Episode 4 The Great British Sewing Bee

It is the final. The Great British Sewing Bee, we've gone from A-line

skirts to tailored jackets to those beautiful little girls dresses. We

started with eight sewers, we are now down to the final three. Four

weeks ago Just about to put the needle to the fabric. A group of

talented people came together. Have you made an A line skirt before?

I've never made a skirt before Claudia, A line or otherwise.

right across Britain. This is the third zip I've ever done in my life.

In a quest to win the title of the country's best home sewer. Ring-a-

ding-ding! Each week judges Patrick Grant. Do they work? Have a go.

Well, that's a lovely pocket. And May Martin. You've got a little

hole in the bottom, a bit of ventilation. Tested the sewer's

ability to follow a pattern. You've got the fly the wrong way around.

But it's opposite to mine! Radically alter an item of clothing.

And construct a made-to-measure garment from scratch. I'm not

looking. Now Lauren, Sandra and Ann have made it through to the final.

Where they face the most complex pattern yet. There is no place to

hide. For the first time their hand sewing skills are put to the test.

I can't even see the stitching on that. And as a finale, they must

create a spectacular evening dress. Our three finalists now face the

toughest challenges of all. And after that only one will walk away

Two days of intense sewing await Lauren, Ann and Sandra as they

enter the sewing room for the final. Their hard work over the last four

weeks has been leading up to this moment. Lauren has been

consistently ambitious, but also shown she can master the most

delicate tasks. I mean, this is just exemplary handling skills.

I'll fight for it, I'll do whatever I can because, I really want it now.

Ann has been very disciplined, never setting herself unachievable

goals. And always finishing to a very high standard. Well of course

I'd like to win, I've been thinking about it absolutely all the time

this week. Sandra has produced some of the most complex garments of the

competition and has shown herself to be a natural with the needle.

love the topstitching round here. When you think about walking away

with the title it's a bit overwhelming. Lauren and Ann just

creep into the back of your mind every time. Sewers, do you want to

come and join us at the cutting table. Welcome back to the Sewing

Bee for the final. We're very happy it's you, don't tell the others.

Your first challenge the judges would you like you to make is a

man's shirt. You must be joking! Yes, I'm terribly sorry, Ann, we

were worried about that reaction. You've got four hours, your time

starts now. I'm trying to look for something that's quite lightweight.

And also something plain would be good, so I don't have to worry

about stripes or this kind of thing. I picked this fabric, I just liked

the colour. I'm presuming it's linen. I like working with linen.

I'm just checking through the pattern, just seeing what procedure

they've done, just before I chose the fabric. The pattern for this

classic man's shirt is made up of nine pieces. There are two sections

for the front which will be hemmed for the button and the button holes.

The back section is sandwiched with a yoke on either side to strengthen

it across the shoulders. A two piece collar is attached at the

neck and the sleeve sections are fitted into the arm holes. There

are a number of complicated construction challenges within a

man's shirt. It's a real test of their accuracy and their

consistency. This is a seriously difficult challenge and really

there is no place to hide. Ann has already got all the pattern

pieces pinned on and has started cutting out. I've made shirts for

myself, probably one every year. I am much more used to doing women's

clothes. But basically a woman's shirt and a man's shirt are the

same except they're slightly different shapes. Just relieved

that we haven't got cuffs and a cuff opening to do because that's

really time consuming. Since last week Ann has done little other than

practice for the final. If she is nervous at all she's absolutely not

letting on. I think if she won she'd be so proud of herself. The

fact that after all these years of sewing it's been recognised, that

actually she's pretty good. Do you know I haven't really got used to

the idea that it is the final. Those words are going to the back

of my head and this is just what we're going to do next. With half

an hour gone, Ann is ready to make the button stands which are the

hems that run down the centre front of the shirt. Press front edges

under on fold, which is that line. Then turn towards inside and stitch

close to the edge, yes. I'm just doing the top stitching on the

front where the buttons go. The top stitching along the edge of the

button stand has to be neat and parallel to give the shirt a smart

finish. It's got to be straight, it's the first thing they'll look

for. Now where I've top stitched that

down, it hasn't quite caught it underneath. So I'm going to unpick

It's the final and I'm scared that if I'm not fussy, that's what

they'll pick up on. At the moment, I'm still just on the first

instruction. So really I need to make sure that this is all straight.

