04x07 - Puzzling Patterns and Pattern Cutting

[bunniefuu]

Week one seems a long time ago
when ten freshfaced sewers arrived

and went back to basics.

Well, now,
their minds are about to be

blown as they take on the most
perplexing patterns yet.

It's like sewing meets Sudoku.

Welcome to The Great British
Sewing Bee.

'To reach the semifinal...' Oh!

..the sewers had to survive
the stretchiest of sportswear.

Oh, my God!

Jade excelled with the most fitted
made-to-measure yet...

I think it's an exceptional fit.

..and Rumana was the sixth person
to leave the sewing room.

I mean, I always expected to go in
week one. You're not going anywhere.

'Now the semifinalists face a
pattern challenge...' What is that?

'..that is utterly bewildering...'
Why does it do weird things there?

'..an alteration...' OK, I'm done.

'..that doesn't even start as
a garment...'

No good looking at me,
cos I haven't got a clue!

..and a made-to-measure
they have to design from scratch.

You can't be pernickety at this
point. I can.

'But who will fall at the last
hurdle...' No, no, no!

'..and who will book their place...'
Taxi for Tracey, I think!

'..in the grand final?'
Why did I cut it off?

Four sewers remain, and the grand
final only has room for three.

Here we are again.

With 60 years of sewing under
her belt,

71-year-old grandmother Joyce...

If they want precision,
they'll get precision.

..has consistently produced
exquisitely sewn garments.

It's crisply sewn.
It was a beautiful fit.

The thing about Joyce is she's a
very good, neat, experienced sewer.

One gusset! Yes! But what she lacks
is a certain kind of flair.

There's too much space on these coat
racks. I know. Don't like it.

Scientific journal editor
and mum of three Charlotte... Magic!

..has ranked near the top
throughout...

Your hand sewing is
absolutely exquisite.

..but she's won fewer challenges
than her fellow semifinalists.

Charlotte has a very delicate hand.

She has a beautiful ability
with fabrics.

I'm just going to join up the dots
so I can see what I need to do.

She's very scientific in her
approach.

Everything is methodically planned,
and sometimes,

if a spanner gets thrown in the
works, it kind of throws her off.

Just put me slippers on.

Former primary school teacher
Tracey holds this year's record

for the most challenges won...

Well ex*cuted, beautifully colour
balanced. It's fantastic.

..but has struggled with fit...
Think it should have been slimmer.

..and has yet to win
Garment Of The Week.

What Tracey needs to do is
something, actually,

she's never quite achieved before.

She needs to step up to the mark
and make a fabulously fitted dress.

Does anyone want a heart?
Cos we all love each other.

18-year-old art student Jade is
the Sewing Bee's youngest-ever

semifinalist... Oh, yeah!

..and the only one to have been
awarded Garment Of The Week twice.

Jade has a very open mind to sewing.

She embraces new techniques,
she embraces new shapes,

new finishes, but she hasn't had
the years and years of sewing

that some of our others have had.

Inexperience sometimes, I think,
lets her down.

Good morning, semifinalists!
Good morning. Come forward.

How are we all? Good. All right.

The good news is there are only
three challenges until the final.

The horrific news is they're all,
I think, unbelievably difficult.

This week, it is all
about your understanding of patterns

and pattern cutting.

Esme, what is the pattern challenge?
Right.

Here you go. Hand that out.
Ooh, it's heavy!

This week, we've got
a flared skirt... Yes!

..inspired by contemporary Japanese
pattern cutting.

You're going to need to combine
some fiendishly unusual shapes

to create an asymmetric,
voluminous yoked skirt.

For this, you do have 3.5 hours.

Enormous luck. Your time starts now.

Right.

# Salagadoola mechicka boola
bibbidi-bobbidi-boo...#

Goodness me, look at that!

# Put 'em together and what have
you got? Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo. #

I've never seen a pattern quite like
this. It looks like a map.

Oh, blimey!

Taxi for Tracey, I think.

This complex pattern follows
the same principles

as modern Japanese cutting styles...

What is that?

..where abstract pieces are combined
to create complex shapes.

Seriously? It's all about
the shape of that curve.

They're joining two different
curves together,

so the yoke has got one curve
and the skirt has got another curve

and that's what causes these drapes.

What happens
if they don't sew it perfectly?

The skirt won't hang correctly

and they might even
end up getting holes

between the yoke and the skirt.

Can I ask you about fabric choice?
We don't want a fabric that frays.

In this garment,
we have got exposed raw edges,

so they need something
they can cut cleanly.

Every bit of it will show.

Let's go and choose some fabric.

Hey-h*.

Shall I have purple,
like I always do?

Yeah, go for purple.
It's traditional.

It's calming me down with this
horrendous pattern. I like this one.

I like the colour of it.
It's not fraying.

Tracey, Jade and Charlotte have all
chosen a classic woollen fabric

whereas Joyce has gone
for a thicker, bolder option.

This is a beautiful colour. A bit in
your face but look at the reverse.

Ba-bam!

Is this neoprene?

It feels scuba-like.
It does a bit, doesn't it?

Hopefully it will hang quite nicely.
We will see.

I was wondering if they would let me
take this pattern home with me.

Of course you can!
Joyce, you can have this table.

Oh, thank you. You can have this,
the mannequin. Thank you.

Patrick goes home with everyone,

he's like a party bag that
never really starts giving.

It'll be interesting to see how
all these pieces are

actually going to fit together,
because at the minute,

it just looks like somebody's
insane idea on a drunk night.

To create the top half, or yoke,
three pieces are sewn together.

Then three larger pieces are joined
to form the flared lower skirt.

