Fancy seeing you here.
It's week three in our search
for the UK's best amateur sewer,
and the theme this week
is classic gents,
which is why I'm here.
I have three requirements for a
classic gents.
A nice warm seat, plenty of
inspections, and loads of bog roll.
What's that? It's not classic gents,
it's gent's classics.
Oh, that makes a lot more sense.
Oh, um, I'd give it half an hour
if I were you.
Welcome to
The Great British Sewing Bee.
Last time...
What do you reckon as a look?
..the competition hotted
up in summer week.
It's quite sexy, isn't it?
Adeena's unique dressed impressed
the judges...
It's ever so chic.
..while Farie's timing was off.
SHE HYPERVENTILATES
But after a pocket positioning
disaster...
Even my hand hardly goes in.
..Jean was the second person to
leave the sewing room.
It's fine.
Now...
Oh, my gosh,
there's loads of cutting.
..it's gent's classics.
Oh, good shoulder size.
The sewers tip their hats in a
Sewing Bee first...
So is this how a hat looks before
it's a hat?
..suit themselves
in the transformation...
Think of the hours of work that went
into making this,
and I'm just destroying it.
..and get practical in the made to
measure.
I didn't realise that sewing
involved all this hard labour.
Who will be the perfect gent?
Fingers crossed I can actually get
this jacket made.
And whose dreams will be
left in tatters?
I've literally made a huge mistake.
# Do-lang do-lang-do-lang
# Do-lang do-lang
# He's so fine... #
Oh, it's gentlemen's classics
week this week,
so I'm sure Patrick is going to
be on the ball today.
I know, actually.
I don't know, I think
just cos it's men's week.
Gentlemen's classics really
is my style,
and that gives me
the confidence to get in there.
I hope that's not
pride before a fall, though.
Let's see.
# The envy of all the girls... #
It'll be difficult sewing
menswear in front of Patrick.
He'll be a hard judge to
please today.
Lads, lads, lads.
Come forward.
Yes.
All the lads.
I say lads because this week it's
gents classics, and to inspire you,
we have a classic gent right here in
the sewing room.
It's not me. Of course,
I'm a lady from the future.
LAUGHTER
No, I'm talking about Patrick Grant.
A gent so classic, the National
Trust do tours of his trousers.
Esme, tell us
about the pattern challenge.
Here we go. Pass them round.
We have a first
for The Great British Sewing Bee.
Headwear.
A baker boy's cap.
This soft, tailored hat comprises of
eight panels,
a stiffened peak, a button on top,
and it is fully lined.
And in a break from the norm,
the haberdashery is filled with
scraps and offcuts.
You can choose to make this hat in
one or several fabrics.
The baker boy cap.
The hoodie of the 19th century.
You have three hours for this
challenge.
Good luck.
Your time starts now.
Have you made a hat before? No.
Baker boy.
I've never made a hat before, no,
so I'm looking forward to it.
And hopefully I might be
able to keep it afterwards.
The baker boy hat is a fuller
and more rounded version of the
flat cap.
Both have long been the uniform
of the working man and boy,
but its central role in the style
of the TV series Peaky Blinders
led to a huge rise in popularity.
It's now favoured by some
of the most fashionable men around.
Farie, opinions. Mm-hm.
Shall I make life really hard for
myself and do four different ones?
Or shall I make life a bit
easier for myself?
How confident are you feeling?
Hm...
Traditionally formed from
tailor's offcuts,
the hat can be made in just one
colour or out of a patchwork.
I think I'm just going to make mine
classic navy.
One colour.
Hopefully it'll hide all my sins.
So I've picked up two colours and I
kind of want to do a...
Like, a half and half.
I really like the pattern and really
like the colour.
These angles and shapes might make
a nice, uh,
pattern on that round head.
Now this cap reminds me of
Peaky Blinders.
Tell me, how's it made?
This cap is made from eight
principal parts.
These pieces are sewn onto a band
and we have a peak attached at
the front.
So what is the trickiest part of
this challenge?
We've got eight pieces here,
we've got eight pieces of lining,
got a band, we've got a peak.
And it's small,
so it will be fiddly.
Yeah, you've got to do quite a lot
of sewing inside
a relatively small circle there.
Quite a tricky garment in lots
of ways.
Well, it is actually, yes.
I've been trying to be
more of a classic gent.
What do you think of this look?
I'm calling it Monocle Lewinsky.
SHE LAUGHS
ADEENA: It reminds me of something
like Peaky Blinders.
That was actually based around
Birmingham, so I feel right at home.
SHE LAUGHS
Yeah, right!
Oh, my gosh,
there's loads of cutting.
I think I'm the only sewer who's
made hats before.
I mustn't let that confidence,
though, stop me from being accurate.
There's a lot of pieces in here.
If you're a millimetre out on
every seam,
you could make it far too big,
very easily.
DAMIEN: I think what I'll do is I'll
just cut it like that first,
then trim it. Don't need to go daft
on this, I don't think.
Well, we'll see if it all comes out
c*ck-eyed.
The baker boy cap is created using
19 pattern pieces.
The first stage is to assemble the
crown,
sewing together the eight panels
along their curved edge.
The process is then repeated for the
silky lining
before it is secured into the hat.
The peak is formed of a top and
bottom piece,
joined along the outer edge,
with a pre-cut plastic insert,
which gives the brim its rigidity.
It is then sewn in place,
along with an inner headband.
Finally, a covered top button is
attached for a neat finish.
Morning, Raph. Good morning,
Patrick. Good morning, Esme.
How are you? I'm very good, thanks.
Right, well, I recognise this
fabric.
Oh, yeah? Do you?
It's a wool twill.
This was from a collection that we
did many years ago.
And how will all the bits of pattern
line up?
I thought I would make it all the
same way,
but now I'm thinking I might turn it
around. Do the reverse? Yeah.
To create sort of a check. Yeah.
Oh, and this is the lining.
I might change it. I might go for a
blue to contrast with the orange.
