swaddling had been all
but abandoned in Britain.

Children's clothing began to
be redesigned,

to allow greater
freedom of movement, and from this

emerged the skeleton suit, a 19th
century precursor to the babygro.

It's called a skeleton suit because
it was worn so close to the body.

It has a lot of features that would
enable the child to move freely.

You have a very relaxed waist,
and then also,

you have a full front, so the child
would be able to go to the

bathroom without having to
take off everything.

It was designed so that the child
could play, to run,

and to act as children should.

Thanks to Cadogan
and the Age Of Enlightenment,

clothing for infants had taken
a great leap forward, laying

the foundations for the comfy,
practical babygros we have today.

Sewers, you are halfway through.
Halfway.

SHE SIGHS

Right,
let's look at what we're doing next.

Do you think it
looks like a babygro yet?

I'm now attaching my sleeves
to my babygro.

I've zigzag stitched
the sleeve already,

but I'm just going to finish off
these raw edges with the overlocker.

The overlocker is
ideal for sewing babygros.

It creates robust and stretchy
seams by looping several threads

together to wrap the raw edges.

It's not working for me.

It just keeps gathering.

Where have you got to?

Well, I've done my sleeves,
so now I'm closing the sides.

So you've chosen a different
fabric for half of the front...

Yes. ..and the binding.
That's right.

Anywhere else? The cuffs?
The cuffs will be blue as well.

The gusset? Yes.

And have you ever sewn
a gusset before?

No, it will be my first time,
my first go.

We'll see how that works out.
All right.

It might be my issue. We don't
expect any problems with that piece.

OK. OK. Thank you.

Attaching the gusset is like fitting
a round peg into a square hole.

Careless sewing could
result in unsightly gathers,

or gaps in the crotch.

So, this circle has to fit
in between the bottoms of the legs,

so ultimately it's going to end
up a bit like that.

The worst that could happen would be
that it would be completely

sideways,
and it would look like rubbish.

Sewers, you have one hour to go!

Trying to get that through
the overlocker.

That's probably going to be
the main challenge,

because there's a blade on it.

If you're not careful, it can slice
some part of the babygro

that you don't want it to,
and then you can never get it back.

If I get the gusset right,
then I'll be OK.

If I need to redo anything
with that,

then that's when I'm going to
worry about the time.

I don't want any kinks or
puckers in my gusset,

if I can get away with it.

WHIRRING

Aargh! That is so tricky.

Or chop a hole through it with
the overlocker.

So, so, so tricky.

Aargh!

There's just a tiny little
snag in the curve of my gullet.

Is it "gullet" or "gusset?" Gusset.

Oh, look at that. One gusset, yes!

Can you see my gusset?

SHE LAUGHS

What? No...

The gusset's not right.

How are you? Erm, not good.

I mean, have you seen
the state of that? Look at that.

It is the right way round,
it's just that the gusset is,

like, on the side.
If someone is like...

Well, you know what you say?
It's asymmetrical, and that's what
you wanted it to be.

Oh, I'd love for it to be
asymmetrical.
Because this is a cool baby.

OK, sewers.

Hopefully,
you're all working on your cuffs,

because you only have half
an hour left.

All on your cuffs? Yep.

Good, whoever said yes. Me,
in the corner. Well done, Jade.

Oh, my God, these cuffs are teensy.

Because it is so small, you just,
you do have to take your time.

WHIRRING

Ooh. But they do look very cute.

What is this? Aargh!

Great(!) Wonderful(!)

My cuff is the other way round. Oh,
well, nothing I can do about that.

Everything's finished.
Apart from the poppers.

I marked the popper positions
using the pattern piece,

and stuck pins through and marked
so I would know where to put them.

It would be a disaster
if they didn't line up.

GRUNTING

I think the problem I might have is
lack of wrist strength.

Ooh, it's done it!

Four minutes, sewers.
Oh, my goodness.

Not easy to do
when you've got shaking hands.

One cuff left,
and I still haven't done my poppers.

Oh, no! The top fell off.

Three to go. Come on!

I keep dropping them.
Well, stop dropping them.

I'm trying not to count how many
I've got left.

This is always
the last-minute rush for me.

I don't know how to put this on. Oh,
come on! It keeps on coming off.

Can you just show me again...

It doesn't matter which way round
you have them? No. No.

Who can help me with my poppers,
please? I need help.

Done. There you go, little man.

Thank you, Claudia.
GRUNTS

Oh!
Quick, quick. Shift them. Legs.

Ooh, head fell off.
30 seconds!

Oh, come on! I'll do men,
you do women.

Oh, God.
I've got two thingies that side.

Oh, my God.
Look at the state of that.

OK, time is up, everyone.

It went all crooked.

The teeth went in the wrong
side of it, so they don't shut.