The yoke is then placed
over the flared section

and topstitched along
the curved seam line.

Finally,
it's fastened with an invisible zip.

Right, I'm going to iron this
pattern because it needs to be cut

really precisely and I want
it to lay nice and flat.

Interesting to see how
Joyce, Charlotte and Tracey have all

ironed their patterns
and laid them out smoothly.

Jade hasn't ironed hers
and watching her pin it on,

there are lumps and bumps
when it's sitting on the fabric.

If they're even just a little bit
out, those curves,

they will never, ever match.
No.

Oh, blimey.

The edge of the fabric
is actually on display,

which is why it needs
to be very nice and neat.

There's a lot of wobbly curves which
are quite difficult to get round.

I always use a rotary cutter
to cut out pretty much.

Scissors lift the fabric
when you're cutting.

It moves the pattern around a bit.
I don't like that.

"Transfer markings
in your preferred way."

Each pattern piece is marked with
small triangles called notches.

When the fabric is joined, all
the notches must line up perfectly

so the sewers need to keep track
of precisely where they all are.

I'm marking the notches by making
little triangles.

The join is designed to be visible
so any marks need to be hidden.

When I've matched them up,
I'll just snip them off.

I had marked with chalk because it
says not to cut them and I think

that's because you lay it on the top
so they will show if you cut them.

There's hundreds of notches on this
so they're obviously important.

Tracey has chosen to cut her fabric
to mark the notches.

I just wanted to make sure you
noticed in the pattern that it says

not to cut these
because it gets laid on top

and then edge-stitched down,
then they show.

Oh. Right.

Tracey, morning. Hi.
How are you getting on?

Yeah, all right, I think.
Why are you laughing like that?

Because I've made a fatal error
early doors.

I've snipped the notches.

Right, what's your next thing to do?
Read the instructions!

Have you not yet?

I had a quick glance
and thought, right, OK,

it'll make more sense when I've got
the pieces.

It's only five pages.

Just read it all the way to the end.
Yeah.

That's what I need to do. Yeah. OK.

Sewers, you have had one hour.

I am re-cutting.

Right, let's get stitching.

Once all the notches have been
marked, construction can begin.

I'm going to do the yoke.

The yoke hugs the hips
and forms the top of the skirt.

So, that's what needs to go
together. There we go, like that.

These are my darts to give it
some shape over the hips.

You don't want a saggy skirt,
do you?

SHE CHUCKLES

It might as well have been
written in Japanese, this pattern.
It might as well.

"Press towards the centre back."

Oh, that presses all right.

Oh, look at that.
The top of a skirt!

"With right sides together,

sew skirt pieces four, five and six
together."

OK. Now it's just figuring out
left and right.

Looking at this, to me, that goes
there, so that's the right back,

which is my left hand which
is why I always get confused.

This is the most complicated
bloody skirt I've ever done.

I don't think I've put these in the
right places. No, don't worry.

It's fine.

Now the top and the bottom
have been constructed,

the sewers have the difficult job of
figuring out how they fit together.

These wavy bits have got to
go into those wavy bits.

That would go... blimey!

Like that.
Or would it? Yes. Oh, gosh.

I like a jigsaw puzzle
but this is...

Well, how you match it is
by following the notches

and you line it up like that.

So, when we get to here,
that lines up with that.

That makes sense to me
and now... Then we line this up.

Why have you got this
furl of fabric?

The furl will be
translated into this bit.

Once this is on,

that will go flat-ish
and you will get your fullness here.

Ah, so this strange origami world
is creating these little kicks?

Yes. But it's just hard.

This is the semifinal,
give them something hard. OK.

You sure did.

One, two, three, four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine,

10, 11, 12, 13 notches.

That's a whole lot of notches.

Buenas noches!

It's very fiddly and of course,

you've got to get it
spot-on for it to sit nicely.

Where has my notch disappeared to?
There it is.

God, this is hard.

Joyce, how on earth does that sit
right? Well, it doesn't.

It's like a weird pocket.
OK, just think Japanese.

I was going to take this pattern
home but I've changed my mind.

Changed your mind, Joyce?

I'm quite enjoying it in a twisted
sort of way.

In A twisted sort of way, yeah!
"Twisted" is right.

With the top and bottom of the skirt
pinned together,

the sewers should secure
the seam line in place

with a temporary basting
or tacking stitch.

I have a feeling it will take
quite some time.

Charlotte, does yours do that?
What? That.

You... No. Everywhere fits
but that bit is really weird.

Did you sew that together
correctly? Yeah.

How weird is that?
Pretty damn weird.

This is the wrong way.

So that's the wrong way? Yeah.
So I have to undo all that.

I'll just undo all of that. I think
that's the wrong way.

Oh, bloody hell, man!

Sewers, one hour left for the
pattern challenge of the semifinal.

Right, here goes. Here we go.

With the top and bottom half
basted together...

I just need to relax and chill.
It's fine. It's all good.

The sewers approach the most
important stage of the pattern

where they must perfectly topstitch
the difficult curved seam.

It says, "ensure the stitching is
an even distance from the cut edge",

so it's clearly the most important
thing at this point.

All four have decided to use
a edge stitch foot.

It's got a little blade in,
which, if I line it up

with this edge of the fabric

as I go around,
will stitch a very set distance.

But sewing a curve with an
edge stitch foot isn't easy.

Everyone is going so slowly.

God!

You think, oh yeah,
I'll get a nice smooth edge on this,

and I'm not getting a nice smooth
edge. I'll persevere.

Occasionally I have to lift the foot
and pivot it.

Know what? This foot doesn't
actually work with this
because of the curves.

Oh!

What are you doing?