Those guys are like sewing already, this is not reassuring. For former

physiotherapist Lauren, taking part in the sewing bee has been all

about helping her pursue a new career in sewing. Winning is

important to me because everything that I've studied for before or

trained for, hasn't really been anything to do with creativity. And

that's my real passion. She puts her heart into it and when she does

that I know that she does really well. And so the fact that she is

in the final is no surprise. And this will just be complete

confirmation that she is amazing. And I think it's important for her

to recognise that. Yeah, I know my family will be thinking about me

now, desperate to know what I've been asked to do. My mum especially.

I was talking to her about what could it be, what could they give

us? I said, I wonder if they could give us a man's shirt? And she was

like, no, it will take too long to make a man's shirt. They won't give

you that, don't worry. Here I am, whipping one up.

The yoke is the piece across the back of the shirt. And it provides

support at the shoulders. The yoke is a complicated part of the shirt

to construct. So Ann is taking care to line up the three pieces before

putting it under the machine. pinning one piece on to one side of

the shirt. And then I turn the shirt over and I pin the other

piece to the other side of the shirt. But Sandra is going one step

further. I'm going to tack it in place. If I just pin it's going to

slip. I'm going to be as precise as I can. Because I know as the clock

ticks towards finishing it gets a little bit racy and a little bit

rough. So what are you going to have for tea tomorrow when I'm not

here? Takeaway! It's probably the biggest experience she has ever had

in her life. It's the biggest thing she's done on her own and for

herself. Because everything Mum's ever done, she's done for us or for

somebody else. To get as far as this, she's got to have something.

She can win, she's really good. She doesn't believe she's really good,

but she is. I think it's changed me inside from when I first started.

It makes you register what you really want to do with your life. I

have made a shirt before, not a man's shirt. I've done a boy's

shirt which is similar, but I've done blouses. So yeah, I'm OK with

it I think. Everyone you've had one hour, one hour is gone. Ssh, I'll

tell them. Top stitch front yokes close to joining seams. Whilst

Sandra and Ann have sewn their yokes together, Lauren is having

problems. Aargh! I've made a mistake. I've topstitched too many

layers together. So they've got to come out. I need to try and focus.

If I start panicking things are going to get worse than they

already are. Lauren makes a second attempt at sandwiching her yoke

together. I'm feeling behind right now and I'm feeling like I don't

know what I'm doing and the others do. And they're just storming off.

Alright, are you doing your yokes? Have you done this before? No, I've

not done any of this before. That unpicker's taken a bit of a

battering today, hasn't it? I know. I've just realised something else.

Don't worry, what? My stitch is too long, I'm still on a baste size

stitch. This isn't even funny anymore, I can't believe I've

picked this out so many times. Lauren has made the mistake of

leaving her machine on a long basting stitch, which is used to

temporarily hold two pieces of fabric together. When you do the

final topstitching, it has to be on a small stitch. In the rush, she'd

just forgotten to dial the machine up. And that's that, has to come

out, has to be sewn again. So tough. Everyone, you have two hours left,

you have two hours. I don't know where everyone else is. I just want

to get as much done in the time that we've got. If I could get my

sleeves in, I'd be over the moon. This is a sleeve. We've got a

larger area than we have here. they have to do is to ease all of

that extra cloth in evenly throughout the shoulder. But how do

you do that? You're just taking the cloth and very carefully, making

little dimples. Which when you sew them get smoothed flat and all of

that is gathered together. that's been perfectly done. It's

been layed in and topstitched round and it's absolutely flush. Ann, did

your sleeve? Beg your pardon? you get your sleeve to fit in ok?

Yes, no problem. They have to ease a bit but not much. Why, are yours

too big? Uh-huh, far too big. you don't look happy. I'm not. It's

just trying to ease it in, is difficult. Like this is a disaster

area over here. Right, that's one in. Good girl. Let's go. Let's go.

