Children's Week The Great British Sewing Bee

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

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

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

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

-Last time...

-Aargh!

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

-Oh, great(!)

-Oh, why have I done this?

-Savile Row's Patrick Grant...

-Sorry, we've made you panic.

-Please go..

-..and Central Saint Martin's Esme Young...

-A little bit off here.

I love how tough you were there.

..ranked househusband Jamie in the top spot.

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

Then, a maternity dress alteration...

-Oh, that wasn't very good, was it?

-..failed to impress.

I'm really disappointed.

-PR manager Angeline created a made-to-measure skirt...

-It's sexy.

-PATRICK CHUCKLES

-Is she making you blush?

..deemed fit for garment of the week.

-Retired teacher Tracey...

-I thought it was quite flouncy.

-..put herself in danger.

-I mean, it is flouncy.

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

was abruptly cut short.

Oh, that's dangerous.

-Oh, Duncan.

-It's fine, it's fair.

Now... SHE SIGHS

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

Oh, my God, these cuffs are teensy.

-..creating stretchy babygros...

-One gusset, yes!

..shrinking down silky dresses...

Go on, Jamie! Rip it with your teeth!

..and crafting exquisite woollen capes.

GASPS

But who will survive to stitch another week?

That's going to be fabulous.

And who will unravel under the pressure?

-It's got to come off.

-CLAUDIA SHRIEKS

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

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

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

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

Oh, dear.

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

but this week it's a lot more calm.

-It's got a nappy on it!

-LAUGHS

Mine's having a disco.

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

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

but I quite like the idea of creating for children.

The pattern challenge tests

the sewers' ability to follow instructions,

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

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

You all look smiley.

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

I'm going to give you each the patterns,

if you could just hand those around.

SEWERS LAUGH

We'd like you to make a babygro.

What I want to see is evenly-sewn cuffs,

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

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

-Good luck, everyone.

-Right, let's have a wander around.

Active babies need stretchy fabrics...

-That's stretch, what's that?

-I think it's too lightweight.

-Ah, right.

..so the pattern requires the most flexible

and comfortable material the haberdashery has to offer...

I like the tractor. I'm going tractor.

..stretch cotton jersey.

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

Don't even like that.

What are you testing them on with this?

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

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

sewing together.

It's just fine material-handling skills.

Yes. The most difficult thing will be the binding.

It's really important where they stretch it,

and then, after that, the gusset.

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

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

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

So, no pressure.

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

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

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

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

as he makes all his own shirts and jackets.

He does it when Harry's asleep.

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

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

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

-Morning.

-Good morning.

-Right, we can see here how this fabric is curling.

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

-handling it, that's all.

-Yes, OK.

And you've used stretch before?

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

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

-Best of luck.

-Thank you.

-Yeah, good luck.

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

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

-So, what do you think?

-For Emily?

-Yeah.

C'est jolie.

Ghislaine grew up in Martinique, where she and her sister

helped their mum run craft activities at the local orphanage.

Ghislaine sewed because our mother sewed too.

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

What worries me the most is the shape itself.

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

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

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

Right.

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

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

Next, sleeves are fitted,

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

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

and nine jersey snaps are applied.

I don't feel too uncomfortable, cos

I make kids' clothes quite often.

I think it's just...

I'm so used to it by now.

All the way round.

Jade has three younger siblings to practise on,

but she doesn't stop there.

Jade's made her dad a lovely shirt.

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

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

# 20 tiny fingers, 20 tiny toes

# Two angel faces. #

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

which is really useful with stretch fabrics,

because they do have a tendency to shift about otherwise.

I've already made a mistake.

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

Nice cut pieces will guarantee a nice garment.

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

just to make sure it doesn't move around.

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

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

-That probably needed to be shorter.

-Rumana's latest project is

creating outfits for her four-month-old niece.

I know when she makes things for people,

she gets really excited, they get really excited,

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

satisfaction that she gets is probably the most important thing.