Hold it up. Hold it. Take it.
Take it, be proud.

That's gorgeous. Edible.

# Crazy 'bout you, baby,
want you all to myself

# Crazy 'bout you, baby,
no-one else on the shelf. #

After three
and a quarter hours of labour,

nine babygros are delivered.

Rumana is up first.

# Crazy 'bout you baby

# Crazy 'bout you, baby

# Crazy 'bout you, baby,
want you all to myself. Hey! #

Overall, it's very neat and tidy.
Cuffs seem good, yeah.

Inside, it doesn't look so neat.

And you've made the binding a little
bit too narrow down the front.

Gusset... Yes.

Should we? Yes, why not?

As far as I can tell, it's pretty
good. You've caught it in.

Well done. Thank you.

Let's have a look here. The gusset.
Ooh, there's a little hole.

You haven't quite caught it in, and
that is absolutely crucial. Yeah.

You've got a little bit of gathering
round the top of the sleeve here.

One other thing...
I missed the button.

It... It just doesn't work,
does it? Yeah. No. Yeah.

You've put the poppers
the wrong way.

It should be big side
over small side.

Right. And shall we look
at the crotch? Pretty good there.

Thank you.

Both done exactly the same thing,
which is

get the small side over
the big side.

But you've got your poppers
right in the middle.

We have a male pair.
I thought I'd got away with it.

PATRICK CHUCKLES
What a shame.

You've done a whole different
binding method for this. I have.

And what's slightly worrying
about that is the idea is it

stabilises the popper.

It's possible,
after a few times of opening it

and closing it,
the popper will come off.

Visually, I think
it's really neat and tidy.

It's just you've chosen to do it
a slightly different method.

The overall effect of this
is really good.

It looks great, but you've done it
the other way round,

haven't you? Yeah.

I should have flipped
the pattern piece over.

But you've got
the poppers in the middle,

the binding looks pretty even.

The cuffs are good.

This was going so well.

You've just,
when you were putting the snaps on,

you've just misaligned them.

There's a little bit of a tuck here,
in the gusset, so it ain't perfect.

It looks... Pretty good.
..absolutely first-rate.

All of these snaps,
they're all working.

You've lined up your seams,
on your cuffs.

Do you want to have a go at that
gusset? Come on. Here I go.

Pretty good. It's really polished,
wouldn't you say? Yup.

I mean, I'm not quite sure
where to start, really.

It's all just gone really badly
wrong, in all sorts of ways

we couldn't even have imagined it
was possible to go wrong.

Can we start with the gusset?

I mean, at what point did you
realise that this wasn't

where it was supposed to be?

And also, you've made the gusset
a different fabric. Oh, yes.

So, boy oh boy, does it leap out
and knock you in the eye.

I think we can all see that this has
been sewn the wrong way round. Yep.

In panic, yeah.

I think you just have to put this
one to the back of your mind,

and probably
the back of the wardrobe.

OK.

Come with me. It'll be fine.

The judges will now rank
the babygros, from worst to best.

In ninth place, and I don't think
it's any surprise, sadly, Ghislaine.

In eighth place is Angeline,
and it's

because you missed your top popper,
and you had a hole in your gusset.

In seventh place is Josh, Jamie
takes sixth,

Tracey is fifth, Joyce is fourth,

and third is Rumana.

In second place is Jade.

Very nicely made, but you did it
over the wrong way. Thank you.

Which means, in first place,
it's Charlotte.

CHEERING

Thank you.

It looks spectacular.

It fits great, the finish is great,
it's extremely well-sewn.

Huge congratulations to all of you.

It's now time for cakes,

and Patrick has made a doughnut
tower for you all, downstairs.

When you come back, my favourite
bit - the alteration challenge.

# Man, you got to accentuate
the positive... #

I'm...eurgh! I'm just so happy.

I don't really enjoy poppers
very much, but it was... I won it!

It didn't go too well.

I think deep down we all
know where the faults are.

We're just hoping that they don't
spot them.

I have a lot of work to do to try
and come back from this disaster.

I can't...
I've got a mountain to climb.

'Having used stretch jersey to
follow a pattern,

'the sewers must now rely entirely
on their sewing instincts to

'transform a garment made
of a totally different fabric.'

Sewers, are you ready for the
alteration challenge? Eee... No.

Patrick, what do you have for them?

It's a bridesmaid's dress.

This challenge is
all about you work with

and understand slippery materials.

You have to turn this into an outfit
for a boy or a girl,

to fit your mannequin.

What we really want is something
imaginative and creative.

OK. Enormous luck.
You two have to disappear, goodbye.

You have 90 minutes.
Your time starts now.

MUSIC: Rip It Up
by Bill Haley And His Comets

Oh, my goodness.