I'm just unpicking this
bit of topstitching I did

because I used the edge foot. OK.

When you get to a curve, it was
pushing it closer to the edge

so here I was a beautiful
distance away

but then I got round to this curve
and it was

about down to two millimetres
and it just wasn't right.

What foot are you going to use now?

I'm just going to use the regular
foot and take it slowly.

Little one.

Damn!

Spotted a hole.
Just let me correct that.

Right, calm down, stop panicking,
it won't get you anywhere.

Oh, come on.

I can't present this unfinished

and I certainly can't do it
with a hole in it, either.

Sewers, please don't hurt me because
you actually have sharp objects

but you only have half an hour left.
Be quick.

Concentrate,
concentrate, concentrate.

I don't normally panic
but I am now panicking.

The topstitching,
I'm not particularly happy with

because it's not even.

I've done the best I can.

I'm fairly happy, I think.

I'd be happier if I could get
this basting stitch out.

I'm now starting to
worry about the time.

Because I've still got my zip to do
and my back seam and my waist.

There's a notch.

Right, I think I've got them all.

That's fixed the hole.

Right, zip, zip, zip, zip.

I'm trying to pick the right
colour zip.

No, no, no, no.

Come on, you.

Sewers, 15 minutes left.

At the minute, my technique
for sewing in an invisible zip

is whack it in
as fast as you can.

Oh, what a perfect zip!

I've got to say that.
Give myself a bit of a boost.

Jade, is the zip in?

Zip's in.
I'm just sewing up the back seam.

Put the waistband on,
turn it to the inside,

sew these little ends over
and then topstitch it.

The pressure is on,
hands are shaking.

It's going to be some speedy sewing.

Come on!

Sewers, you have five minutes left.

Needle!

Charlotte, those two,
are they meant to match?

At the back? Yeah. Yeah.
Oh, it doesn't.

Joyce? Yes? What are you doing?
I'm just tidying up a bit.

Why does it do weird things there?

Is it meant to do weird
things there?

I'm just going to clip
a couple of these seams

to see if that will help
it lie a bit flatter.

What is that? I don't know.

Nothing to see, nothing to see.
(Pass me the scissors.) Avert your
eyes. (Scissors!) Quickly!

Just needs clipping.

If I came first in this,
it would be a miracle.

Sewers, you have one minute.

Jade has already got hers
on the mannequin. Hello!

Tracey, good girl.

Not happy with the zip.
I've got a little bit of a show.

I don't like the topstitching.

OK, sewers, that is time.
Time is up.

Right.

Please bring your mannequins up to
the front and the judges will judge.

Four contemporary Japanese
flared skirts in just 3.5 hours.

Charlotte, you're up first.

Well, the first thing to say is,
well done.

I like the way this drapes.

It seems like it's got... Yes.
..a nice, natural fall to it.

We can see that there is a lovely,

smooth curve all the way
around this seam.

What you have done is just give us
a little bit too much in that seam.

OK. Yes, but it's very neat
and even all the way round.

The invisible zip,
there's no lumps, there's no tape

showing or teeth showing
and it meets very nicely at the top.

I like it. Thank you.

Something's happened here because
it is not draping as it should,

so I think somewhere or other,

you haven't matched
the notches up properly.

It's relatively neat
through the front

but you're perilously close to the
edge. In a few places, yeah.

Also,
we've got an extra row of stitching.

That's where I tried to correct.
Let's have a look at the zip.

Not quite invisible. Not quite.
We can see the tape here.

We've got a bit of a poke there
and it's pushing up at the top. Yep.

So, this is a much more sculptural
fabric and because of that,

it's giving us
more of this weight, which I like.

They are folding
in a lovely soft way.

How did you find sewing
this fabric?

Sewing the fabric was fine,

it was this topstitching here
with the edge foot.

It just seemed to drag.

When you've topstitched it,
it has pulled it slightly up.

It's such a shame. Mm.

Cos actually, these darts are really
nicely shaped.

They're very well pressed out.
The zip, completely invisible.

No bump at the bottom.

This is all very nicely sewn.

It's just that darn
thing in the middle. It is. Yep.

Right, Jade. Can you see at the
front how this is sticking out?

Well, it should be folding in.

I think if you'd sewn this
more accurately,

that wouldn't have happened. OK.
The bottom edge is quite clean.

You have got quite a nice,
smooth bottom edge.

The zip is very cleanly in.
Your topstitching's not bad.

But this back isn't fitting
together.

Yeah, I didn't realise
I had to match them.

I don't know why I didn't.
What do you mean you didn't realise?

Come on!
It should have matched anyway.

If they were accurately cut.

It was very, very difficult to cut
all of those curves,

we know that, which is
why we set you this challenge.

Yeah. Can tell.

Patrick and Esme will now rank the
skirts in order of their success.

THEY CONFER

In fourth place is Tracey.

Now, Tracey,
your topstitching is uneven

and your zip didn't go on very well.

Third place, Jade.

You just didn't have the accuracy
we needed. Right.

In second place...

is Joyce.

Your topstitching on the yoke
and the skirt wasn't perfect.

But other than that, everything
else about it was great. Thank you.

I'm happy with that.

Which means, in first place,
Charlotte.

CHEERS AND APPLAUSE
Well done, Charlotte!

This challenge was about beautiful,
flowing curves

and you delivered that absolutely
and some very neat sewing to boot.

Thank you. You guys can go off,
have a cup of tea.

When you come back, the alteration
challenge. Thank you very much.

Off you go.

# Don't be nice to me... #

It was a really hard challenge,

making those curves fit together in
a way that they didn't want to do.

But it turned out all right.
I'm really happy.