Just going to try and keep calm,

and just follow the instructions carefully.

That's my plan.

I have made dresses for my little niece.

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

but I have never made any babygros.

Newlywed Angeline made all her bridesmaids' dresses,

and she makes all her own outfits for special occasions.

Many of the garments Angeline's

made are formal wear,

so a lot of them are breathtaking.

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

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

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

CHUCKLES

Let's go. Let's start sewing.

Right, to start with on this,

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

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

# Bring me a higher love. #

Tracey likes nothing better than a weekend sing-along sewing

session with her daughter, Laura.

I love my mum's sewing.

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

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

and I'm so proud of her for trying.

-Morning.

-Morning.

-Morning.

-What are you up to?

-I've cut out...

-Oh, you have.

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

-Very cosy for the baby.

-Lovely, in't it? Yeah, I was very drawn to that.

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

-I've not got enough fabric, Patrick, sorry.

-Haven't you?

Must be more somewhere, can we...?

Now I'm going to make the bias binding,

just sew the bias binding together

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

Josh makes most of his own t-shirts,

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

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

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

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

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

Yeah, naturally I would work with jersey,

rather than pretty much anything.

-Yeah. Right.

-I feel a little bit more comfortable today.

-This should be a doddle, for you then.

-Er, we'll see.

Once the binding's made,

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

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

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

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

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

The binding is sort of the prominent feature of the front

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

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

Charlotte's been sewing since the age of seven.

She's made everything,

from prom dresses to jeans to her own swimsuit.

Charlotte's life is wrapped in thread.

Everything she does, just about, involves sewing.

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

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

Don't be ridiculous. No.

-Cos it's just...

-What's the point?

They throw up on it, they poo on it,

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

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

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

right the way across the garment.

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

cos it'll stretch out of shape.

Yeah, I never sew this slowly.

But then, nothing else normally matters this much.

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

but Jamie has decided on a different finish,

making his binding narrower on the outside.

I topstitched through the main fabric.

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

so it's not too wide.

I hope.

God, this baby is so tiny.

There we go. Binding done.

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

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

They've been married for 50 years,

and sewing has always been part of family life.

I remember Mum sewing even when I was little.

I remember playing with the button box.

If she didn't have her sewing machine out,

there'd be something wrong.

-You must have made nine million babygros.

-No, I didn't make one.

Oh.

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

babygros weren't invented.

What did your babies wear? Hessian? JOYCE LAUGHS

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

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

Even when they were little tiny creatures?

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

JOYCE LAUGHS

Babygros are a relatively recent innovation.

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

babies were often wrapped in tight, restrictive bandages.

Carers swaddled their children

because they wanted to keep them warm,

and they wanted to keep them protected,

but also to try and keep the limbs straight.

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

and broken, so they wanted to keep them immobilised.

Swaddling continued until the 18th century,

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

led to questions about its supposed health benefits.

One physician who voiced his concern was William Cadogan.

He looked into the effects of swaddling,

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

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

Cadogan published his findings in 1748,

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

Children's clothing began to be redesigned,

to allow greater freedom of movement, and from this

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

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

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

You have a very relaxed waist, and then also,

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

bathroom without having to take off everything.

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

and to act as children should.

Thanks to Cadogan and the Age Of Enlightenment,

clothing for infants had taken a great leap forward, laying

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

Sewers, you are halfway through. Halfway.

SHE SIGHS

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

Do you think it looks like a babygro yet?

I'm now attaching my sleeves to my babygro.

I've zigzag stitched the sleeve already,

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

The overlocker is ideal for sewing babygros.

It creates robust and stretchy seams by looping several threads

together to wrap the raw edges.

It's not working for me.

It just keeps gathering.

Where have you got to?

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

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

-Yes.

-..and the binding.

-That's right.

-Anywhere else? The cuffs?

-The cuffs will be blue as well.

-The gusset?

-Yes.

And have you ever sewn a gusset before?

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

-We'll see how that works out.

-All right.