All the bridesmaids' dresses contain
fabrics that are tricky to

handle, like satin and chiffon.

Go on, Jamie.
Rip it with your teeth!

What can we do? What can we do?

Most of the fabrics in these
dresses are slippery.

You have to have a lightness of
touch in sewing this.

I want to see them

use the natural properties of that
fabric in the right way.

If you've got a drapey fabric,
use it in a drapey way. Yes.

And we do want
their personalities to come over.

I just seen the blue and thought,
"Underwater." So it's a mermaid.

I'm going to do, like, a waistband,
and make a mermaid's fish tail.

It's just thinking on your feet
for this challenge.

Me kids quite often come home
and say,

"Mum, I need this for school
tomorrow," and having to suddenly

throw something together out
of what you've got for children is
something I have done.

I'm going to
go for kind of a bodice,

and then kind of use this like that.

Yep, petals.

Can I say the words "forest fairy?"
Yeah, yeah, that kind of idea.

I thought about a butterfly
kind of thing.

I'm thinking wings, but I don't
know. Don't know, we'll have to see.

Jamie, who's that?

This is a lovely little girl that's
going to a wedding.

I've draped the backing across,

and then I'm going to
attach a skirt to it.

And I'm going to turn this
into a little bridesmaid's dress.

I might use netting on the skirt.

Joyce. Yes. What'cha doing?
I'm making a dress.

And little girls like sparkle,
so I've kept the sparkle.

That round there, and then some
thick straps on it. Nice.

This is going to be the bodice
of my little girl's party dress.

I'm putting some sheering in,
which is a sort of gathering with

elastic, and then there's going to
be a giant poufy net skirt.

This is a proper princess dress,
no messing about.

Josh, what are you making?

I'm hoping to make a children's
sleeveless b*mber jacket.

Like a gilet. As long as it fits,
I'll be really happy.

Is a gilet enough?
Should there be some undergarments?

Well, I wouldn't have thought so.
I would have thought there's

enough in a gilet to keep me
busy for 90 minutes.

Yeah.

I'm doing a jacket
and a pair of shorts.

I'm thinking sportswear, maybe boxer
type of thing. The pressure is on.

I need an amazing comeback.

Sewers, you are halfway through.

Bit of wadding on the inside,
to give it a little bit of bulk.

Right, this is going OK.

It'll give a nice petally skirt,
which I'll attach to the bodice,

and then I can use trims to
really finish it off.

Ghislaine. Oh, my God, I love it.

I was going for...

That's what I was looking for.
Like that. Like a kid fighter.

Yes. Well, I have to fight now,
so I'm fighting.

It's extremely hard to sew slippery
fabric under time pressure,

because the thing that you
really should be doing with it is

taking your time and being careful.

My bridesmaid's dresses were
chiffon,

but it's quite hard because it keeps
moving all over the place.

It's quite a delicate fabric.

SIGHS

Jamie and Rumana are creating their
designs by draping on the mannequin.

I'm just doing some hand gathering,
and just sewing

it in strategic places, and hoping
to make the most out of the chiffon.

Obviously, you've got some fabric
that's really, really stiff,

some that flows, and you use
the fabric to its advantage.

It's a different way of sewing,
and I quite enjoy it.

You've got half an hour left.

An hour's gone?

As well as the fabric
in the dress...

Sequins.

..the sewers can make
use of the haberdashery.

I'm currently applying some
gold-coloured bias binding.

Obviously, time's against us,
so I'm just having to hold it,

fold it, and stitch it.

I've got pink netting.
I am the queen of netting.

I'm making a giant poufy net skirt
to go with my little bodice.

I'm going to put a layer of chiffon
over the top as well.

Adorable. Like that?
I'm excited. Yeah.

I'm just inserting a zip.

So, I'm trying to put
an applique of a butterfly on.

Just thought, if I get something
shiny, maybe they'll get distracted.

Sewers, you have ten minutes.

I wish my sewing machine was
going quicker.

This is a beaded trim,
and it's going to go shimmy, shimmy,

when she dances.

I'm just trying to add a flow here,

so that it looks as
if it's underwater.

If I can get the string in,

so at least they see that
I was trying to make boxing shorts.

Come on!

Jamie, you have been trying to
organise this for, what? A day?

At least. OK, what is it?
It's a dress.

That's not a dress, that's a puzzle.

I think it's going to be
a bit small,

but I can just have it undone.

Five minutes!

Come on!

Just keep sewing.

Can't get it on. Why?

I don't know.
OK. Just ease it in.

They're my fairy wings.

Ease it in. It's got to come off.

CLAUDIA SHRIEKS

What is that? The fringing,
it doesn't stretch.

Don't worry, just go really slow.
I can't watch.