That's lovely and steady, you alright? Yep, just lining it up. Oh,

pucker! May doesn't like puckers, she doesn't like puckers. She

doesn't like tucks. I'd really love to win, but those guys, they're

just, they're good. So complicated. Sewers, you have one hour left.

That's one hour left. The collar of the shirt is one thing which can't

be rushed. The collar is definitely the most important bit. If I was

May or Patrick, that's what I'd be looking at. To get a really sharp

collar, all the bulk on the inside must be trimmed away before the

points are turned out. You have to be really careful. One good poke.

Do you know, I've gone through the tips of collars that many times.

This is a blunt pair of forceps. Those came from a great aunt of

mine who qualified in medicine in the 19th century and they push that

corner out really well. There we are. I'm just trying to do my

collar at the moment. Trim seam allowances, clip curves done that,

turn collar band to right side and press. Need to try and press this

wee bit now. I basically want this to be in the top, that to be like

that. This is just a nightmare. I'm just neatening the side seams.

I'm doing it with the overlocker. I think I probably would always use

an overlocker for this sort of seam. Using an overlocker is a quick and

easy way of cutting and enclosing the raw edges of the fabric at the

same time. Sandra is using a more classic, but time-consuming method

instead. I just wanted to do French seams down the sleeves. Check you

out, will you have time? I don't know. Always the optimist. I could

have overlocked it, but I've never seen a man's shirt that's been

overlocked. Half an hour to go and the last additions to the shirt are

the buttons and button holes. buttonhole itself, they are going

to do on the machine. It sews a line of stitching on either side

and they would just cut it. What they have to do by hand is make

sure that the button holes are in the right position. And also that

the button holes are at exactly the same distance. Because if they're

too far apart it will stretch it tight. And if they're too close

you'll see a little buckle. $:/STARTFEED. I've got the hang of

it now. There is another buttonhole to do at the neck and I'm not sure

how it will cope with this one. It's on the very thick fabric at

the neckline. The very, very top buttonhole got stuck and I'm just

going to unpick it and do it again. Yes, and it's worked. Fine. Oh, it

just does not like this bit of my shirt at all. It got stuck again.

Right, third time lucky. It's a mess. If I've got to do everything

three times again before it works, is that the story? I don't have

good news. You only have 15 minutes left. I think if he had a mad woman

ripping his shirt off she wouldn't have a lot of trouble with the

stitches and the buttons. I think towards the end there is a mad rush.

I'm hemming the bottom of my shirt. She is focused. You're like rocky.

Where's my pencil? Girls, you've got to minutes left to get your

shirts on your mannequins. Tell me when we've got a minute. It's not

good enough for a final. I think everybody's very close to finishing.

I think Ann might have finished. I'm scared to look round. Yes, see

what I mean. Three, two, one. Lauren, iron down. Sorry. It's run

MUSIC It's sitting nicely on the mannequin and you've got two runs

of topstitching and they look really lovely and straight. A

little puckering around the sleeve. Yeah. This should be fluesh into

the armhole. -- Fluesh into the armhole. That buttonhole is miles

off where it is. I did it three times. It doesn't matter how many

times you did it, it's still not in the rice place. Looking at it, your

collar is not meeting in the middle, but the collar is very lump-free

and really nice and smooth. Lots of good bits in it. Things you could

That collar is actually sitting not badly. There are no lumps. The

points look pretty even. The yolk is cleanly sown. You could probably

have got a little closer to the edge with the topstitch. No, you're

a bit off there. Just the spacing on the button and the hole between

the second and third, which is is causing it to kink out a little bit.

I noticed you were doing a French seam. An extra technique, which is

First thing to say is how terrificly clean this yolk is. --

terrifically clean this yolk is. Lovely stitching. It's absolutely

on the edge. Your sleeves have no puckers. Collars, they actually sit

nicely around the neck. The points are very even. A very well-executed

piece of sewing all round. May and Patrick now rank the shirts from

three to one. Lauren, sadly yours is the third. But well done, anyway.

In second place, was Sandra. Ann, you're the winner of this challenge.

Thank you. Not a lot to choose My shirt has become top of three,

which is brilliant. I'm so pleased. I'm gutted about that judging. I

didn't do well at all. If I wanted to win I shouldn't have come last.