-It might be my issue.

-We don't expect any problems with that piece.

-OK.

-OK.

-Thank you.

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

Careless sewing could result in unsightly gathers,

or gaps in the crotch.

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

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

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

sideways, and it would look like rubbish.

Sewers, you have one hour to go!

Trying to get that through the overlocker.

That's probably going to be the main challenge,

because there's a blade on it.

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

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

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

If I need to redo anything with that,

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

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

if I can get away with it.

WHIRRING

Aargh! That is so tricky.

Or chop a hole through it with the overlocker.

So, so, so tricky.

Aargh!

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

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

Oh, look at that. One gusset, yes!

Can you see my gusset?

SHE LAUGHS

What? No...

The gusset's not right.

-How are you?

-Erm, not good.

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

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

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

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

-Oh, I'd love for it to be asymmetrical.

-Because this is a cool baby.

OK, sewers.

Hopefully, you're all working on your cuffs,

because you only have half an hour left.

-All on your cuffs?

-Yep.

-Good, whoever said yes.

-Me, in the corner.

-Well done, Jade.

Oh, my God, these cuffs are teensy.

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

WHIRRING

Ooh. But they do look very cute.

What is this? Aargh!

Great(!) Wonderful(!)

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

Everything's finished. Apart from the poppers.

I marked the popper positions using the pattern piece,

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

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

GRUNTING

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

Ooh, it's done it!

-Four minutes, sewers.

-Oh, my goodness.

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

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

Oh, no! The top fell off.

-Three to go.

-Come on!

-I keep dropping them.

-Well, stop dropping them.

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

This is always the last-minute rush for me.

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

Can you just show me again...

-It doesn't matter which way round you have them?

-No.

-No.

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

-Done.

-There you go, little man.

-Thank you, Claudia.

-GRUNTS

-Oh!

-Quick, quick. Shift them. Legs.

-Ooh, head fell off.

-30 seconds!

-Oh, come on!

-I'll do men, you do women.

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

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

OK, time is up, everyone.

It went all crooked.

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

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

That's gorgeous. Edible.

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

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

After three and a quarter hours of labour,

nine babygros are delivered.

Rumana is up first.

# Crazy 'bout you baby

# Crazy 'bout you, baby

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

-Overall, it's very neat and tidy.

-Cuffs seem good, yeah.

Inside, it doesn't look so neat.

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

-Gusset...

-Yes.

-Should we?

-Yes, why not?

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

-Well done.

-Thank you.

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

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

-Yeah.

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

-One other thing...

-I missed the button.

-It... It just doesn't work, does it?

-Yeah. No.

-Yeah.

You've put the poppers the wrong way.

It should be big side over small side.

-Right.

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

Thank you.

Both done exactly the same thing, which is

get the small side over the big side.

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

-We have a male pair.

-I thought I'd got away with it.

-PATRICK CHUCKLES

-What a shame.

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

-I have.

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

stabilises the popper.

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

and closing it, the popper will come off.

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

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

The overall effect of this is really good.

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

-haven't you?

-Yeah.

I should have flipped the pattern piece over.

But you've got the poppers in the middle,

the binding looks pretty even.

The cuffs are good.

This was going so well.

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

you've just misaligned them.

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

-It looks...

-Pretty good.

-..absolutely first-rate.

All of these snaps, they're all working.

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

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

-Here I go.

-Pretty good.

-It's really polished, wouldn't you say?

-Yup.

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

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

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

Can we start with the gusset?

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

where it was supposed to be?

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

-Oh, yes.

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

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

-Yep.

In panic, yeah.

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

and probably the back of the wardrobe.

OK.

Come with me. It'll be fine.

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

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

In eighth place is Angeline, and it's

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

In seventh place is Josh, Jamie takes sixth,

Tracey is fifth, Joyce is fourth,

and third is Rumana.

In second place is Jade.

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

-Thank you.

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

CHEERING

Thank you.

It looks spectacular.

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

Huge congratulations to all of you.