I made my prom dress,
I made a ball gown,

but that beats a corset any
day for complication.

That was nuts.

I'm delighted with myself.
LAUGHTER

I thought I was
going to come fourth.

So I am very happy with
second place.

Judging felt brutal. It was fair,
but it was hard.

They're really looking at every
little thing. No room for error now.

Having tested the semifinalists
with a complicated pattern,

the judges now want to
test their designer instincts with

a completely blank canvas.

What I have for you today is... Ah!

A duvet! ..a child's duvet cover.
Oh, right.

What we'd like you to do is
transform this into a wearable

female garment,
with a very striking silhouette.

You can make cuts into it,
you can put darts into it, you can

gather it, whatever you want, to
help create an exciting shape.

You are each being given
half-size mannequins.

And a pillow case.
So you can try it out in half-size.

Now, this is a zero-waste challenge.

You basically have to use
the whole thing.

Yes. Judges, thank you very much.

I'll take that cos one of them
might like it.

So you've got 15 minutes with
the mini mannequin, then 90 minutes.

Good luck. Off you go.
Your time starts now.

OK, ready? Come on, girls!
LAUGHTER

You can't take us anywhere!

Ooh! I quite like that! Oh,
there's one on the floor, ladies.

Can I have that, please, Claudia?
I quite like that one.

'Planning garments on a half-size
mannequin...' OK, think. Think.

'..is a method used by many
designers to develop ideas

'quickly, without wasting fabric.'

OK, I'm done.
SHE LAUGHS

No good looking at me,
cos I haven't got a clue!

Er... Where's the pins?

Let me try pinning it,
see if that helps me.

What I want them to do is to play,
to be freer,

to do something different,

and then you can translate what you
do on this into the full scale.

Yeah, it's only about sort of 50%
smaller than you.

LAUGHTER

Oop!

It is quite refreshing to work
like this because it's nice to

actually, in a way,
sculpt something round the body.

You can get more imaginative with
things like that.

Esme, I think,
wants something slightly bonkers.

If we do something that's just
like an ordinary dress or something,

she'll be like, "Hm."
I might go for something like that.

It's gathered at the top,
pleated down the front and the back.

Right,
I've cut my pillowcase in half,

so this is sort of a top
and a skirt, more than a dress.

Oh, I know! I've had another idea.

I'm not putting
the pleats on the inside.

I think I'll actually put them
on the outside,

so they stick out like...fins.

I am making a dress.

I'm putting the stripe over
and then I'm going to drape that up

and into a side bit to make a little
bit of a thingy there.

It's asymmetric. I've got an arm
hole here and a sideways neck thing.

I love that. And a big back sleeve
with a giant roll-up.

Yeah, I guess that's
a sort of kimono sleeve, really.

And I'm going to put a side zip.
I'll leave it with you. Thank you.

I'm happy with that. But that looks
awesome. I think it's fantastic. OK.

Sewers, you've had 15 minutes.

You should now be
moving on to your big mannequins.

Come here, my darling.

'Now the sewers have
draped their design in mini form,

'they can recreate on the full-size
mannequin.'

First thing I'm going to do is cut
the head hole, which is

going to be in this corner.

It was sort of...
Was it in the corner corner?

Or was it not in the corner corner?

Right, that's the neck. I'm going
to do some fin-type pleats.

The structure of them
is quite architectural

and I think that's kind of what
they're after.

My lad Robert's an architect

and he's just finished designing
a building in Reading.

And it was full of fins.

Robert will think I've designed
this in homage to his office

block in Reading.

I'm putting a dart in,
it's just a bust dart,

otherwise it looks like you're
wearing a duvet cover.

I want a bit of shaping.

I'm using these to make
a drape across the front

and the same on the back.

I think to get that nice,
flowy effect that I wanted to have,

I'm going to have to hand
sew these down,

so I'll just catch them down nicely.

Sewers, you are halfway through
this alteration semifinal.

I want to fashion pockets in there.
Oh, I'll bring that up.

Oh, look at that!

The beach is the inspiration
behind my dress,

where you want something with
lots of pockets to put your book in,

your sunglasses in,
your money for an ice cream.

This is great fun, watching you sew.
Thank you. Be privileged.

This is the most I've hand
sewn in my four years of sewing.

Is it? Yes. Are you into it?
I hate hand sewing.

Why? I don't know.
It just takes forever.

I want this collar to stick up,
so I'm going to put

a bit of boning in that seam,
just there, just to hold that up.

I'm going to add boning to make
shoulder pads

and hip...shelves, is the best
description I can come up with.

Boning, bloody hell!

I can't believe you
two are doing boning.

Can never get enough of boning!

I'm just going to pin it in for the
moment. I'll sew it in a bit.

It's not quite as rigid as I want
it. I wanted that.

How am are going to make them
do that?

Sewers, you have 15 minutes left.
Blimey, Tracey! Pleats much?

Still get a couple more on.

A couple more pleats? Can never have
too many pleats, girls.

Do you not know that?

I'm going to go
and get a zip for my side seam now.

Do we not have any ordinary zips?

Ah!

I'm not putting any fastenings on my
dress because it's not required.

You don't have
fastenings on a beach dress.

I might put poppers under the arms,
there.

MACHINE SHUDDERS
Ooh, it didn't like that.

Sewers, you have five minutes left.

I don't know what I'm going to do
with this. Why did I cut it off?

Use this as a binding
because I can't throw it away.

Put it in the bin.
I can't throw it in the bin.

Course you can. Put
it in my trousers. That's cheating.

Not a bow! If they want a bow,
they want it to dwarf it.