Well, we'll let you get on. Yeah.
Good luck.
Thank you. Thank you.
So is this how a hat looks before
it's a hat? Mind-boggling!
That's mad, innit? I thought cos
it's smaller it's easier,
but actually that's...
Is that harder because it's...?
I think it's more precise sewing.
How are you with precise sewing?
You know me, I like precise sewing.
Yeah. I just don't never have time!
SHE LAUGHS
The core of the baker boy hat is
comprised of eight identical panels.
RAPH: You're trying to create
volume,
and so you have to follow the same
lines really precisely
to make sure you've got the same
curve all around.
Unless they join
each panel accurately,
the cap won't have the desired
symmetrical finish.
That's like a quarter of the hat.
So now I just need to add all the
other ones on.
I'm quite confident today, so it's
all going to work out nice.
So I've cut them accurately. Um,
that's not Savile Row accurate...
Accurately-ish, yeah.
It's accurately-ish, yeah.
But that one's miles off!
See, it's just slightly off, but I
think I'll just...
..trim it off.
Don't be, don't be ch... Ooh.
I'll just do it... I'll tell you
what, let's go half, like that.
I mean, this is deceptively
difficult.
So you were saying you felt
confident about this.
Weren't you?
How are you getting on with your
baker boy cap?
ADAM: Well, I prefer one of these to
like a, um, flat cap.
I think a flat cap is quite,
you know...
Yeah, flat.
ADAM LAUGHS
..flat, yeah.
Clue's in the name, I suppose.
While the naming of the flat cap
might be obvious, there's
a surprising reason why these caps
are linked to the working class.
It's connected to
a Tudor law designed
to reduce imports from Europe.
In Tudor England, cap makers faced
stiff competition from cheap,
fashionable foreign imports.
So the pressure was really on to try
to keep profits in English pockets.
It was time for a new law,
one that would boost the wool trade
and control the dress
of the lower orders.
In 1571, Elizabeth I decreed that
every English resident
over the age of six, and below the
rank of gentleman, should wear
on Sundays and holidays
a cap of wool,
thickened and dressed in England,
made within this realm.
Elizabeth's law stated that common
men should face hefty penalties
for not wearing a cap or for wearing
the wrong kind of cap.
One of these was Shakespeare's
uncle Henry,
who was fined in 1583 for not
wearing a woollen cap.
The fine of three shillings and
fourpence constituted
about five days wages
for a skilled tradesmen.
So getting caught without your
woollen cap
would be a really
expensive business.
Difficult to police, the law
eventually proved unworkable
and, in 1597,
Elizabeth's decree was repealed,
but not before it had left its mark.
The wool cap had become a symbol of
the working man,
and we see this legacy in things
like flat caps
and baker boy caps
to this day.
With their crowns completed,
the sewers will see
if their caps are crooked.
Think it's going to look a bit ropy,
this.
Er...
Will be a right bodge job.
I just went for this half and half.
Just thought it was a bit different.
So I finished sewing it all together
and I'm just trying
to do a little hand stitch to neaten
it all at the top.
It's gone in a little bit of
a spiral,
but if you cover it with a button,
I'm hoping I can hide it.
And the big reveal.
Pretty damn nice, that.
Very happy.
Small, covered button, I reckon.
Nothing to hide.
ROUGH VOICE: I don't pay for hats.
If my hats aren't on the house,
then I burn the house down.
Give me one second.
NORMAL VOICE: Sewers, you've got
half your time.
Oh, God.
Time has gone very fast today.
Just getting the lining together.
Again, eight sections.
Chosen a spotty lining.
It kind of blends in, but you're not
going to see it, really.
I know Patrick and Esme are
obviously going to look in it.
Whilst the silky lining adds a touch
of luxury,
its smooth surface comes at a price.
How you getting on with the lining?
It's quite horrible to sew,
actually.
You can feel it. It's all...
Like they just... Oh, yeah.
..slip on each other.
If you were an emoji right now, what
would you be? I...
The one with all the, like,
symbols coming out its mouth
cos I'm really stressed.
Oh, yeah, nice. Yeah.
Turn your lining inside out and
insert it into your main crown,
wrong sides together.
This is a salad bowl.
It's nice for a display.
Lining in, they now have to tackle
the hat's peak.
I've not worked with this sort of,
like, shape before.
I don't do things with peaks.
So hopefully this is going to fit
in nicely.
I think you want that sitting right
up there.
This is going to look a bit naff,
I think.
They're going to be looking at that.
That's a functioning peak.
Great Scott, sewers.
You've only got 30 minutes left.
Aah!
I actually feel like I've got so
much left to do.
Once a supportive band has been
added,
the next challenge is getting
the peak attached to the cap.
So I'm feeding six layers of wool
into the machine.
That's messy.
Oh, my God, this peak's
a nightmare to sew in.
I'm not sure how much give the
plastic has in it.
I really don't want to snag...
Oh, God!
I've my peak stuck in the machine.
It's been a bit of a fight,
but now it's done.
I mean, uh, it's not lined up.
So if you look at that there, it's
not in the centre.
So, like, the two lines there are in
the centre of that peak.
Yeah, I've not done it.
How much time have we got?
Last 15 minutes, sewers.
WHISPERING: It
was like this before that.
NORMAL VOICE: But at this point, I'm
more than happy
to just present something.
Just trying to get the covered
button on at least.
I feel so pressured.
The covered button is made by
clamping a circle of fabric
between two interlocking parts.
I can't get it.
I'm not strong enough!
It's just so thick.
The thicker the fabric, the harder
the button is to clamp shut.
STRAINING: It's a covered button,
but not as we know it.
I'm just trying to make it easier.
SHE LAUGHS
That's awful!
Five minutes, sewers.
I'll get something on.
I'm not sure
it will be my best work.
Too much pressure.
I've left myself too short of time.
Oh, no way. Where's my thread?
Anyone see a needle?
God's sake.
Oh, no, no.
Yeah, yeah. Nearly.