Men's shirts are incredibly tricky. Up next, the alteration challenge

and this time the sewing machine is The judges would like to see hand

sewing. So, machines are completely off limits, but you can use

applique, hand-sew or do beading. You each get one of these and you

each have an hour-and-a-half. Sandra, you look thunderous.

terrified. There will be horrendous. Good luck. Your time starts, now.

As well as everything in the haberdashery, Lauren, Sandra and

Ann have been offered threads, sequins and beads. In almost every

challenge so far, they've been dominated by the ability to use the

machine and I work in a workshop where almost everything is done by

hand and it's about the relationship between you and that

needle and the thimble and the fabric. They shimmer, but I think

I'll get lost. Can you leave me something on the table, please?

haven't seen decorative hand sewing, so it will be really interesting to

see how they tackle this challenge. There are lots and lots of

different stitches that they can use and it's using those in an

artistic way that we're looking for. I've done a lot before. When I was

a kid, I used cross-stitch, but this is all more free. I'm thinking

like a sort of sig-zag and stripey thing. Lauren plans to hand sew

three lines of embroidery stitching, topped with a double line of fine

sequins. I have a lot to claw back. That shirt was a mess. My -- I've

made bags before, but I haven't really decorated them. Sandra is

hoping to effect an applique design, where pieces of contrasting fabric

are delicately hand-sown on to the bag. I haven't got a clue what I'm

going to do, I just flow. We'll put a few petals on. I like doing this

sort of thing. I like doing hand stitching. Ann has already begun

sewing her design. I'm going to do some sort of free-formed kouching

over it. Kouching is a quick -- couching over it. Couching is a

versatile technique. She has laid a thick thread on the bag, which she

will secure with a finer thread. make little stitches over it.

stitch must have the same tension, because it can look pinched or

loose, distorting the free-flowing design. I'll be thick of ways I can

fill in shapes and things. I think it's really interesting the way

that Ann and Sandra are interpreting the challenge. Ann is

doing couching and Sandra applique and running stitch. I'm looking

forward to seeing them finished. Sandra's running stitch, may be

simple, but consistency is crucial. Each must be the same and each

stitch must be the same length and distance from the last. Can we keep

these bags? 20 minutes in. When you're hand sewing, things have to

be super duper neat. Lauren is yet to make her first stitch.

trying to draw my design, because I want it to be consistent throughout

the bag. Four divided by... That's 25. Can you see the zig-zag? It's

coming. It's appeared. Sewers, you have one hour left. That's one hour

left. Ann has already finished her couching. What will you do now?

think I'm going to experiment doing some stitching alongside this, just

to sort of echo it. Quite big and bold stitches. I'm going with the

flow. I haven't got a plan. It's like the blind leading the blind.

Sandra's attaching even more applique. You know, when my family

watch this, they'll kill themselves. Lauren's finally begun sewing her

top row of sequins. Really fabulous things to use, but very fiddley to

use. They are cupped as well, so I'm trying to make sure I pick them

up all the same way. That's right, so it's backwards. I think just two

rows is maybe enough. I don't want to spend all my time doing sequins.

Having applied petals and flower buds, Sandra has found some beads.

I'm not a bead person. My friend does lots. She will be saying,

"Haven't you learnt anything from me?". At least someone can go out

and think they can buy those things and do it. Everyone, you have half

an hour left. Lauren's second line of hand sewing is a classic

embroidery stitch with a twist. Instead of using one thread, I've

actually made four threads to be as if it is one thread. So that it's

got more of an impact. When you are hand sewing, one thread is not

really going to stand out. I wanted to use this, because there is more

of a shimmer. The other thread was more of a dull, flat colour. You've

got to put on another eight pieces? I would have liked to have

connected them somehow. Yes, some sort of stem. It goes quite well

with your jacket. You could do another and put it on the cuff.

me a little boutonniere. I better try and woo him a little bit.

time running out, Lauren has been forced to change her design. I had

originally thought I would hand sew all the stripes, but it was a bit

unrealistic to do it in an hour- and-a-half. I'm trying to use

Bondaweb to stick my next stripe on to the bag. As soon as the iron

touches it t will stick. Sewers, you have -- touches it, it will

stick. Sewers, you have ten minutes left. This will be it? Just putting

little bunches of sequins on. not going to finish on time, I

don't think. Probably I have been overambitious. I'm going to join

the flowers together with the stalk. Sewers, you have one minute left.