Just keep the hem the way it is,
with the button holes

and the buttons on them.
I've done a hem on the front

and I've used the original
hem on the back.

Well, they wanted structure,
they've got structure.

Sewers, one minute left.

All right, sewers, that's it.
End of the challenge.

Please bring
your mannequins to the front.

# Tears on my pillow

# Pain in my heart

# Caused by you. #

From pillowcases to duvets to
dresses, but what will Esme

and Patrick make of the
semifinalists' transformations?

I'm massively impressed. Me, too.

Just to be clear, you asked for this
to be a zero-waste challenge.

No part of any of the duvets
found its way in the bin.

I think this is probably the most
normal, in terms of its shape. Yes.

But it is a flattering shape.
It's quite Grecian, isn't it?

It's very Grecian.

It might be a little bit revealing.
A touch!

I think these pleats are really
well managed.

They create a very pleasing shape.

It looks like these
pleats are hand done.

And the zip will help to
loosen the waist.

Yep. So that's been very well
thought out.

They've kept the original hem.
Still got buttons on the bottom!

Yeah, but then you could do it up
between your legs and you'd have...

You could have a jumpsuit. Yes.
A pants suit.

Yeah. Yeah, great. I think
it's really good.

A top and a skirt.
Guess what we've got here. Boning.

To make it stick out.

At the side, we've got the poppers.

Which allows us in,
cos actually, we've got

quite a small opening at the top.

I think what's lovely about this
is that it's a very geometric

pattern and they've created a very
structured sort of geometric

form out of it.

They've used the pleats really
cleverly to give us

all of this cinching at the waist.

And I like how the pattern has been
mixed up.

I think they've done a very good
job on this. It's clever.

So, this one, I think,
has been folded in half

and then the other side has been
turned in to the drapes.

Let's have a look at the back.

A sort of pleat detail that's
running diagonally around the body.

Yes.
I think it's definitely wearable.

I'm just not sure it's the most
flattering shape,

with these bits at the sort of hips.

It just feels a little heavy,
but it is bold.

It could be a cover
up for on the beach.

Now, this one looks great.
Brilliantly clever.

I think the thought that's gone
into the placement of all of this

pattern is really smart.

They've used the checks
on the angles

and I also think the shape is very
cool and very, very striking.

It has this sort of belt feature
that feels very Japanese.

We've even got a little dart here.

There's one thing,
and I'm really nitpicking here,

I would have liked this knot
to have been bigger.

I love that you're at that
level of critique for this garment!

Which, I think, shows how much
you like it. Yes, exactly.

Esme and Patrick will now decide
whose duvet transformation is

the most impressive.

In fourth place, it is the striped
kind of poncho number. Joyce.

To me,

just lacked some of the lightness
that some of the others had.

In third place is this Grecian
number here.

We really liked it, but it's not
quite as imaginative as those two.

In second place...

The pink pleats.

Fantastic.

I mean, really genuinely lovely
and a great, striking garment.

Thank you. Well done.

In first place is the black
and white one.

CHEERS AND APPLAUSE

First place for the second
time today.

You have absolutely transformed
the duvet into a garment

in a really imaginative way.
Well done. Thank you.

Well done, all of you.
I know it was a difficult day.

Tomorrow's going to be really easy.

It's not, I'm lying.

But go home, relax, have
a good night's sleep,

we'll see you tomorrow for the big
made to measure challenge.

I've always been
creative in a two-dimensional way,

like with quilting and so on.

But I've never really been
able to translate

that into three-dimensional
things before.

This challenge really unlocked
that side of things.

Really loved it.

I'm looking forward to
tomorrow more than

I was looking forward to today.

At least I know what I'm sewing.

Tonight, I'll probably go to sleep,
dreaming about it, wake up,

dreaming about it.

Coming third in both challenges
definitely puts me

in a bit of a vulnerable position.

I will come in with swords,
scissors,

whatever it takes for me
to get into the final.

Second and fourth, it's not good. It
could have been fourth and fourth,

which would have been even worse.

JOYCE: Here we go, girls.

One more challenge to go, one last
chance to convince the judges

they deserve to be a finalist.

Barring an absolute disaster,

Charlotte's pretty much booked
herself a place in the final.

Let's talk about Joyce.

You did like her skirt, but you
didn't really love her alterations.

This is just a rectangle, isn't it,

with a bit of drape
bunged on the top.

Let's discuss Tracey.

I thought it was a great
alteration.

The yoked skirt, I was disappointed
with. How do you feel about Jade?

You liked the grey dress, but the
skirt, you said there were problems.

She bodged it, basically. Yeah.

Today's challenge is
a new one for us.

It's tackling something that we've
not put in front of them before

and hopefully, it gives us
a way of separating three very,

very even sewers.

I'm looking forward to this.

Morning. You all right, love?

Welcome, sewers. And welcome back
to our lovely models.

For your semifinal made to
measure challenge,

the judges would love you to make
a beautifully fitted day dress,

but as it's pattern week, you
will be creating your own pattern.

Are you all ready? Yes. Yes.

Enormous luck. You have seven hours.
Your time starts now.

The sewers have had a chance to
practise creating their day

dresses at home.

OK...

But their first task in this final
challenge is unlike anything

they've faced so far.

Basically, they're starting
from what is called the block.

The block, essentially,
is a template.

If they took this, stitched it
together, they'd have this. Right.

But what we've asked them
to do is take this block

and dramatically transform it.

They can do absolutely
anything with this.

They can create any shape,
any length, any sleeves,

but this just allows them to start
with the basic building block.

The idea is that we alter
this block,

so they don't all look the same.

I think we'll all produce something

quite dramatically different,
really.