It's now time for cakes,

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

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

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

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

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

It didn't go too well.

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

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

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

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

'Having used stretch jersey to follow a pattern,

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

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

-Sewers, are you ready for the alteration challenge?

-Eee...

-No.

Patrick, what do you have for them?

It's a bridesmaid's dress.

This challenge is all about you work with

and understand slippery materials.

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

to fit your mannequin.

What we really want is something imaginative and creative.

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

You have 90 minutes. Your time starts now.

MUSIC: Rip It Up by Bill Haley And His Comets

Oh, my goodness.

All the bridesmaids' dresses contain fabrics that are tricky to

handle, like satin and chiffon.

Go on, Jamie. Rip it with your teeth!

What can we do? What can we do?

Most of the fabrics in these dresses are slippery.

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

I want to see them

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

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

-Yes.

And we do want their personalities to come over.

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

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

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

Me kids quite often come home and say,

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

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

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

and then kind of use this like that.

Yep, petals.

-Can I say the words "forest fairy?"

-Yeah, yeah, that kind of idea.

I thought about a butterfly kind of thing.

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

Jamie, who's that?

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

I've draped the backing across,

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

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

I might use netting on the skirt.

-Joyce.

-Yes.

-What'cha doing?

-I'm making a dress.

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

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

-Nice.

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

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

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

This is a proper princess dress, no messing about.

Josh, what are you making?

I'm hoping to make a children's sleeveless bomber jacket.

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

Is a gilet enough? Should there be some undergarments?

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

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

Yeah.

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

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

I need an amazing comeback.

Sewers, you are halfway through.

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

Right, this is going OK.

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

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

Ghislaine. Oh, my God, I love it.

I was going for...

-That's what I was looking for.

-Like that. Like a kid fighter.

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

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

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

taking your time and being careful.

My bridesmaid's dresses were chiffon,

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

It's quite a delicate fabric.

SIGHS

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

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

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

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

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

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

You've got half an hour left.

An hour's gone?

As well as the fabric in the dress...

Sequins.

..the sewers can make use of the haberdashery.

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

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

fold it, and stitch it.

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

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

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

-Adorable. Like that? I'm excited.

-Yeah.

I'm just inserting a zip.

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

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

Sewers, you have ten minutes.

I wish my sewing machine was going quicker.

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

when she dances.

I'm just trying to add a flow here,

so that it looks as if it's underwater.

If I can get the string in,

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

Come on!

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

-At least.

-OK, what is it?

-It's a dress.

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

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

but I can just have it undone.

Five minutes!

Come on!

Just keep sewing.

-Can't get it on.

-Why?

-I don't know.

-OK. Just ease it in.

They're my fairy wings.

-Ease it in.

-It's got to come off.

CLAUDIA SHRIEKS

-What is that?

-The fringing, it doesn't stretch.

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

-I mean, I am watching.

-Oh, God, get... Oh!

WHISPERING: You did it.

Right, that's it. Time. Finished.

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

# Steppin' out with my baby

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

Nine adult bridesmaids'

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

I'm amazed.

And the judges have no idea whose is whose.

This person's gone to town with the draping.

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

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

Yes. Yeah.

-A lot of skills.

-And a lot of thought.

-Yep.

This one is something else.

They've certainly had a hack at this dress.

Personally, I don't like this and this.

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

It feels just a little bit haphazard.

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

The back is more interesting.

This goes round and that goes round the other way.

I mean, not beautifully executed but ingenious.

I think the net petticoat underneath it gives it a very

-different shape.

-Is the net petticoat attached? Yes.

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

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

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

-There's lots of really good stuff in this.

-But hang on a minute.

Would that go over your head?

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

-This one has got shirring at the back.

-It's reasonably even.

All the detail is really at the back.

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

Now, is that attached? Hand sewn there.

Crossover at the back.

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

But some little girl would love to wear that.

For me, this is the least imaginative one.

Because it's basically three pieces joined together.