Is that right? Yes. Yes. I'm in a knot. OK, everyone, that is time.

Please, put your bags on your Your running stitches are an even

length and you've got good thread tension there. They're all sitting

about the same amount of tension on top of the fabric. There's

continuity there, the design flows and it's stitched well. You've done

three quite simple techniques, but you've done them very well. And I

think because you did it in a step by step way. You didn't look like

you were under pressure. You were just, OK, I've done this bit now

I'm going to do this next bit. So it works as a whole.

We asked you to personalise a bag. And that says Sandra like nothing

else could, it's a roaring success. I love the texture on this. I love

the fact that you've put these berries in the middle of the flower.

You've sewn them from behind, you can't see any of the stitches

holding those berries on there. The chenille trim here, I can't even

see the stitching on that. Your stitching is invisible. You've got

some running stitch around your leaves. There's good rhythm in your

stitching, nice and even. Overall You drew the whole thing out at the

very beginning and you kind of gave yourself this massive challenge.

And if you'd just started with one zig zag of sequins in the middle

then you could have said, right I've got another half hour, I'll do

another row. Might it have been easier for you to use a thicker

thread to start off with in hindsight? Yeah, I should have used

it to try and get the impact that I wanted. I mean, actually, what

you've done is really really nice. And that times four on the whole

bag would have been fantastic. huge well done on your second

challenge. You have one challenge left before somebody is announced

the winner. It's the big one, it could change everything. We'd like

you to start tonight. Go to the cafe, have a break and then come

back and we start on your final challenge of the competition ever.

I love Sandra's bag. From a distance it had great impact, I

think the other two were neck and neck for me.

You're ok, that was lovely. Come on. You're great, absolutely great,

yep.. I think Lauren was pretty upset. She came in this week in a

great position, but we've got a massive eight hours of sewing to go.

We've done two quick challenges. The shirt was tough. She performed

pretty well, it's not like it was a disaster by any stretch. And I

think having seen what she plans to do with the evening dress, if she

fits it well if she executes it well, y'know, she's every chance of

winning. So I don't think she should be despondent by any stretch.

I have some really exciting news, normally at this point we introduce

our sewers to their models who they've worked with for the last

three weeks. But because it's the final, it's special. So we thought

they should have some very special models. So if you don't mind, I'm

going to introduce you to Ann's daughter, Sally. Hello. Sandra's

daughter, Rebecca. And this is Lauren's sister, Jenny Kate. Guys,

thanks so much for doing this. Now, you put your mum up for this,

didn't you, Rebecca? Yeah, I told her about the show, but she

wouldn't enter herself, so I did it for her. Did you talk to Lauren

last night? Yes. I spoke to her on the phone last night, she doesn't

have clue. I told her good luck. And my favourite thing is we've had

to give your mum the measurements. And what does she keep on saying

about her new model? My new model's a very odd size. Alright, get into

position. Off you go, girls. I'm going to bring them in, I'm going

to bring in the judges, it's like Oprah. For this last challenge, the

sewers have chosen their pattern and fabric and they've been given

their models' measurements. But have no idea who their models might

be. The final task is a difficult one. You have eight hours to create

a very, very gorgeous evening dress. Because it's the final we thought

we'd give you different models. OK, let's meet your models.

Did you know about this? Well, sewers we're very, very happy

you're happy. Some of you are crying. You're crying. We love that

the fact, Ann, you've got your model that is oddly shaped. So huge

luck with this task. Remember, one of you will be the winner and your

time starts now. I want to get over the shock of this. Tell me when you

need me. There's a chair just there, don't talk to me. To stand a chance

of winning the Sewing Bee title, Lauren, Ann and Sandra need to

create a made to measure evening gown which fits perfectly. Come

here a minute, Beck. They have an hour tonight to measure up and cut

out their fabric. Do you want me to hold it? They've had a chance to

practice making the dress at home and Sandra used daughter Rebecca as

her model. I just wish now I'd taken the time to fit it properly.