This challenge is about designing,

as well as making
the actual garment itself.

You start with a block,
you can make anything,

by manipulating the position
of the darts, by adding bits on,

by adding collars or sleeves or
changing the shape of the skirt.

You can do anything.

I'm making a very kind of
'50s style dress cos it's

the sort of thing I would like
and I would wear.

To adapt her block into a
'50s design, Tracey's adding

a cinched waistband, under bust
gathers and a circular skirt.

The V-neck will have
a statement collar

and the three-quarter length sleeves
will have matching cuffs.

Collar and the cuffs will take quite
a bit of time cos I want them

to be really,
really neat and perfect.

And this fitted band across the
middle, we'll take up in fitting.

I've definitely got to
prove myself today.

I've definitely got to get
this right.

The block pattern has
a sleeve on it.

I've decided to take the sleeve out
because the style of dress

that I wanted to go for was
more of a summer dress.

Jade's sleeveless dress
will also have cut out

sections on the back bodice,
with a flared skater skirt.

I have never worked from a block
before. So this is very new to me.

The dress I'm making,

it's fitted from the bust to just
above the hips, then it flares out.

For a Christmas present,

my husband and I were given
afternoon tea at a Brighton hotel.

You dress up and you look pretty.

So that's my inspiration.

Joyce's tea dress will be cut
from eight princess seamed panels

that follow the curves of the body.

She's adding a V-shape neckline,
large contrast collar, and hem band.

This is my front.

So, you made this from the block.

Yes, I did.

What I did was, because it's
continuous and the block

came in your bodice and your skirt,
I taped them together.

I then, on the skirt, added 12
inches in length and then four

inches in width because I wanted
a bit of fullness at the bottom.

OK.

I am making a dress
with a cowl neck,

so it's nice and drapey
at the front.

I've opened up extra,
way more than was there before.

And that will make the cowl neck.

I'll cut this out again without
the spaces in it, obviously.

Charlotte's also extending
the shoulder length of her bodice

to create a dropped shoulder.

She's adding a fitted waistband
and flared A-line skirt.

Are you inside going, "I'm going
to give about 50% of myself to

"this because I've already won twice
and I'm going through"?

I've going for the three-for.

The three-for!

The hat-trick. Well, why not?

# Plant a little seed
and watch it grow. #

It's crucial the sewers continue
measuring their models,

as they adapt the block,

as any design changes could
totally alter the fit.

But Jade's taking an extra
precaution.

A toile is basically your dress,
but in a cheaper fabric.

I want to make sure it fits her
perfectly, so any tweaks that

I'll need to make can be done on the
toile, rather than the real thing.

Tracey has also decided to spend
time on making a toile.

The fit is obviously something
that's been a weakness.

I'm very used to fitting
things on myself.

I really need to be careful
of that today.

I am not making a toile. I am just
going to go for it with the fabric.

I think I'm doing enough
measurements as I go along.

I'm worried about Tracey's fit.

It just seems like she's completely
miss-measured the busts.

Yes. Because it's nowhere near
where it should be.

Thank God, she made a toile.

The only times I make toiles
are when I make wedding dresses,

and I've made one, my daughter's.

I've made a seam allowance,
as such, where I can adjust.

So that's my thinking.

What do you think?

Well, I think the back's OK,
but this is not long enough.

I can see now that it's not long
enough to go over her bust.

Think about your basic measurements.
I want that there.

So how am are going to make that
longer and that still be there?

No, I'm confused now. Yeah.
That's now going to be too low.

No, I want it to be V-shaped.

I want it lower here
than it is in the middle.

I'm not happy with the way
they are bagging.

It definitely does need taking in
in places and sorting out.

I need to alter the front.

It didn't feel tricky
when I made one for myself.

I don't know why it's getting
so complicated now.

Two-and-a-half hours gone.
Are you worried about time? No.

Says me. Yeah, we'll speak
in a couple of hours. Come on.

I'll do your back. Ah!
I'll do your back.

While you're relaxed,
let me ask you this. Yes, go on.

How much do you want to be
a finalist? Oh, so much, it's...

Now you've made me all tense again!

Whilst Jade and Tracey are
still fitting their toiles,

Charlotte and Joyce start
constructing their dresses.

This is the front bodice.

The fabric is absolutely key to
this design because you need

something with a lot of drape
to make the cowl neck work.

If you had something
that was a bit stiff, it would

just sort of sit there and it
wouldn't look attractive at all.

The fabric I'm using for my dress is
100% linen. I just love that fabric.

The colours are so me.

So, tell me, where have you got to?

I have sewn my bodice front,
gathered it to the waistband.

Oh, right, OK.

I guess you haven't fitted it.

I've checked the size
of the waistband.

I haven't fitted it, as such.

I was going to fit it once
I got the bodice together. OK.

Does it feel too tight now?

No. No?

I'm much happier with that.
We're good to go.

Happy with the fit
on their toiles, Jade and Tracey

can finally begin cutting
their fabric.

I've got a wine coloured cotton
spandex that just stretches

a little bit, which means that this
fitted area across here will be nice

and snug and then I've got a nice
print that I'm going to use

for the collar and cuff sections.

I am glad I did a toile
because the back piece needed to be

basically reshaped for the way
that her back is.

Please fit, please fit, please fit.

Please fit, or I will cry.

Oh, dear. It's huge.

Why is there all this here? Damn it.

Damn it, damn it, damn it.
Bloody hell.

It's almost like it need
another dart in it.

I quite like it. It's loose there.

Don't really want to take it in
any more but I can do.

I tell you what,
we'll do the rest first

and then we'll make a decision.