You're through, you're through,
you've got it, you've done it.
SIGHING: Genius!
That was just that little bit of
help from you.
Mm, mm, mm. I'm going to try and sew
this button on.
And the thing is they do have a
thing
of obviously checking it properly,
so they'll be pulling it.
If Patrick and Esme judged it from
the other side of the room,
they'd probably say,
"That looks pretty good!"
But they're not at the other side of
the room.
Oh, my hand's shaking.
One minute, sewers.
No, no, no, no, no.
One minute.
My head's gone.
I've lost it.
So tricky!
Aargh!
Needles up. That is your time.
Oh, well!
Bring your mannequins or whatever
we're calling them forward.
Did you finish? Just.
Wasn't that one hard?
Yeah, that was hard.
That was really, really hard.
It looks smart, though.
MUSIC: Where Did You Get That Hat
by Stanley Holloway
# Where did you get that hat
Where did you get that tile?
# Isn't it a nobby one and just the
proper style... #
Ten baker boy hats made in just
three hours,
but what will the judges think?
Who's baked an exceedingly good cap?
I would say there are one or two
that definitely look a little bit
half-baked.
Ooh, lovely stuff!
# I should like to have one
just the same as that
# Where're I go, they shout, "Hello!
Where did you get that hat?" #
I like the choice of colours.
I mean, actually, the alignment on
the top is really very good.
But it's untidy.
You have left the seam on the top of
the peak,
and it needs to be underneath.
I'm going to go for it.
LAUGHING: Sorry, I couldn't resist!
It was only gravity holding
it on, I think!
I don't like the half and half.
OK. I'm sure Patrick loves it.
I'm not entirely convinced by the
half and half thing.
OK. But what you have done is sew it
really, really neatly.
Well done.
I don't mind the choice of fabrics.
You've managed reasonably well to
line your eight pieces up.
I love the lining.
You did get your button on.
Slightly skewwhiff,
but not bad at all.
OK, thank you.
I like your choice of fabric.
You've got the button on.
Just.
Just. Your peak seems well anchored.
You've actually got not a bad
hat there.
I think it's a fantastic colour.
Not perfectly lined up on the top.
I mean, it's a good-looking hat.
It's just a bit untidy.
I very much like the combination
of colours.
You've made the point in the middle
of the peak.
I mean, all in all, I would say it's
a pretty good-looking hat.
You've got some
gaps between the peak and the band.
Look, can you see?
It really doesn't look symmetrical.
So, not perfect.
I really like the way you've thought
about it, so it's all lined up.
The peak looks really neat.
I love your blue lining.
I think you've done a really
good job.
Congratulations on being bold enough
to pick a patterned fabric.
But I love that you've thought to
quarter the top of that button.
Well done. Thank you.
You either need to line a seam up
with the centre of your brim,
or you need to line
a section up... Yeah.
..with the centre of the brim, and
you haven't done either. Yeah.
You've failed to catch the peak into
the seam.
It's not the best thing you've
ever sewn. No.
So we've got a little hole where the
hat is sewn into the peak,
and we have another little hole on
the underneath.
And I cannot understand why you've
used black thread because we can see
all of these stitches that are all
not where they're supposed to be.
I lost the thread. Just...
Literally.
Patrick and Esme will now rank the
baker boy hats from last to first.
Tenth place is...
..Damien.
Your peak was peaking.
In ninth place is Adeena.
A few holes.
Just not neatly sewn.
So in eighth place is Lawratu.
It wasn't finished.
Andrew is in seventh,
Rebecca sixth, Farie in fifth,
Cathryn is fourth,
and Adam's in third place.
In second place...
..is Serena.
It's very nicely sewn, just a few
little, tiny things.
Which means, in first place,
it's Raph.
Thank you!
You edged it because you went that
extra mile on the pattern
and you sewed it incredibly well,
so very well done.
Thank you.
DAMIEN: Oh, well done, Raph, though.
That was really cool.
I can't believe it.
Yeah. It's an amazing feeling.
First again on a pattern challenge.
Pressure is on.
HE LAUGHS
This is becoming a regular thing
now, coming near the end,
so I'm hoping that I can use my
inner strength to take me
back in the up direction.
The only way's up from bottom,
so I'm hoping that I'm not going to
come last in the next one.
"Is this one you've made, Andrew?
Have you understitched it?"
Esme has got a bit of a reputation.
She actually managed to not only
destroy the button,
but actually pull
it off the actual hat.
I wouldn't like to meet her in a
dark alley on a night, I tell you.
MUSIC: A Casual Look
by The Six Teens
# A casual look
# A little wink... #
Gent's classics week
isn't about to get any easier.
For the second challenge, the sewers
must show off their creative flair.
Welcome back, sewers, it's time
for the transformation challenge.
This week, Patrick's trying to
transform me into a classic gent,
so I'm trying to grow a beard.
What do you think? Patrick, tell us
about this challenge?
Well, we hope you can find something
suitable from a selection
of men's suit jackets and blazers.
Now, these are often made with
really high quality wool fabric,
so we would like you
to give these fabrics
a fabulous new lease of life.
What we want you to do is turn them
into a fashionable women's garment.
Take features from the jacket and
use them as statements.
The judges will leave us now - one,
so they don't know whose is whose,
and mainly because they want to
apologise to the estate agent
they stole that from.
Off you go.
Good luck.
As ever, you have 90 minutes
for this challenge.
Your time starts now.
Go, go, go!
Two...
Oh, wow! OK.
Look at that one.
The sewers can take up to
two jackets.
Oh, red.
And with little restriction
on what to make,
their creativity can let rip.
Is there a bit I can try?
Oh!
Oh!
No, don't let me do any more cos
I'll just want to do loads of it.
Think of the hours of work that
went into making this jacket.
And I'm just destroying it.
So we've asked them
to make a women's garment
from men's suit jackets
or blazers.
Often in a men's tailored jacket,
you've got about two metres
of really high quality fine wool.
And this fabric deserves
another life.