I'll never forgive her. She's worse than having a real model because

she'll criticise it so bad. But I can shout at her and I can stick

the pins in her. Sandra is making Rebecca a teal satin gown with a

draped chiffon train, which runs from the neckline and along the

plunging back. Hello. Can we see your pattern? That's the satin.

That will drape beautifully, won't it? It's got a little bit of weight

in it. This is going to drape round the shoulders there and just go

down. I hope so because I have my worst critic here.

The dress has got lots of panels at the front which give the dress its

shape. And then it's got a big long skirt. It'll go all the way to the

floor. Lauren's floor length gown has a sequined skirt and an

asymmetric bodice made up of 19 separate panels in duchess satin.

My sister is eight years older than me. Seven and a half. Sorry, she's

seven and a half years older than me and she lives in Scotland, so I

don't really see her that often. I think it has given me a boost, it's

been a good distraction anyway from earlier on. With measurements taken,

and patterns pinned, the finalists start cutting out their fabric.

Good evening. Which view are you making? So I'm making this one with

the three quarter sleeves. So what are you putting your lace on to? Oh,

that bright blue? A little black dress I had in mind. Ann's little

black cocktail dress is made from lace layered over blue taffeta.

Like Sandra and Lauren, she's chosen a delicate fabric which is

difficult to handle. It really wants to slip and slide all over

the place, but I shall talk to it very firmly and it will behave

itself. I'm going to cut the lining out. I wanted to do the sequins in

the morning really when I'm not so tired.

Just want to get it finished for you, Bec. Ok, everybody tools down,

that's it, you've had an hour, you will have another seven tomorrow.

Go home, rest, and we'll see you tomorrow morning.

Lauren, Ann and Sandra enter the sewing room for the last time. At

the end of today one of them will be named the winner. Having cut out

their fabric, they've got seven hours left to make an evening dress.

Last night I cut out the nine panels that make up the front and

then the back. As well as the complicated bodice of her dress,

Lauren has chosen a stretchy sequin fabric for her skirt which is

notoriously tricky to control under the machine. As soon as I saw the

sequined fabric, I knew I wanted to use it to give the dress a big wow

factor. At the moment I'm attaching the lining onto the skirt fabric.

So it makes the sequins easier to handle.

Who are you most worried about? Who in five hours time will we be

rushing in to help? I'm really worried about Lauren because it's

an ambitious style. She's also got a stretchy sequin fabric for the

skirt. If she stretches it out of shape and it doesn't go well, it

could look a mess. She's got a lot to do in the time. Let's talk about

Ann. If she can handle this layer of lace over the top I think she's

got every chance of pulling something quite stunning out of the

bag. She's lining up the pattern on her lace, because it's got a very

specific pattern, it's got to run around the body. Are you happy with

Sandra's? She's got the complication of this sort of

chiffon scarf which may not be easy to handle. I mean, it's a tough

fabric. Sandra's hoping her lining will help her achieve a good fit.

She's going to use it as a toile, a practice garment which is then used

as a template for the actual dress. If I can get that right it might

help with the finished dress. I'm not going to press the seams of

this lining yet because if I've got to alter it, it'll just make it

harder. With two hours gone on the challenge, Ann is still preparing

her fabric by hand and has yet to touch her machine. I put tailor

tacks in to mark all the important points on the pattern before I

start any sewing. Parts of all jobs are pretty tedious, you know,

washing up after a good dinner. You can't cook a dinner without making

dirty pots. And if you skip this stage then you really run into

trouble later on. She spends absolutely ages tacking everything

together. I've got an image of her as a child doing more of that than

sitting on the sewing machine. Having lined her sequin skirt,

Lauren moves on to constructing her bodice. There are lots of parts but

once they all go together, it's a little more straightforward from

there. What are you doing this minute? I've got these two to go on

to here. Oh amazing, it's going to look beautiful. You seem quite

confident, I'm delighted. Well I don't feel confident about getting

it to fit. Because generally, everything that I've made for the

real life models doesn't fit them. Well when the judges say it's about

fit, I don't think they mean it. Is that the front? Yep. Sandra's

finished her lining. If it fits Rebecca, she'll use it as her

template for the actual dress. does it feel around your bum? It's

not a bad fit. I think we're ok, Beck. Satisfied her dress is

perfectly tacked together, Ann is finally ready to start sewing on

the machine. This looks so beautiful. Yes, I'm really pleased

with the way it looks. Am I wrong in thinking you actually measured

the lace up so that that whole pattern followed, was that

incredibly hard? That's the visual centre of the lace, yes. And you

have to find that otherwise it looks off when you're wearing it.