I mean, I am watching.
Oh, God, get... Oh!

WHISPERING: You did it.

Right, that's it. Time. Finished.

Wheel your mannequins forward.
We'll bundle them up.

# Steppin' out with my baby

# Can't go wrong, cos I'm right. #

Nine adult bridesmaids'

dresses have become nine children's
garments in just 90 minutes.

I'm amazed.

And the judges have no idea
whose is whose.

This person's gone to town
with the draping.

They've gathered this here,
so that's creating that drape there.

They've made the butterfly on the
front from scratch. It's terrific.

Yes. Yeah.

A lot of skills.
And a lot of thought. Yep.

This one is something else.

They've certainly had a hack
at this dress.

Personally, I don't like this
and this.

It's almost like, what else can
we put on it? Let's bung that on.

It feels just a little bit
haphazard.

This is a very simple sort of shift.
Nice use of a bit of binding.

The back is more interesting.

This goes round
and that goes round the other way.

I mean, not beautifully ex*cuted
but ingenious.

I think the net petticoat
underneath it gives it a very

different shape.
Is the net petticoat attached? Yes.

But it's got this raggedy hem.
It should have been more raggedy.

It needs to look intentional.
Almost like Cinderella or something.

All sorts of petals made from
the outer and inner of that dress.

There's lots of really good
stuff in this. But hang on a minute.

Would that go over your head?

I think it's worth squashing
your head in to get it into this!

This one has got shirring
at the back. It's reasonably even.

All the detail is
really at the back.

There's not quite as much of
the sort of wow factor in the skirt.

Now, is that attached?
Hand sewn there.

Crossover at the back.

I mean, it's not the most
imaginative garment.

But some little girl
would love to wear that.

For me, this is
the least imaginative one.

Because it's basically three
pieces joined together.

That arm hole looks very small.

Yes, it does, it looks
very, very tiny.

We did ask it to fit the mannequin,
didn't we? We did, yes.

This one, unfortunately, doesn't.
Yep, it definitely doesn't.

I really like it. I'm not sure
who it's for but it's great.

Somebody has learned how to use
a snap this morning. Yes!

It feels really together. To me,
it really stood out in the line.

I love this little patch pocket
with the number one on the front

that mirrors the number on the back.

It seems to me like they've handled
the slippery fabric really well.

And they've put the elastic
in the chiffon. How marvellous!

Patrick and Esme will now rank
the bridesmaid dress alterations.

Number nine is the purple gilet.

I feel there wasn't much
imagination in that one.

In eighth a place, it's our mermaid.

There was a lot going on

but it just lacks a little
coherence in my thinking.

In seventh place is Jade.

Sixth is Charlotte.

Joyce comes fifth and
fourth place is Jamie.

In third place is the fairy.

We loved how the petals are going
and all that.

In second place, it's...

..the...

pink butterfly dress.

Really lovely.
Some beautiful handwork.

A lot of imagination,
so very well done. Thank you.

Well, in first place,
it's the only one left.

From bottom to number one!

You ex*cuted it really well.
It's great.

Are you happy? Very nice detail.
Very happy, thank you.

OK, so you all did brilliantly.
Well done!

We will see you tomorrow
for the big challenge.

# Now, nothing's impossible... #

Just chuck her on the floor,
don't worry!

My God. Wow.

The feeling I have inside is
absolutely impossible to describe.

I'd never imagine that sewing
would make me so happy.

Last week, I did feel like
maybe I shouldn't be here

because I did so awfully. But today,
I kind of feel like I do belong.

Coming seventh
and ninth is never a good thing.

I need to make sure I pull
something out of the bag

to stay here another week.

# That's enough now. #

Just one more item of childrenswear
to make before one sewer wins

Garment of the Week and another is
asked to leave the sewing room.

Rumana has had a magnificent week
so far, hasn't she?

She has had two very,
very, competent bits of work.

The babygro was really neat
and accurate

and the pink butterfly showed
lots of great skill.

The person who had the most
extraordinary day, Ghislaine.

The babygro was
an absolute dog's dinner,

but the alteration was great.
It was imaginative.

She'd really thought carefully
about details.

Let's talk about Angeline.

She made a few pretty fundamental
mistakes on the babygro

and I didn't get mermaid from
the dress. Neither did I.

Joshua is at the bottom in that
alteration challenge

and the babygro was just
a little bit clumsy.

At the bottom, then, are Josh,
Angeline and Ghislaine.

Those are probably the three
at the moment who are shakiest.

Yes, I would agree with that.

For the made-to-measure challenge,
the mannequins are no more.

The sewers will be fitting
their garments to actual children.

Ghislaine. You can call me Jean.

Are you excited, then, yeah? Yeah.

You feeling good? Yeah. Good.