And there are so many elements.
They've got the lapel,
you've got pockets,
buttons on the bottom of the sleeve.
We've also got an awful
lot of lining. Yes.
I mean, what I want to see is
something that is radically
different from a jacket.
A dress, a skirt, a top.
But not a jacket.
Yeah, absolutely.
OK, see what we're
doing with this.
Repurpose.
Recycle.
I'm very up for that.
I love the idea that something
could be something else.
So I'm going to try
and make a dress.
Right.
We've got some kind of
c*ck dress.
It's certainly different fitting
for a woman than it is for a man
because, um, well,
the whole form's different.
My plan is a dress.
Use it back to front because
I wanted to use this shape.
How would I feel if I were
wearing it back to front?
And Lawratu's also
working in reverse.
What I'm hoping to do is use
the front of this jacket
to make the back.
While some sewers have designs
that use the shape of the jacket,
others are pulling theirs apart.
Tell you what I'll do.
I'll just get a load of panels,
put them all together.
OK, we're going skirt.
We're going skirt.
Because of the shaping
of these sleeves,
I can use that shape
around the hipline.
I'm going to make a skirt,
and I'll just keep going round
with the pink and the grey
and seeing where we can get to.
I'm basically going for a dress.
What I want to do is
mix the colours a bit.
And some sewers are giving old
features a completely new purpose.
I want to make use of the lapels
that were on the original jackets
and make a statement out of them
on the shoulders.
So I'm going to try and create a top
and make it quite different.
I've got some kind of a weird
dress thing going on.
I've used the two lapels
on the front to create this bit.
What I'm going to do now is make
this top bit decent,
cos obviously it's not decent
at the moment for a lady.
Hiya, Raph. Hello.
It's me, Gary Barlow.
Hi.
Do you have...
Oh, Gary Barlow?
What you making with all these
jackets, Raph?
I'm making a dress.
I'm going to use the lapels
on top of the bust,
and then hang everything from there.
Going to dress up this one?
This lovely lady?
I remember her,
she's one of Atomic Kitten.
Sewers, you've got
30 minutes remaining.
I am making a dress.
The judges have said about
using the original features,
so I want to make sure
that I do that.
I want to make a top.
I'm going to use this bit
to close off this side.
And then, you know,
it's still a functional pocket,
so you can keep some
snacks in there.
This top is going to need
a bit of shape.
I'm using the back
of the collar for the neckline.
I've got the main
structure of my dress.
I'm using the actual lining.
This is going to
go around the neck area.
It will be something like that.
It's more for c*ck
type of dress.
We've got these buttons here,
so we might just have a vent
going in at the back.
Not too sure whether you want to see
four buttons coming up your...
you know.
Butt!
I want to make a smart skirt.
I wouldn't mind this red stripe
going all the way down.
Damien? Yes.
I know that you came last in the
last challenge. I did.
But there's absolutely no reason
to kick off in this way.
The mess you've made here.
It's just a tiny bit of rage.
We don't accept this sort of
aggression in the sewing room.
15 minutes to go, sewers.
No!
Right, what am
I going to do with this?
It's got to be a bold statement.
It's quite a plain dress.
Taking the sleeves
of the blue jacket,
like a little flutter
sleeve type thing.
Now these buttonholes aren't cut,
but I reckon I can cut them
and use a nice bit of cord,
which reflects that pink.
Oh, look at that.
It's brilliant.
I'm quite proud of it.
I like this.
And then...snack pocket.
Oh, stop!
That's one of my favourite things
I've ever seen in my life.
So what...
Put some sweets in.
Oh, yes, sweets.
Sleek and chic is
what I'm going for.
We've gone for couture.
It's very far away from jacket.
I don't know how much further
they want it.
So we've got a little tunic dress.
It's evolving, isn't it?
It's just a bit stark here.
And now it looks
like a jacket in reverse,
and that's not what
we were going for.
Last five minutes, sewers.
Finishing touches.
Oh, dear.
Panic stations, here we go.
Got that, that,
and then if I finish off with that,
then we should get there.
Going to stitch this
little button on.
Buttons, buttons,
where's the original buttons?
I'm making a bow at the back
so I can tie it properly
cos it doesn't fit.
One minute, sewers.
Ah!
One minute, right, OK.
We pray to the sewing gods.
On the mannequin.
Try and squeeze another button on.
Come on, button, work.
Nip in that waist, darling.
Breathe in.
Needles up.
That is your time.
Bring your creations forward.
MUSIC: Lola by The Kinks
Smart.
# I'm not dumb
but I can't understand
# Why she walked like a woman
and talked like a man
# Oh, my Lola... #
Men's suit jackets remodelled
into ten women's garments
in just 90 minutes.
Let's find out
what the judges think.
c*ck ACCENT: Geezers?
Oh, I say.
The judges have no idea
whose is whose.
What do you think of this lot?
I call them Blazerin' Squad.
THEY CHUCKLE
# Well, I'm not the world's
most passionate guy
# But when I looked in her eyes
# Well, I almost fell
for my Lola... #
We have a skirt from four sleeves,
laced at the back
with pink and grey cord.
There's a lot of very clever thought
gone into this.
Another skirt.
I actually very much like
this detail here.
They've really thought
about the colours
and the placement of
the different parts of the jacket.
They really have.
We have a dress with a very
pronounced crossover bandeau.
They've used the lining
from the burgundy jacket
to fill in the gaps.
It might've been quite saucy
without that.
I like these bold,
horizontal stripes on the front.
These white stripes don't work.
I would've much preferred
the brocade ribbon or a stripe or...
Bit of whatever. ..or even a khaki.
Yeah. Not bad.
Little bits of it aren't
quite...quite right.
I really like
the combination of fabrics.
Having these tucks here,
they make a very nice shape.
It's quite a sexy dress, isn't it?
Yeah. It really is.
I like very much the back to front.
We've got batwing, floaty sleeves.
And they've set them in
very cleverly into... Yeah.