haven't even seen anybody else's. Ann's sitting right behind me and

every time I've looked hoping to see it, I haven't. And I've missed

Lauren's, all I've seen is some beautiful gold glitter, which

frightens me. Looks like competition, doesn't it? Everyone,

you have four hours left. Four hours left on this task. Hop to it.

Right, strip. Halfway through the final challenge and it's time for

Ann and Lauren to test the fit of their dresses. I'm just pinning the

bodice to the skirt ready for the first fitting. You can't fit a

bodice unless it's attached to the skirt, because you need the weight

of the skirt to pull it down. Da-nah! I think I maybe have to

take it in slightly at the side. Let me see you at the back, this is

a bit slack. Right, turn round to the front and let's have a look. Oh,

Geronimo! Are you pleased? Is that a relief? Yes, very. Yes, I was!

I'm happy with that, right, back in, back in.

I'm just doing a gathering stitch which just gathers in to the middle

of the dress at the front. Having finished her lining and prepared

the satin fabric for the dress, Sandra moves onto her biggest

challenge. The fine chiffon train which must be perfectly hemmed. Is

this the chiffon round the neck? this will go like that. Have you

ever worked with this fabric before? It's very thin, isn't it?

Once before and I remember then it was a nightmare. Because that

fabric will bruise, won't it? That's a good word, Claudia. Mmm,

I've been hanging out with May. The raw edges of the train need to be

turned in with a rolled hem, which Sandra is securing with a machined

row of fine machine stitching. But one slip on this delicate fabric

could destroy the look of the train. I've just missed a tiny little bit.

Because it's such a little hem, it hasn't quite caught it. It wouldn't

have looked very nice if there was a little bit of raw hem showing.

Everyone, you have two hours left. Right, I'm going to sew my dress up

now. Right, like that. Now I can start

my actual construction. The basic tricky bits are now dealt with in

the preparation and that's what makes this fairly meticulous

preparation really worthwhile. they puckered? No, do you want me

to hold it up so you can see? don't want to press it. Because if

I press it, it could mark. $:/STARTFEED. One hour to go. The

dresses are taking shape, but there are still crucial elements to

complete. Right. I get this zip in. What kind of zip are you putting

in? A regular zip and I'll panned- prick it in. I don't want machine

stitching to show on this lace. Sandra and Lauren are using their

machines to put in their zips. With such delicate fabric any errors

will show and Sandra has the unpicker out. I don't know why this

side, it's puckered just at the end. I can't leave it at the end. Do you

think it's the satin that has slipped? The one side has gone

beautiful. I think it's rushing and getting too close. The last bit of

machine stitching is this seam here. You have 30 minutes left. I trod on

this. It will be black by the time I've finished. The trouble with

putting all the tacks in is they do eventually have to come out.

not pinning the lining. If that's a corner I've got to cut, it's a

corner I've got to cut. It's about that too long. Everyone, you have

15 minutes to put your dresses on your models. I don't know if the

dress is going to be finished, because I don't know if I'm going

to sew the hem. I might sew it while it's on her. Where are you

going? I'm looking for a hook and loop and I can't find any.

fight isn't over yet! I've goot to put a hook of some sort -- got to

put a hook of some sort. Mum, what's this? Have you finished it

this? No, there's five inches left to do. Hopefully I'll have a dress

that's fnished. I cross my fingers -- finished. I cross my fingers and

pray. That's the end. Time's up. Sandra, let go off the iron, please.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 40 seconds

First up, Sandra and Rebecca, It drapes beautifully on Rebecca.