I intended to make those darts
bigger in the back

and then I think
we'll be all right.

Can you spin round to the front?

It fits you amazingly in the front.

I think that's beautiful, Jade.
Beautiful. Yeah?

Beautiful.

Oh, that looks great, Tracey.
That looks all right? Lovely.

Much happier with that,
compared to this morning.

If they're happy with
the fit of their bodice,

the sewers can move on
to their skirts.

This is what the skirt
block looked like.

So this is now, instead of being
a pencil skirt, which is

what it would have been,
before I opened up this space,

it's now going to be much fuller.

I've done a skater skirt where
it's like nice at the waist

and flares out, so that's my type
of skirt that I like to wear.

Tracey, what are you doing?
I'm doing pi. Why?

Well, because I'm making
a circle skirt.

Why have you got to use pi
to make a circle skirt?

Because I need to draw a pattern
for it. My head's going to explode!

I need to use pi to work out
the circumference.

When they teach you pi at school,
you think,

"I am never going to use
pi in my life.

"Why are they bothering to teach me
this?" And now, I've got to use pi.

Jade has also set herself
a challenge with her skirt.

I'm going to pattern match here,
so that will join on to there.

Like that.

So it will only pattern match
mainly on these two.

And if I can,
maybe on those ones there.

I am now doing the collar

and because I have chosen
to do the underside

and the fabric of the dress,
I'm going

to have to be careful
that the underside doesn't show.

And how I hopefully get over
that is make the upper collar

slightly baggier
and it rolls over a fraction.

This is one of my four collar
sections.

This is definitely
a statement collar.

I want it to be really pointed.

While everyone else
works on their collar...

I'm just trying to get this one
to sit in the right place,

which at the moment,
isn't wanting to.

..Jade is still pattern matching.

So I think we'll take that down
an inch there, don't you?

Driving me nuts.

These are my sleeves and my cuffs.

I'm just going to attach
the cuff to the sleeve.

Yeah, I don't think that's bad.
You might have to give me

a second cos I have to get
my head round this bit!

I'm really worried you're going
to give yourself a headache.

I've already given myself one.

Yeah, but I think you can't be
pernickety at this point. I can!

All right. OK. Semifinal. Exactly!

Sewers, I'm really sorry, you have
half an hour left. Gordon Bennett!

Somebody's watch is fast!

My pattern matching isn't
perfect perfect,

the way I would like it to be.

The teardrops are obviously
a lot smaller.

But I'm not. I'm doing it again.

I've not got time,
if I want to get a zip in.

That is half an invisible zip.

I'm making the sashes
that go inside of the dress.

The easiest way to turn out a really
long tube of something is to

sew a length of ribbon inside.

There it is. See it coming out now?

There we go. And then we
just cut the ribbon off.

I'm just trying to work out what the
length of the dress should be.

I think something like that.
Could you turn just a tiny bit?

Turn round slowly.

Stop. Go back again.

I'm going to bi-spine the hem,

just because I think it will
give it a really nice effect.

I'm going to do a narrow hem.
You fold it over, stitch it,

then trim it really close to the
stitching, fold it over again.

A hem like this would normally
take at least half an hour

and I haven't got half an hour.
Do you think we'll all finish? Yeah.

Skin of my teeth, but yeah.
I'll just have to get on with it.

We all thought we had loads of time.

A circle skirt and I'm still
hemming for ever and ever and ever.

I will get it finished!

Not having any nonsense.

Sewers, you have five minutes left.

Right, breathe.

Should have enough time. I just
need to stop my hands shaking.

Where did that go?!

You're kidding me.
How did I not notice that?

I've got a pucker in the back seam.

Tracey, you're the only one sewing.

Everyone else is having
a little press.

Do I need to come there and watch
you cry? No, I'm ready to press.

Right.

All right?

There you go.

Come on, Charlotte! You go that way,
I go this way. How does it feel?

Yeah. Happy? Yeah.
That's your pattern!

Yeah! Come on, Tracey!
I'm just ironing my model!

That's it.

Time is up. A huge well done
to all of you. Water! Water!

Water!

# Love me in the daytime

# Love me in the night-time

# Any time you love me

# Baby, that'll be the right time.

# Put your arms around me

# When the lights are low

# Never ever gonna get
enough of you. #

Charlotte, I think
this dress is a delight.

Watching it move,
there's a lightness, an elegance,

a bounce to it.

You've completely
transformed the block.

It has a kind of romantic feel to
it, somehow. It's kind of sexy.

It's a really good choice of fabric.

The drape is very soft,
not too high and not too low.

If we can just turn you round...

This drape here maybe could have
been got rid of if you'd

shaped the armholes slightly
and the dart is really, really long.

But you really understood
your model's body shape.

I think the waist is absolutely
in the perfect position.

I think the length of the skirt
feels perfectly right.

The hem looks really neat. It looks
great. It looks great. Thank you.

# With the parting of the ways

# You took all my happy days

# And left me lonely nights. #

Right, Tracey.
You've also transformed the block.

You've put all the shape
into this waistband here

and in to the gathers here. Yeah.

And this fits so much better
than your toile did.

It's a good choice of fabric, it's a
good combination. I'm a little...

I don't know what it is
about the collar.

It feels a little heavy.

Maybe if you'd made the neck
slightly wider

and the front slightly lower, it
would have given it more lightness.

One other slight fit issue.

There's just a little bit too
much fullness here.

But the cuffs on the sleeve
are crisp, they're well pressed,

they're well sewn.

There is a lot of very precise
sewing in this garment, so

I think you should be extremely
pleased with yourself. Thank you.