..this kind of halter shape.
They have.
I really like
the overall shape of it.
They've put a couple of big darts
through the back
to give it shape there.
We've got a kind of deep V opening
at the back.
What we have is a jacket
that's been turned back to front,
but it still feels like a jacket.
Well, we have another dress.
There's quite a lot of the
original jacket shape still here,
and then we have ribbon,
which is picking up the colours
of the two overchecks.
There's too much going on here.
It doesn't look
very thought-out to me.
Another person
who's done the jacket back to front.
I love this fabric,
and this stripe here is the lining.
They've created a very,
very flattering shape
with just a couple of darts
at the bust,
a couple of darts through the front,
and a couple of darts at the back.
I really like it.
Something's in this pocket.
Is it a bag of crisps?
What is it? No. It's sweets.
ESME LAUGHS
That's a bribe. Who's left...?
Who's left a bribe?
Very clever how they've used
both of the lapels
to create these kind of
capped sleeve heads.
So they've transformed it
into something very different.
It's fantastic.
I'm very impressed with it.
The judges will now rank
the garments from last to first.
In tenth place, it is the...
..blue jacket back into a jacket.
Farie. Thank you.
Thank you.
In ninth place is...
..the brown dress.
Cathryn.
We felt it didn't really go together
and it still looks like a jacket.
Thank you.
Andrew is eighth,
Adeena is seventh,
Rebecca sixth,
Damien in fifth,
Lawratu fourth,
and Raph is third.
In second place is...
..the striped fitted dress.
Adam.
It's a fantastic transformation.
It's elegant, it's wearable,
it's really clever.
Very good. Thank you very much.
I don't think we have to guess
which is number one.
Serena.
Your placement of fabrics
and elements of the jacket,
it works really, really well.
Very well done.
I never thought I would ever win
the transformation challenge.
It just wasn't my thing.
I think I've just learned to let go
a bit and have fun with it.
FARIE: If it were finished,
then it would've been easy to
identify as a dress, not a jacket.
Some people are just
leisurely sewers,
but tomorrow I will surprise them.
There's one challenge left
in gent's classics week.
In just a few hours,
someone will win Garment of the Week
and somebody else will
leave the sewing room.
So, gent's classics week.
Who's behaved in a gentlemanly
fashion and who's behaved like me?
Well, I think
our top gents this week -
there's a little group of three
of them in Raph, Serena, and Adam.
First, second, and third,
first, second and third between them
in both challenges.
So those three are looking
extremely classically gentish. Yes.
We should talk
about who's down the bottom.
Now, Adeena's gone
from garment of the week last week
to looking pretty perilous
right now. Yeah.
Well, garment of the week
to bottom of the heap at the moment.
Her baker boy cap was
very badly made. Oh, God, yes.
You know, there were holes
and problems all over the place.
Farie's baker boy cap wasn't bad,
but her transformation was
really pretty poor.
And it didn't feel very different
to where it started.
And Damien also really struggled.
The peak, we could poke out.
In fact, we probably,
with a bit of force,
could've got it out.
But Lawratu, Rebecca, and Cathryn
are not safe either,
so they all need to do
a fantastic made-to-measure today.
So there's essentially seven people
that could go home today.
I think that's right.
Well, there are, actually.
Yeah. Yeah.
For the final challenge
of gent's classics week,
the mannequins have been swapped
for real men.
MUSIC: Boys Are Back In Town
by Thin Lizzy
Hello. I'm Serena.
Have you done this modelling before?
You've got to do your blue steel,
yeah? Yeah.
Welcome back, sewers,
and hello to our male models.
It's time for the made-to-measure,
and this week,
because it's gent's classics week,
the judges would like you
to make a man's utility jacket,
so the sort of garment
that a man can wear
for all of his manly things
like hunting and fishing
and struggling with commitment.
LAUGHTER
You have five and a half hours
for this challenge.
Good luck. Your time starts now.
Right, then. Here we go.
Yeah, good there,
and then when I go down to there...
The sewers have had a chance
to practise their utility jackets
at home.
A utility jacket seems to be
a bit of a practical jacket.
I think it was originally made
as, like, a workman's jacket,
to keep, like, tools and things in.
But now they must
adjust their patterns
to precisely fit their models.
Oh, good shoulder size.
So, a utility jacket.
I know what a utility room is.
Is it a jacket
with a tumble dryer in it?
For me, a utility jacket will be
something either workwear
or military-inspired.
It will need to have
at least three pockets,
and it needs to be sewn
in a sturdy fabric.
Made-to-measure is
all about the fit.
What are the differences in fitting
a man's body and a woman's body?
Well, they've got no bosoms.
THEY LAUGH
Well, speak for yourself.
But it's simple things, like getting
the shoulders in the right place,
getting the sleeves
the right length.
I mean, it shouldn't be a
complicated fit,
because it's not a tailored garment.
Yes.
But it all needs to look right.
And why three pockets?
Is that just a standard...?
Minimum of three pockets. Yeah.
Most workwear and military jackets
have pockets
because pockets are useful. Yes.
You know? To put your b*ll*ts in.
Map, your compass, your...
And your grenade. Yes. ..sandwich.
My grenade and my sandwich. Yes.
I never leave the house
without either of those.
It is nice to change it up a bit
and, uh, fit to a man.
Have a bit of a different challenge
in terms of where the fit should be.
The shoulders, arm length,
waist, hips,
so those are kind of all the things
I've taken into consideration.
Fingers crossed
I can actually get this jacket made.
I'm not worried about fit,
I'm not worried about
whether my stitching is perfect.
Perfection is not the goal today.
Finish is.
While finishing is a must,
when it comes to fit,
some have it easier than others.
I have made this utility jacket
before, uh, for myself.
We've got
the same measurements somehow.
He's just much taller than me.
Raph is creating a man's overshirt,
combining a sturdy
green cotton canvas
with hardy French denim.
So, the word denim means "of Nimes".
The city Nimes
in the south of France.