That arm hole looks very small.

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

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

-We did, yes.

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

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

-Somebody has learned how to use a snap this morning.

-Yes!

-It feels really together.

-To me, it really stood out in the line.

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

that mirrors the number on the back.

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

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

Patrick and Esme will now rank the bridesmaid dress alterations.

Number nine is the purple gilet.

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

In eighth a place, it's our mermaid.

There was a lot going on

but it just lacks a little coherence in my thinking.

In seventh place is Jade.

Sixth is Charlotte.

Joyce comes fifth and fourth place is Jamie.

In third place is the fairy.

We loved how the petals are going and all that.

In second place, it's...

..the...

pink butterfly dress.

Really lovely. Some beautiful handwork.

-A lot of imagination, so very well done.

-Thank you.

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

From bottom to number one!

You executed it really well. It's great.

-Are you happy?

-Very nice detail.

-Very happy, thank you.

OK, so you all did brilliantly. Well done!

We will see you tomorrow for the big challenge.

# Now, nothing's impossible... #

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

My God. Wow.

The feeling I have inside is absolutely impossible to describe.

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

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

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

Coming seventh and ninth is never a good thing.

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

to stay here another week.

# That's enough now. #

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

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

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

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

The babygro was really neat and accurate

and the pink butterfly showed lots of great skill.

The person who had the most extraordinary day, Ghislaine.

The babygro was an absolute dog's dinner,

but the alteration was great. It was imaginative.

She'd really thought carefully about details.

Let's talk about Angeline.

She made a few pretty fundamental mistakes on the babygro

-and I didn't get mermaid from the dress.

-Neither did I.

Joshua is at the bottom in that alteration challenge

and the babygro was just a little bit clumsy.

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

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

Yes, I would agree with that.

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

The sewers will be fitting their garments to actual children.

Ghislaine. You can call me Jean.

-Are you excited, then, yeah?

-Yeah.

-You feeling good?

-Yeah.

-Good.

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

This is of course children's week

and the judges would love you to make woollen capes.

You have four hours.

Your time starts now.

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

The sewers have had the chance to practise

making their capes at home but this is the first time

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

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

just down to the back of your neck, OK?

So, is that comfortable?

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

Wool can be incredibly lightweight and diaphanous.

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

I think the choice of fabric here

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

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

-And the hem.

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

-It's not as straightforward as I think people might imagine.

-No.

-You make it look really easy.

-This is the easy part!

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

If anything, it makes you more determined.

Angeline is making a collared cape.

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

known as a godet.

It will be finished with a large bow.

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

-OK, a godet.

-Godet.

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

-It's going to add feature.

-Why does it need a feature on the back?

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

-Make an impression.

-Right, I'm off!

-Make an impression as you walk away!

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

I have worked with wool before quite a bit.

I really enjoy working with it.

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

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

-I'm going for the nice country gentleman look.

-Oh!

-Nice pockets.

I like it.

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

Yes.

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

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

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

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

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

This is where the neck goes, in here,

and these bits sort of drape over the arms.

So it will make sense eventually.

Charlotte's collared cape will be made from one piece

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

I was a bit worried about this tweed.

I thought it might be a stinker.

-It's not bad, it's under control.

-So, how are you going to control it?

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

-I actually stitch it to the lining.

-What is your lining like?

-It's chocolate brown satin.

-OK.

-Great.

-Good luck.

-Look forward to seeing it.

-Thank you. Now you're making me nervous!

OK, I'm going to add four centimetres.

Ghislaine doesn't have a pattern as a template -

she's using a freehand cutting technique.

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

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

Think Sunday service - you're going to Sunday service

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

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

She is using a contrast cotton fabric for the collar,

lining and panelling,

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

-This is my pattern.

-That's for your scallops?

-Yes.

-OK.

That's the only piece I have.

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

accurate, so just be very, very careful.

Take your time and be accurate.

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

I'm going to be making a reversible cape.