# Doo doo-dee ooh doo-dee ooh

# Doo-dee ooh-dee-ooh

# Doo doo-dee ooh doo-dee ooh

# Doo-dee ooh-dee-ooh. #

You've taken the block
and you've turned it into one, two,

three, four... Eight panels?
Yes. You've done a good job there.

Thank you. I would like it a little
bit more nipped in at the waist.

It just looks ever
so slightly straight.

I'd like very much the idea
of the band at the bottom

and then it's echoed
in the collar at the top.

Whether it should be smaller...
Let's do that.

Yeah, maybe.

But one thing I like a lot about
this collar is if we look here, we

can see how it's rolling round and
that is how you should cut a collar.

So that is successful.

The sleeves, I think, are very,
very neatly inserted.

The fit is just a little nibble
away from bang on for me,

but I think you should be very
pleased with that.

Thank you.

# O meu ganza faz
chica chica boom chic

# P'ra eu cantar
o chica chica boom chic. #

The overall impression
is really striking.

You've made a really good
choice of fabric.

I think these fabrics work
together very well.

You've thought carefully about
how the pattern runs down through

the centre and this runs all
the way, absolutely dead centrally.

You haven't managed to match it up
across the waist. No.

That has got a point on and this
is the point chopped off.

Yeah. If we can just turn you round,

you had a lot to do to get these
back triangles fitting as well,

and you've done that extremely well,

but I think the time
you've spent doing that

is time that you've not had

to get the small of the back
fitting nicely.

It is just too big there.

But the proportion of this dress
is just right.

I think you understand
how it all needs to look,

and you've delivered on that
really successfully. Thank you.

I was determined
I was going to show something

different to the judges
and I think I have,

'I've shown a more creative
side of myself.'

'As hard as it was'

and as gruelling as it seemed,
I did enjoy it

and I think I produced one of the
best fitted garments I've ever made.

'After all these years of sewing,
and believe me,'

I have been sewing
for a number of years,

it would be absolutely amazing
if I was in the final three.

It would actually be
a pinnacle for me.

I think all four of us
were all very nervous to go back in,

because we're that close
to getting into the final.

I think I'd rather stay out here

and everyone can shout out the
window to me and tell me that way.

First up, shall we discuss
garment of the week?

Who are the contenders?

Jade, Charlotte,
from the made-to-measure.

But also, Charlotte's alteration.

I think this is one of the best
alterations we've seen

on Sewing Bee.

So therefore, I presume Charlotte
and Jade are both finalists.

Yes. Yes.

Then you have to really think

about whether it's going to be
Joyce or Tracey.

Do you want to first start off
and talk about their very difficult

patent challenge?
Joyce did this red... Mm.

..and Tracey came fourth
with her purple.

Joyce's was more expertly sewn
on the whole. Yes.

Tracey's was a bit ragged.

Yes, it wasn't precise enough.

But then Tracey gave us,
in the alteration challenge,

something really imaginative... Yes.
..that really fulfilled the brief.

And Joyce's was a little bit,
sort of lacklustre.

She hadn't transformed the duvet.
It's still a rectangle.

Then it comes down to their
made-to-measure. I think it does.

And both were pretty competently
handled. Both are well sewn.

Both of them transformed the block.

This is...

very difficult and I think we need
to have another look

and take a little more time over
this decision. Yes. Yes, absolutely.

Firstly,

thank you so much for giving us
such a brilliant semifinal.

We know how difficult it was.

The first bit's the lovely bit -

the garment that impressed
the judges the most.

So, our garment of the week
this week, is...

LAUGHTER

Well done, Charlotte!

No way! Told you! That is insane.

This was probably the best
alteration I think we've seen.

You embraced it wholeheartedly
and produced something fantastic.

Thank you, that is bonkers.

SHE LAUGHS
You look so shocked.

Did it not in the back of your head
think... No! ..maybe that?

Not in a million years!

Now the less lovely bit. We really
don't want any of you...

to go.

But somebody has to.

And the person leaving us
this week is...

We're so upset about it.

The person leaving is Tracey.

GASPS

Oh, Tracey, darling. Oh, sweetie.

I thought it was going to be me.

Clearly devastated, but I came here
hoping to get through a few weeks,

I've got through seven weeks.

And I think, you know,
I should be proud of that.

Can I cuddle you?

I'm sorry. Thank you. I'm sorry.

I've done a lot of brilliant things,

met some fabulous people
and it's, er, you know,

once-in-a-lifetime...experience.

And I'll not regret a minute of it.

You've been so great
throughout all of it.

What I love about Tracey
is she has embraced

every single challenge
with such joy and openness

and that to me is why it's such
a shame that she's had to go.

It's...gutting to see Tracey go.

I'm really going to miss her.

The sewing room won't be
the same without her.

If I could take the time to
congratulate our three finalists.

Whoo!
INDISTINCT

I'm very excited about the final,

because every week somebody
really surprises me.

So I'm having no bets
on who's going to win.

Do you know what?
I'm just going to enjoy it.

I don't care where I come.
I'm a finalist.

I've made it to the last three.
I am going to enjoy it.

Even the alteration challenge.

I cannot wait to tell
my family about this.

They are going to scream.

TELEPHONE RINGS

Hello? Hello.

I'm in the final.

Hello?

Oh, Mum!

SOBBING ON PHONE

Oh, Mum, don't cry.

"I'm so proud of you." Thank you.

Next time...

Now it all comes down to this.

Final press. Final garment.

The judges deliberated...

She's panicking a bit, isn't she?
Slightly, yeah. It's a shame.

..and they have decided...

Damn, damn, damn...

..that the winner of the great
British Sewing Bee...

Just one more. Just one more.

..is...

This is not good.