And that's where the denim,
or cotton canvas, was created.
But it's always been a fabric
related to workwear.
I have actually gone for a denim.
I wanted a fabric that was quite,
um, stiff and can hold its shape.
Adeena's denim coat comes in camo
with four front pockets,
an open-ended zip down the centre,
and wrap-over buttons
for extra protection.
It was really hard
choosing the fabric pattern.
I actually wanted a print,
but not something that was too bold.
In no doubt about his fabric choice,
true to form,
Adam has opted for a nautical theme.
Underneath the pocket flap, I'm just
going to have a flash of some,
uh, anchor fabric.
Which is here.
Kind of sums up military, for me,
a little bit.
As well as nautical pockets,
Adam's Navy-inspired jacket will be
made of a bright blue cotton
denim, plus a finishing touch that
adds to the seafaring look.
And then I'm going to just have some
silver buttons on the four
pockets,
which have got anchors on as well.
Whilst Adam sets sail,
Damien is headed to the Wild West.
I've redesigned a shirt pattern
and it's got small yorks
at the top there,
so I'm extending the yorks down to
a big pocket flaps.
OK, sort of western style?
Yeah, it's going to have like denim
jacket buttons on there as well.
OK.
So it's going to look a bit rugged.
Damien's rugged cowboy style jacket,
with his two extended pocket
flaps, will be
made solely out of needlecord.
I think something about corduroy
just sort of makes me feel,
um, sick.
Yeah, that's why I wanted to do it.
To sort of, you know,
give off a, a cool vibe,
so making you want to wear it.
Yeah. It's a challenge.
Hopefully by the end,
you'll want to put it on.
Yeah? OK, well, let's see what
happens.
Damien has set out to make
corduroy cool,
but he's not the only
menswear maverick.
I've chosen this, like, teal
canvas fabric.
I love using colour and print,
and I didn't want to stop doing that
just cos it's menswear.
You could make a nice
pair of curtains out of this.
It's nice. I like it.
Serena will be attempting to match
the pattern of her jazzy
fabric across every
one of her pockets.
I actually don't like pockets
matched.
Great. Cos you can't...
No, I'm not, I'm not saying you
shouldn't match them. OK.
It's just, visually, for me,
I like to see the pocket.
So I'm currently
assembling my pockets.
Required to include
a minimum of three pockets,
the sewers must attach each
one to the pattern
pieces before construction
can begin.
I wanted to do this bit first
cos this is the fiddly bit,
and I didn't want to be
rushing at the end.
So this is my pleated pocket that's
going to be at the front.
Quite a deep pocket.
And it's going to have a flap
and a button.
And Farie's taken on an extra
challenge.
We're going for four pockets.
There's enough to keep
everything in there.
Phones, keys, kids' toys.
As well as the four pockets, Farie
has chosen to spend precious time
lining each one with a brightly
printed Ankara fabric from Zimbabwe.
A little flash of something unique.
Yeah, I agree.
So we'll have that under
the pocket flaps as well... Ooh.
..just to have that pop of colour,
but that is something that I'll
have to do at the end,
as long as we've got pockets on it.
Yeah.
But Farie's not the only one
with lots to do.
So my jacket today has four pockets,
all with flaps.
This one is probably one of my most
ambitious sews yet.
So I just need to not have any dire
emergencies, really.
Lawratu's ambitious safari-style
jacket will have snap
fastenings on all the pockets,
as well as down the centre.
And, as an extra component,
she's including a viscose lining.
And this lining is lush.
That's the first thing to go
if my time does.
Oh, is it? OK.
You're making a burgundy
utility jacket.
Yes, I want to be... Which I
personally approve of because...?
Wine. Yeah, I know.
I'm a red wine lover myself.
Are you? Yeah.
Chateauneuf-du-Pape?
Ooh, I do love that.
I feel like Chateauneuf-du-Pape
sounds like something you
should apologise for. I know.
"I'm so sorry,
I've just Chateauneuf-du-Pape."
Whilst Farie
and Lawratu have four pockets,
one sewer's going even further.
I've actually got eight pockets.
So the inspiration for my jacket
was a metalworker.
I am actually putting
some inside pockets in.
Yesterday's challenges, I really
didn't get the impact I wanted,
so I am going for it today.
Andrew's metalworker jacket,
whilst functional, will be made
of orange and blue twill with metal
stud fastenings for a modern finish.
Mine is designed to be worked in,
but I still want that
metalworker to look stylish.
Sewers, you've had half your time.
I just need to be neat and fast,
which is never a good combo.
Perfecting the multiple pockets
is time-consuming,
as is the precise sewing required to
secure the sleeves to the jacket.
I'm just putting this sleeve on.
It's not easy, this part.
It's cos it's curved.
If I've caught any
fabric in it by accident,
it's going to look rubbish.
I'm just setting my sleeve in.
I left my creative
brain at home yesterday.
It's paramount that I get it...
..right.
So this is a raglan sleeve.
Yeah, it is a little bit different,
but also it's quite nice
way of putting a sleeve in.
I quite like it, really.
Extending in one piece all
the way to the collar,
Rebecca's raglan sleeves should give
her camo jacket a relaxed fit.
Have you made much men's
clothing before? No.
Um, this will be the first time I've
fitted to a male person.
Rebecca may be unsure about her fit,
but Cathryn has got just
the man in mind.
So it's inspired by my son, Sean,
who was, um, an air cadet.
So is this him here?
Yes.
Do you hope that your son
would wear this? Is that the idea?
I think he would if he...
If I had made it.
Cathryn is making a Parker-style
jacket of Irish Donegal tweed,
which includes a colourful fabric
under the collar.
But it was a bit of fun
when you turn the collar up.
I thought it was very
cool. In my estimation, I thought
it'd just be a bit different.
Collar construction is well
underway, but attaching them to the
jackets is far from straightforward.
I'm going to try
and get the collar on now.
Now, this is the notoriously
difficult bit,
so I've got to make sure that
I get this right.
It's a curve on a straight line.