Rather than a really girlie fabric,

I wanted quite a smart checked fabric on the one side

and then brown on the other side.

I would wear this.

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

and he plans to attach patch pockets onto both sides.

I'm trying to pattern match.

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

they will definitely pick up on it.

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

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

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

Oh, come on!

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

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

Really, really, really not happy.

# Oh, you've got yourself in a jam

# You're going to lose your honey lamb

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

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

sew that before I do anything else.

Let's do some sewing.

I'm now starting to construct the cape,

just putting the seams together.

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

You can see by the group,

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

Rumana is using a grey stretch wool and polyester blend

to make her cape,

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

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

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

It's very mobile, isn't it?

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

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

-Yes.

Size to be determined.

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

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

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

-Yes.

I've got the practice one at home.

What did your mum say when she saw it?

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

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

Explain to us what you're doing.

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

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

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

appliqued in contrast fabrics.

She is attaching heart-shaped patch pockets on the front

and inserting an exposed zip.

It was going to be lined or applique

and I thought the applique was more...

-Cos you feel that's your strongest.

-No, applique isn't my strongest.

Lining is, but I felt...

Hold on! So let's rewind through that.

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

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

With no applique, it's a plain thing.

-You think it'll give it a little wow factor?

-Yes.

-All right.

Joyce isn't the only sewer attempting applique.

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

and keep it nice and even,

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

cos it's quite slow and steady!

Tracey's applique butterflies will adorn her hooded cape.

Made in light wool, it will have side pockets

and will be fastened with a toggle.

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

it's even slower doing it by hand.

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

Sewers, you're halfway through the task.

Stand up.

Whip your jackety thing off just for a second.

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

-If we put it on this way...

-Stick your arms out.

You look like a bird!

It kind of drapes just over the shoulders

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

Flop, a very technical word!

Good stuff, well done!

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

it's too large.

I hope I will have enough time to fix it.

Right, turn round.

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

Right, what's next? Collar.

I'm putting a collar in.

I have drafted my collar, again, by hand.

Patrick and Esme will be looking for collars to be

perfectly in proportion with the cape as a whole

and inserted smoothly into the neckline.

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

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

so I can get it to stand up.

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

-Let's just put this on Mandy.

-It's so not finished.

You're going to look absolutely glorious.

She's got her hair in plaits

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

Skipping to the park?

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

-Exactly.

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

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

-Yeah.

Sewers, you have one hour left in cape land.

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

This is going to be my applique which is my favourite

job in the world, not.

It's done by eye more than anything.

We're just going to hope for the best.

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

it's all measured to the last millimetre!

I've constructed the pockets for both sides.

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

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

This is going to be one of my pockets.

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

especially when I'm going for the tailored look.

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

but I'm not going to stress about it.

I can soon catch up, I hope.

Jamie is doing his jets in his lining.

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

and doing it in contrasting fabric...

Will highlight any mistakes.

-Or any imperfections.

-I think his is the most ambitious.

I'm happy with that.

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

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

I wanted them to be a little bit deeper.

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

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

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

My hands are sweating because I am nervous.

The godet was not part of my original pattern.

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

SHE GASPS

I've done something really stupid.

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

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

These godets are going to be the end of me!

45 minutes left, sewers!

Let's do the lining. How exciting!

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

To line their capes,

the sewers are using a technique known as bagging out.

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

right sides together.

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

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

Millions of pins are the way to go.

What I'm going to do is make a hole

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

so it's like all the insides are inside,

and you sew your hems together like that.

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

You have got to be careful

because obviously the lining is quite slippery,

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

I'm about to turn it inside out

and hopefully have an amazing lined cape.

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

Just feed it through this tiny hole I have left.

It's very fiddly.

Perfect.

Oh! I have sewed my collar on upside down.

Oh, no, I didn't.

No, I didn't! Thank God!

Sewers, you have half an hour.

30 minutes to hand stitch that and do a bow.

Can you stick your arms straight out?

I'm going to put little poppers in

to make it into a little sleevey thing.