Hello, sewers, and a huge welcome
to our brilliant models.

This is of course children's week

and the judges would love you
to make woollen capes.

You have four hours.

Your time starts now.

If you just stick your arm
out like that for me.

The sewers have had
the chance to practise

making their capes at home
but this is the first time

they have met the children
they will be fitting them to.

I'm just going to measure
from the front of your head here

just down to the back
of your neck, OK?

So, is that comfortable?

I imagine after stretch and after
slippery, wool must be a delight.

Wool can be incredibly
lightweight and diaphanous.

It can be very solid and dense.
It can also be very loosely woven.

I think the choice of fabric here

will determine how good
the level of finish is going to be.

We really want the fit to be good
round the collar and the shoulders.

And the hem. Also, that hem has to
be level all the way around.

It's not as straightforward
as I think people might imagine. No.

You make it look really easy.
This is the easy part!

Yesterday wasn't a great day for me
but we all have bad sewing days.

If anything,
it makes you more determined.

Angeline is making a collared cape.

A tartan under-collar will match
the triangular insert at the back

known as a godet.

It will be finished
with a large bow.

I'm going to cut here and create a
godette, or how do you pronounce it?

OK, a godet. Godet.

What is the godet going to do
for the back of this cape?

It's going to add feature. Why does
it need a feature on the back?

I think when you're walking away,
you need a feature.

Make an impression. Right, I'm off!
Make an impression as you walk away!

This is the front of my cape.
I've gone for some tweed.

I have worked with wool before
quite a bit.

I really enjoy working with it.

Jamie's classic gentleman's cape
will feature hand holds hidden

beneath the pleated front and he is
inserting jetted pockets with flaps.

I'm going for the nice country
gentleman look. Oh! Nice pockets.

I like it.

We should get you, like, a fake
pheasant to put on your shoulder!

Yes.

Righty h*! I'm going
to chop all of these down.

A cape can be made
either from a single piece of fabric

cut in a circle or from several
shaped pieces sewn together.

Right, that's that. And that's that.

So, it's got loads of panels which
is what is making me most anxious.

This is where the neck goes,
in here,

and these bits sort of drape
over the arms.

So it will make sense eventually.

Charlotte's collared cape
will be made from one piece

of loosely-woven tweed which will
be lined and fastened with a button.

I was a bit worried about
this tweed.

I thought it might be a stinker.

It's not bad, it's under control.
So, how are you going to control it?

I'm basting pom-pom trim all
the way around the edge before

I actually stitch it to the lining.
What is your lining like?

It's chocolate brown satin. OK.
Great. Good luck.

Look forward to seeing it. Thank
you. Now you're making me nervous!

OK, I'm going
to add four centimetres.

Ghislaine doesn't have
a pattern as a template -

she's using a freehand
cutting technique.

So, I'm going to cut a circle
with just her measurements,

so the neck,
and that's the length of the cape.

Think Sunday service -
you're going to Sunday service

and you put something pretty
on top of your pretty dress.

Ghislaine's Sunday best cape
will be made from boiled wool.

She is using a contrast
cotton fabric for the collar,

lining and panelling,

and the bottom edge will be accented
with small curves called scallops.

This is my pattern.
That's for your scallops? Yes. OK.

That's the only piece I have.

They have to be perfect and neat
and every little corner has to be

accurate, so just be
very, very careful.

Take your time and be accurate.

This is where I want to
take my time, is on my scallops.

I'm going to be making
a reversible cape.

Rather than a really
girlie fabric,

I wanted quite a smart
checked fabric on the one side

and then brown on the other side.

I would wear this.

Josh's reversible hooded cape
will be tied at the neck

and he plans to attach
patch pockets onto both sides.

I'm trying to pattern match.

The only trouble with doing that
is if it doesn't match,

they will definitely pick up on it.

I suppose today is sort of
last chance saloon for me.

If you're going to go out,
go out with a bang, I say!

# You can't pull the wool
over my eyes... #

Oh, come on!

It looks like I've made a slight
mistake in the way I've cut

my scallops. They're not deep
enough. I'm really not happy.

Really, really, really not happy.

# Oh, you've got yourself in a jam

# You're going to lose
your honey lamb

# Cos you can't pull
the wool over my eyes... #

I've just about finished cutting out
the cape so I'm going to

sew that before I do anything else.

Let's do some sewing.

I'm now starting
to construct the cape,

just putting the seams together.

Mine is a grey wool cape. I'm
actually really worried about today.

You can see by the group,

it's just so unpredictable
that you can't think you're safe.

Rumana is using a grey stretch wool
and polyester blend

to make her cape,

adding a green satin lining
and a bow on the back.

Would this not have been
easier in a nice woven wool?

Well, I've never used wool so
I didn't really know much about it.