It's a bit fiddly.
Oh, come on, lad.
Come on. You can do it.
Whilst most sewers painstakingly
attach their collars,
Lawratu is thinking about her
fastenings.
I am just going to put...
Start putting on some of my snaps.
So there's fastenings that
come in bits like this.
They will go above the pocket,
so the pocket can be closed.
You normally like...
..punch a hole.
Nope.
Oh, dear. The snaps are not going in
properly.
And snaps aren't the only
source of stress in the sewing room.
OK.
I've literally made a huge mistake.
Oh, God.
So my zip is back to front,
and if I redo all this,
there's a lot of work that needs to
just go into that bit.
I might not get a finished
garment at the end at all.
I'm liking my jacket already.
I just hope I finish it, cos my
model would really look good in it.
OK, Adeena.
How are you getting on?
I had a bit of a mess up.
Oh, what have you messed up?
So my zip is back to front.
Oh, dear. What I've decided to do is
I've actually given it just
a fashion feature, so it's not
really a workable zipper,
and then you have the
buttons down the centre.
All right, well, look, you know,
you've made a big booboo
and you're improvising to recover
it in the best way you can.
Stay.
Nope.
It just will not stay on.
I don't know why.
OK, you know what?
I'm going to come back to those
because I find
when things are annoying me,
it's best to move onto something
else temporarily
and come back to it.
It's very handy.
I've got my keys, got my wallet,
got my panic whistle,
got my panic whistle in case I lose
my panic whistle, got my panic,
panic, panic whistle, I've got my
panic, panic, panic, panic whistle.
Sewers, you've got one hour
BLOWS WHISTLE
remaining.
Pressure's kicking in.
Right, do you want
to pop the coat on?
Utility jackets are designed to
sit over other layers,
and it's the sewers first
chance to see
if they've got their model's
measurements right.
Think it's good.
Let's not spend time dwelling on it.
That's quite a good length actually.
Can you put them down again?
I actually always do that
with patients.
You make them
like hold their breath.
I always forget to tell them
to breathe again.
For Andrew's model, holding his
breathe might be the only option.
Um, it's a
little tight on his chest.
He's a... He's got plenty of muscles
here, so we might do a little
bit of something there, and see I
might even introduce
what you call a button band.
While Andrew's new button
band will be time-consuming,
Lawratu's issue with her fastenings
means she's already behind.
Cos I am just getting a bit
worried about time, I'm going
to drop the lining.
That way I can get my, sort
of, construction finished
and then give myself some
time with the snaps.
The snaps.
Lawratu seems in quite a panic.
I guess, maybe, in a way, she was
being very ambitious with what
she was trying to do.
Oh, I think of all the sewers,
she gave herself too much to do.
Andrew has made his jacket
far too small.
So what he's done is he's
taking his faces
and created a sort of front
panel in bright orange.
I mean, I like the idea,
but it has to be really good sewing.
Adeena has made a really
significant error.
She completely messed up
inserting her zip.
She's going to try and fix
it by claiming it as a feature.
30 minutes remaining, sewers.
Deep breaths.
Oh, flipping no, no, no, no, no.
It's coming together.
I'm doing something wrong.
Hold on.
Having failed with her fastenings,
Lawratu now has an issue
with her collar.
I've done the layers
in the wrong order.
I'm just getting my, uh,
nice little, um, silver anchor
buttons done now, and then
when you open the pockets, ahoy.
TAPPING
What you up to, mate?
I'm just putting some buttons in.
Just smashing
things into the ground?
Smashing some buttons in. Yeah.
I didn't realise that sewing
involved all this hard labour.
It's not easy, Joe, I tell you.
I'm not an aggressive person,
honestly.
Aw, just keep attaching
things to the wrong parts.
And I'm actually just messing
up my hems now.
It worked.
I've literally just got this button
and one other button to sew on.
Lawratu, how are you getting on?
Oh. Are you nearly done? No.
Oh, no, what's happened?
It's just got a bit of a disaster,
so we're just going to finish what
we can finish.
Where, where did it go wrong,
do you think?
Snaps went wrong, but I moved
onto, uh, something else,
but couldn't just get some of them
in, so I've only got
some of them in and now I'm just
trying to give them something.
OK. Should I go
and find a bottle of Malbec?
Yeah, I do think so.
I'll do that, I'll do that.
I think I'll be drowning my sorrows
tonight.
BANGING
I don't wish to rush you,
but you have 15 minutes, sewers.
SIGHS
It's kind of all systems go now,
and I've trashed the join.
I am pinning my pockets in position.
Flowers, flowers, flowers,
we're going to have flowers.
HAMMERING
No, it's just not staying.
Oh, for goodness' sake.
Just giving a bit of a press to
smarten it up.
Is it finished?
Farie's done a finished garment.
Well done, well done.
Thank you.
God, I can't even get it attached.
Last five minutes, sewers.
Let's get those
jackets on those models.
Yeah, that's all right, I think.
It's a tight fit.
Look at these, Joe.
Pocket flaps.
Damien, can I tell you something?
I think corduroy might be cool.
I think you might be right.
Do you know, I actually really
rather like it?
Needles up - that is your time.
Yeah, we'll have that.
We'll have it, yeah.
A button fell off.
Ugh.
I give up on those snaps.
Yeah. Do you like it? Would you wear
that? I do. I would.
Yeah.
It's all gone to pot.
I think it's when I dropped
the lining, and I just got... Oh.
..really caught behind.
Blasted.
Mm. Yeah.
And everyone else is finished,
so I think it's going to be me.
MUSIC: Just Like A Man
by Emma Rede
Ten manly utility jackets
made in just five and a half hours.
# And he looks like a man
# And he feels just like
a man should
# He's got hands like a man
# And he stands like a man
# He's got hips like a man
# And he moves just like
a man should
# In pain or sorrow... #
I very much like the print
on your fabric,
and you've matched
the pockets, as well.
I mean, it is amazing, but for me,
visually, I like to see the pocket.