It is sitting beautifully on her body. I know you had terrible

trouble with the hem on this. You've tackled it well. You've got

a nice, even edge. You had zip issues and sadly - they are

unforgiving, especially in satin. The fact that there is a little bit

of unevenness down the side of this zip is irrelevant to me. It's

absolutely invisible. You wouldn't know there's a zip in there. The

shape of the back is perfectly balanced. The overall impression is

really stunning. I think this is the best piece of work you've done

I mean, initial impressions, I think it's a phenomenal piece of

sewing. You've chosen a frifically difficult material to work in here

-- terrifically difficult material to work in here. It's very well

balanced. I think it has a beautiful silhouette. You've got

this rose running all the way down the bodice. You've also got the

same bit of pet earn on each sleeve as well. Putting in the sleeves

with a sheer, you can see all the seaming and you've got a beautiful

seam line around there. It's a very sophisticated-looking dress. It's a

roaring success in my book. Thank The main thing I was worried about

with this dress was the fit. But the fit is beautiful. It's really

huggy the back there and the front is really sitting beautifully. Also,

you've got a very difficult fabric here. It's very stretchy and it's

hanging straight down to the ground. A little bit on the bottom hem, a

little bit of unevenness. Also, just got a slight gather in the

long seam here, but it doesn't take away at all from the impact of this

dress, which is really stunning. You could find tiny faults, but

it's a really fantastic piece of dress-making so extremely well done.

A huge well done to all of you. The judges are now going to have to

deliberate, so have a cup of tea and somebody will be announced as

Britain's best amateur sewer. feel like I've really, really

surprised myself, because I had this vision in my head of how the

dress might look. I didn't know if it was going to be good or not. I'm

really pleased with what I did. like to think I've done my very,

very best sewing. What position that puts me in, I don't know.

really do think it's very, very close and I'm just glad I'm not a

judge. Whilst Patrick and May make their decision, all the fine ists'

garments are put on display for their family and fellow members to

look at. They've all got completely different strengths. I think

everybody deserves to win, because the quality of the clothes that

they've produced is amazing. don't know how the judges will call

it. I think the final dress could have swung it anyway. Right,

Patrick and May, you now are about to choose who is going to win the

great British Sewing Bee. Before you totally come to your decision,

tell us about Sandra and her work. Sandra has done amazingly well.

Week one, first challenge, best skirt, fully lined. I think she's

consistently shown us she can sew, but it's been frustrating, because

we haven't seen her finish anything and all of a sudden, final day and

challenge and there it is. The finished garment. Very good needle

woman, she just needs to believe in herself. Tell us about Ann. Really

lovely work. She never underperforms. Just her natural

ability with the material and the with the needle and sewing machine,

it's at a really elevated level. She is showing a life-time of

sewing skills. Let's talk about Lauren. She pushes herself.

Occasionally she goes abit awry, but this dress was a big challenge.

She's done exceptional work, really beautiful work and every time we've

given her a challenge she has stretched herself a bit more and

built on her skills. So, you are happy with the finists. I've only

got one question for you then, do you know who you want to win?

Finists, please come forward. -- finalists, please come forward. Ann,

Sandra, and Lauren, I like the fact you are doing deep breathing.

Brilliant. Three finalists, who made the most beautiful, beautiful

dresses and wonderful things throughout the series. It's now

time to announce the winner. The winner of the Great British Sewing

Bee is... Ann. APPLAUSE

Can I give you that? Well done. thank you. How lovely!

Congratulations. Well done. Are you over the moon? Oh, that's brilliant.

Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Ann consistently produced the most

wonderful work and her dress was challenging fabric and she matched

the pattern. The whole dress was lovely. Ann has demonstrated the

most beautiful, classical dress- making and tailoring skills. If I

could employ her now I would. know, it's a real boost that for

all these years I've been doing something right. I'm 81. I know you

are. This is absolutely brilliant. I mean, look at this. Look at

everybody. It's absolutely magical. I like to think that not just me,

but everyone who's been on this programme has inspired people to

pick up their needles, get out their sewing machines and just get

on with it and show. It would have been great to win and obviously you

are going to feel a bit of disappointment, but she is awesome

and she deserves to win. I have always lacked a bit of confidence

in my sewing, even up to this week, should I be here and am I good