It's very mobile, isn't it?

It is. Because it's stretchy, it's
quite hard to get it sitting well.

You're going to make a bow in this
fabric on the back? Yes.

Size to be determined.

My wool is quite thick
but it does sew really nicely.

Jade's fur-trimmed hooded cape is
lined with a contrast check cotton.

It features a storm flap and pom-pom
ties. Do you love it? Yes.

I've got the practice one at home.

What did your mum say
when she saw it?

She was like, "If you do that,
you'll be amazed with it."

I was like, "OK, Mum, thanks."

Explain to us what you're doing.

OK, I know this looks boring
at the moment but it won't be boring

because on the back will be a little
bit of work.

The back of Joyce's cape will be
embellished with the word "love"

appliqued in contrast fabrics.

She is attaching heart-shaped
patch pockets on the front

and inserting an exposed zip.

It was going to be lined or applique

and I thought the applique
was more...

Cos you feel that's your strongest.
No, applique isn't my strongest.

Lining is, but I felt...

Hold on!
So let's rewind through that.

So, you're good at lining
and terrible at applique,

so what you've chosen to do
is not line it and give us applique.

With no applique,
it's a plain thing.

You think it'll give it
a little wow factor? Yes. All right.

Joyce isn't the only
sewer attempting applique.

It is tricky because you're trying
to get all the raw edge covered

and keep it nice and even,

so it's fiddly, but I actually find
it quite therapeutic

cos it's quite slow and steady!

Tracey's applique butterflies
will adorn her hooded cape.

Made in light wool,
it will have side pockets

and will be fastened with a toggle.

I can applique by hand but
if you think this is slow,

it's even slower
doing it by hand.

This is the bit that took
the longest time on mine.

Sewers, you're halfway
through the task.

Stand up.

Whip your jackety thing off
just for a second.

I'm just going to drape it
over you, that's all.

If we put it on this way...
Stick your arms out.

You look like a bird!

It kind of drapes just over
the shoulders

so it gives a nice kind of flop,
I guess!

Flop, a very technical word!

Good stuff, well done!

I'm trying to fit round
the collar so at the moment,

it's too large.

I hope I will have enough time
to fix it.

Right, turn round.

That is going to be fabulous.
You've got lovely hair, darling.

Right, what's next? Collar.

I'm putting a collar in.

I have drafted my collar,
again, by hand.

Patrick and Esme will be
looking for collars to be

perfectly in proportion
with the cape as a whole

and inserted
smoothly into the neckline.

I'm going to attach it and then
I'm going to put the lining,

sew the whole lot together,
turn it through and top stitch,

so I can get it to stand up.

I've got loads to do
but I'm going to go for it.

Let's just put this on Mandy.
It's so not finished.

You're going to look
absolutely glorious.

She's got her hair in plaits

because it's sort of skipping
to the park kind of...

Skipping to the park?

No problem. I'm just going outside
to get the pet goat. Exactly.

Bring him in so we can all watch
Doctor Who, that's what that says!

In a good way. Ask your mum for a
pet goat, she'll love that! Yeah.

Sewers, you have
one hour left in cape land.

Starting to look like a cape,
and less like a heap of material.

This is going to be
my applique which is my favourite

job in the world, not.

It's done by eye more than anything.

We're just going to
hope for the best.

No, we're not going to
hope for the best,

it's all measured
to the last millimetre!

I've constructed
the pockets for both sides.

I'm certainly working
to the best of my ability.

I really just hope
it's enough to keep me here.

This is going to be
one of my pockets.

They take a little bit of time
but they're nice,

especially when I'm going
for the tailored look.

I'm a little bit behind time
where I think I want to be

but I'm not going to
stress about it.

I can soon catch up, I hope.

Jamie is
doing his jets in his lining.

They are tricky pockets to put in
even if you're very experienced

and doing it in contrasting
fabric...

Will highlight any mistakes.

Or any imperfections.
I think his is the most ambitious.

I'm happy with that.

At the moment I'm pinning my collar
because I want to top-stitch them,

so then they will be more defined.
Because, to be honest,

I wanted them
to be a little bit deeper.

Ghislaine is the one person
I'm really worried about.

Her cutting out is bad
and it's not easy to sew scallops.

She has to be so accurate and
so far, she's been very inaccurate.

My hands are sweating
because I am nervous.

The godet was not
part of my original pattern.

It is something I have added on just
to make it that wee bit different.

SHE GASPS

I've done something really stupid.

I stitched it in the wrong way.
It's just time-consuming.

It's just time that
we don't really have.

These godets are going to be
the end of me!

45 minutes left, sewers!

Let's do the lining. How exciting!

To get the lining done is the
hardest bit, to make sure it's neat.