OK.
Well, I disagree with Esme.
I like the fact that you've
matched these pockets.
I think on this print,
if you hadn't,
it would've looked really untidy.
I like it. It's good.
Thank you.
MUSIC: Big Bad Handsome Man
by Imelda May
# Cos he's my big bad handsome man,
yeah
# He's got me in the palm
of his hand
# He's the devil divine... #
I really like this fabric.
I think it works really well.
I love that you've made the under
collar vibrant and bright.
It is neatly sewn,
the pockets are neatly added.
You should be very pleased.
Thank you very much.
It's very snug.
Is that a pocket there? Yeah.
You'd be hard-pressed to
fit your bus
ticket down the front of there,
let alone anything more substantial.
I love the fabric,
I love the idea behind it,
but the basic, basic thing is,
it's too small.
Too tight. Yes.
I think it is all neatly sewn.
The raglan sleeve means that
there's no issues,
really, on it fitting the shoulder.
Overall, it's a pretty good effort.
MUSIC: The Good The Bad And The Ugly
Main Theme by Ennio Morricone
It's got a really nice kind of
western feel with the jeans
buttons, and that corduroy, again,
is a kind of rugged workwear fabric.
Yeah. I was worried it was going to
look like a shirt, but it doesn't.
It looks great.
I do like the contrast underneath
the pocket flap, and your buttons,
let's have a look while we're at it,
all pretty well anchored.
No pun intended.
LAUGHTER
Well, pun intended, frankly.
But I think if you're going to
have a big silver button,
you probably wanted a silver zip.
You had a great big issue with
the size of this jacket. Mm-hm.
And you've recovered it by turning
your facing into an extra piece
on the front, and actually, I think
you've recovered pretty well there.
Thank you.
Where's the rest of the pockets?
There's a patch
pocket on the inside as well.
Oh, let's undo this.
I don't know, you might need...
Come on, you can get a covered
button off, you can get that open.
Oh, I think this is great.
You've really brought it back.
It could've been a disaster.
Looks worse than I remember.
Well, I like the colour.
But...
That's about it.
If we didn't
have to keep our distance,
I'd give you a great big hug
because you look like you need it.
Sometimes things just don't go well.
Your collar isn't well attached,
you're missing poppers.
It's just strewn with errors.
And there's no more
we need to say about it than that.
No. I want to give you a hug.
No, everyone wants to give me a hug.
We'll give you a virtual hug.
Here we are. I know that the
feelings are there and... Yeah.
..you know, there's the empathy,
so at least I've got that.
Thank you.
Well done. Thank you.
You went so badly wrong
in the middle of this challenge,
yet somehow you've actually made
something that's better than
it would've been had you
not gone wrong.
I really like the exposed zip.
I think it really works.
You've made a real positive
out of the disaster,
and you obviously stayed calm
and carried on.
# I'm mad about the boy
# And I know it's stupid to be mad
about the boy... #
MUSIC: Mad About The Boy
by Dinah Washington
I think this looks really great.
I love that you've put
a contrast facing.
I think it goes really well
with this colour.
We've also got
contrast on the pocket flaps.
I think you've done
a really good job.
Farie, I think
you've absolutely nailed it.
I mean, the sewing is impeccable.
And it's finished!
And it's finished.
I mean...
APPLAUSE
Not only is it finished,
it's beautifully finished.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
I made a finished garment!
That was the aim of today.
Finish a garment,
and I couldn't be more pleased.
That feedback was absolutely
amazing.
At one point, I felt like I was
falling off a cliff,
making every effort to hold on to
anything,
and that feeling you get is just
unexplainable.
It's just very painful.
What was up there was not
representative of me,
and I think that's why I was
so upset.
OK.
Almost through gent's classics week,
and you can all stop being so alpha.
First, we have two things to do.
Let's do a nice thing.
Who's won garment of the week?
Our garment of the week
this week is...
Wow.
APPLAUSE
Thank you. Farie.
Great garment, beautifully sewn,
beautifully fitted, and finished.
Thank you, guys.
It's fabulous.
Thank you, judges.
OK, now the not nice bit.
We have to send someone home,
never gets any easier,
and this week that person is...
..Lawratu.
I know.
I know.
Thank you so much. You've been a
great part of this.
You've been such a joy.
It's such a shame to be saying
goodbye to Lawratu.
She's such a wonderful presence
in the sewing room, but some
days things just don't go your way,
and today was one of those days.
I totally get it, totally get it.
Yeah.
And to be honest, I think
I'd be disappointed if it was anyone
but me, because everyone has
sewn so well.
It has been a wonderful experience.
The joy that sewing gives me,
the pride it gives me,
is something that I will continue to
do for a long, long time.
I actually feel sorry for you judges
cos I think it must be
hard to judge... Oh, don't. Don't.
Don't feel sorry for them.
LAUGHTER
ESME: Farie is really
deserving of garment of the week.
She kept calm and she finished it,
and she finished it beautifully.
FARIE: I was not expecting that.
I'm really overjoyed,
but I'm really,
really sad to see Lawratu go
because...
..we just formed a bond.
But you've done amazing things.
I know. You have done really,
really great things. Yeah.
I know, it's just one,
one bad week can just throw you.
Next time...
Bonjour!
..we go international.
Would you ever have an
affair with a Russian?
Not this week.
A French pattern...
What do you mean boff?
..gets lost in translation.
# I'm panicking. #
That is a big blunder.
It all goes sarong...
I could rock that on the beach,
couldn't I?
..in the transformation.
Where do we put our arms?
And the sewers get in touch
with their inner artist...
There's going to be so much colour,
it'll look like a carnival parade.
..for a made-to-measure
celebrating a Mexican icon.
What a wonderful, inspiring woman.
It's not a dress, it's a
piece of art.
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07x03 - Episode 3
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Amateur sewers take on challenges as they compete to be named Britain's best home sewer.
Amateur sewers take on challenges as they compete to be named Britain's best home sewer.