To line their capes,

the sewers are using a technique
known as bagging out.

I'm currently pinning my lining
to my outer fabric,

right sides together.

The worst thing that can happen
with this lining is that it shifts

as I'm sewing it
so it doesn't hang properly.

Millions of pins are the way to go.

What I'm going to do is make a hole

and then what you do is you turn
all of your cape to the inside

so it's like all the insides
are inside,

and you sew your hems
together like that.

So then when you turn it around,
the seams are again all enclosed.

You have got to be careful

because obviously the lining
is quite slippery,

but I tend to find the lining on the
top, pin it well and sew quickly.

I'm about to turn it inside out

and hopefully have an
amazing lined cape.

Fingers crossed I haven't sewn
anything really, really wrong.

Just feed it through this tiny hole
I have left.

It's very fiddly.

Perfect.

Oh! I have sewed my collar on
upside down.

Oh, no, I didn't.

No, I didn't! Thank God!

Sewers, you have half an hour.

30 minutes to hand stitch that
and do a bow.

Can you stick your arms
straight out?

I'm going to put little poppers in

to make it into a little
sleevey thing.

I'm marking where there's
going to be a gap

so he can get his hands out.

I'm going to put a really tight
zigzag stitch all the way round it

and then just cut it.

I would bind it normally
but I haven't got time.

What are you doing? Attaching a bow.
Also, it's a big bow.

They don't like a little bow.
No. As we found out in week one.

Not easy to sew it on like this,
that's for sure.

Ten minutes left, sewers,
ten minutes.

Going to put in my ribbon now
because I'm going to close the edge.

It is what it is and that's it.

I'm just top-stitching right round
the edge and I'm done.

I just need to give it a really
good press so it's not so baggy.

You can tell the difference
between a garment that hasn't been

pressed and one that has.

It sharpens it.
I'm good at ironing.

I've been doing it for about
60 years! How long have we got?

You shout it, three minutes.

Three minutes! Louder than that.

THREE MINUTES! Good girl.

I just need to give this a press
and then it should be done.

I'll be down to the last 30 seconds.

Now, that there.

When did my button go?
Where did it go to?

Last few minutes.

I've got three buttons to put on.

I don't like rushing anything
but it's only the buttons.

There should be six buttons on it
but at the moment,

there's only three.

Oops!

All right, that's it.

It's time now.

Finish, cut it. Thank you.

Come on, my darling, stick it on.

Very well done!

Happy? Yeah. Good.

I had a low and a high
on the first two challenges.

Is this one enough?
I just am very, very nervous.

There's a couple of little things
that I didn't quite get time to do

but I'm really happy.

First of all, hands in pockets
and saunter. OK?

Then turn.

And hands out of pockets
and walk smartly.

That's our strategy, isn't it? Yes.

# I really can't stay
But, baby, it's cold outside

# I've got to go away... #

Nine gorgeous children's
capes in just four hours.

But what will the judges think?

Charlotte and Maddie,
you're up first.

# It's cold

# Outside. #

Overall, I think it's a
really nice combination of colours.

Great fabric choice. I think
the collar is a little uneven.

And it's just wanting to
lift up a little bit.

I love how you've done the sleeves.
All it took was a little popper.

Yes. And I think that's worked
really well. Thank you.

I was worried about the use
of the contrast on the pocket,

but actually it is neat.

This is a very tricky skill.

It's a little bit open there. God,
you're being nit-picky, aren't you?

Well, if you're going
to put a jet. Yep.

I think the buttons could be
a little more firmly anchored.

Yeah, that was in the last
five minutes.

What you haven't got to
is some sort of binding. Yeah.

Whatever you're going to do
on the edge of these openings.

But it's a fantastic piece of work.
Yes.

And very original. Thank you.
Well done. Thank you.

# You're a pink toothbrush

# I'm a blue toothbrush

# Have we met somewhere before? #

Well, pink and grey.

LAUGHTER
Best colour combination there is.

The appliques work really well.

I really like the combination of
the check and the plain grey.

And the lace and the buttons
and the jewels.

This collar, for me, needs to
sit much closer to the neck.

# Every time I hear you whistle... #

Well, I'm sorry, but I think that
bow is really...

It looks like a dog biscuit.
RUMANA LAUGHS

You've actually sewn this
in a jersey, rather than a woven.

And because of that,
you've got very bouncy seams. Mm.

But I like it, I think
it works well, it looks...

Do you? Do you like it?

I do. I don't mind it.
It looks all right to me.

# A smile is something special

# A ribbon is something rare

# So I'll be special
and I'll be rare

# With a smile and
a ribbon in my hair... #

Sadly, there's an awful lot
that isn't quite right.

The scallops are uneven.
You have to be really precise.

And you set yourself
a difficult task

with a difficult fabric for that.
Mm-hm.

The colour is such an important part
of a garment and it doesn't fit.

It's too big for the neck
by an inch-and-a-half here.

I think it works really well.
And I think it's really elegant.

You've matched the pockets,

you've matched the checks
all the way across the front.

It's a very nice idea to use
both fabrics for the pocket,

but it's quite bulky. Yeah.

I think the hood is a great fit.

I would have liked the body of
the cape to be fractionally longer.

# You make me feel so young

# You make me feel so... #

I was interested to see how all
of this applique was going to work.

You know, this is the main feature,
really, of this cape. Yep.

And actually,
it's worked really well.

You've even got
little pockets on the front

and you've put contrast
inside the pockets.

Very neat. Well done. Thank you.

# You make me feel

# So young... #

I was concerned it was going to
be overly busy. Yes.

It isn't. It works really nicely.
Thank you.

The lining isn't coming towards
the front, which is a danger.

You've controlled that.
You didn't get the buttons

on the side.
No, I didn't get all the buttons on.

# Baby, you're adorable

# Sweet as can be

# You're adorable... #

You look very nervous.
I am nervous after yesterday.

You needn't be nervous.

It's a fantastic piece of clothing.
Thank you.

We were worried about the godet,
but actually

it's worked really, really well.
Thank you.

This whole arrangement, with the bow
and the tails of the bow,

is actually the thing that
really makes it. Yes.

It gives it the wow factor.

You've set the lining back
from the edge really nicely.

I think the button is well applied.

I think it's an absolute cr*cker.
Well done.

A huge well done to all of you.

Go, have a nice cup of tea.

When you come back,

the judges are going to, happily,
announce the Garment of the Week.

And, unhappily, announce who will be
leaving the Sewing Bee.

'I'm feeling a bit uneasy.

'Just cos of a couple of
my results yesterday.'

But after the cape,
I hope I've pulled it back slightly.

'Obviously, I'd love to win
Garment of the Week.'

There was some other
really, really nice capes there.

'I've been in the
same situation last week'

and I was lucky enough to stay here.

And I want to be here again
next week.

If...if I can have one more chance,

I hope, I hope, I hope they can see

that there is potential.

Let's start with
Garment of the Week.

There's two people in contention -

Angeline and Jamie.

Jamie did a very good job.
It's very stylish.

But he hasn't finished.

And then we got Angeline,
which is finished.

It's a great piece of sewing.

We've got this lovely godet,
the big, bold bow on the back.

Now, let's get on to
the less nice task.

Ghislaine gave us
the least successful

of all of these capes. Absolutely.

The scallops aren't working.

And this was, really, a disaster.

But then her Alteration Challenge...
We loved it.

Let's talk about Josh's cape.

I think this is a pretty good cape.

He's matched up and that's hard.
So he has taken some care.

But that is definitely the least
successful of the alterations.

It boils down to Josh and Ghislaine.

But, in my head,
I think I know who it should be.

And so do I.

Firstly, a huge well done.

The first bit of news is
the brilliant bit of news,

which is Garment of the Week.

This week, we have chosen...

What?!
APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

You've sewn it really nicely

and we absolutely love your godet.

ANGELINE LAUGHS

There's the joy and then, of course,
somebody has got to leave.

So, after deliberating,
Patrick and Esme

have decided the next person to
leave the Sewing Room is...

..it's Ghislaine. Sorry!

It's all right. Sorry.

THEY WHISPER

Erm...

my new friends are the
highlight of the experience.

The amazing people,
and I will miss them.

'I hope Ghislaine
carries on sewing,'

because she has made
some nice things.

Thank you so much.

'What really let her down'

was the babygro and the cape.

Thank you.
But it was such an up-and-down.

LAUGHTER
Yes. That was a rollercoaster.

'She gave us
a fantastic alteration.'

She's got an eye for
an imaginative garment.

She just needs to back it up with
a bit of experience.

Could have been either of us,
couldn't it? Yeah.

You'll be fine, you'll be fine.

JOSH: 'My heart was beating.

'I thought, unfortunately,
my time had come.'

But I live to sew another week.

'Two out of two for Garment of
the Week. I could not believe it.'

I still can't believe it.

Never be scared of
trying something different.

If you try that fabric,

that pattern that looks complicated,

you will learn
something and you will grow.

Next time...

I haven't got a bloody clue.

..the sewers get their hands
on lingerie...

At my age, I should know better.

..with the smallest
pattern challenge yet.

How can that fit on someone's boob?

A revealing alteration...

I'm looking at that right boob
and thinking, that's so falling.

..and a fiendish made-to-measure...

This isn't good.
..that out-foxes...

Why do I always cut it to the wire?

..the best of them.

You just haven't done it very well.