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

so he can get his hands out.

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

and then just cut it.

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

-What are you doing?

-Attaching a bow.

-Also, it's a big bow.

-They don't like a little bow.

-No.

-As we found out in week one.

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

Ten minutes left, sewers, ten minutes.

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

It is what it is and that's it.

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

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

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

pressed and one that has.

It sharpens it. I'm good at ironing.

-I've been doing it for about 60 years!

-How long have we got?

You shout it, three minutes.

-Three minutes!

-Louder than that.

-THREE MINUTES!

-Good girl.

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

I'll be down to the last 30 seconds.

Now, that there.

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

Last few minutes.

I've got three buttons to put on.

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

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

there's only three.

Oops!

All right, that's it.

It's time now.

Finish, cut it. Thank you.

Come on, my darling, stick it on.

Very well done!

-Happy?

-Yeah.

-Good.

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

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

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

but I'm really happy.

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

Then turn.

And hands out of pockets and walk smartly.

-That's our strategy, isn't it?

-Yes.

-# I really can't stay

-But, baby, it's cold outside

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

Nine gorgeous children's capes in just four hours.

But what will the judges think?

Charlotte and Maddie, you're up first.

# It's cold

# Outside. #

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

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

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

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

-Yes.

-And I think that's worked really well.

-Thank you.

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

but actually it is neat.

This is a very tricky skill.

-It's a little bit open there.

-God, you're being nit-picky, aren't you?

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

-Yep.

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

Yeah, that was in the last five minutes.

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

-Yeah.

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

-But it's a fantastic piece of work.

-Yes.

-And very original.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

# You're a pink toothbrush

# I'm a blue toothbrush

# Have we met somewhere before? #

Well, pink and grey.

-LAUGHTER

-Best colour combination there is.

The appliques work really well.

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

And the lace and the buttons and the jewels.

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

# Every time I hear you whistle... #

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

-It looks like a dog biscuit.

-RUMANA LAUGHS

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

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

-Mm.

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

Do you? Do you like it?

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

# A smile is something special

# A ribbon is something rare

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

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

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

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

And you set yourself a difficult task

-with a difficult fabric for that.

-Mm-hm.

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

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

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

You've matched the pockets,

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

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

-but it's quite bulky.

-Yeah.

I think the hood is a great fit.

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

# You make me feel so young

# You make me feel so... #

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

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

-Yep.

And actually, it's worked really well.

You've even got little pockets on the front

and you've put contrast inside the pockets.

-Very neat. Well done.

-Thank you.

# You make me feel

# So young... #

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

-Yes.

-It isn't. It works really nicely.

-Thank you.

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

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

-on the side.

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

# Baby, you're adorable

# Sweet as can be

# You're adorable... #

-You look very nervous.

-I am nervous after yesterday.

You needn't be nervous.

-It's a fantastic piece of clothing.

-Thank you.

We were worried about the godet, but actually

-it's worked really, really well.

-Thank you.

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

-is actually the thing that really makes it.

-Yes.

It gives it the wow factor.

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

I think the button is well applied.

-I think it's an absolute cracker.

-Well done.

A huge well done to all of you.

Go, have a nice cup of tea.

When you come back,

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

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

'I'm feeling a bit uneasy.

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

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

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

There was some other really, really nice capes there.

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

and I was lucky enough to stay here.

And I want to be here again next week.

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

I hope, I hope, I hope they can see

that there is potential.

Let's start with Garment of the Week.

There's two people in contention -

Angeline and Jamie.

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

But he hasn't finished.

And then we got Angeline, which is finished.

It's a great piece of sewing.

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

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

Ghislaine gave us the least successful

-of all of these capes.

-Absolutely.

The scallops aren't working.

And this was, really, a disaster.

-But then her Alteration Challenge...

-We loved it.

Let's talk about Josh's cape.

I think this is a pretty good cape.

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

But that is definitely the least successful of the alterations.

It boils down to Josh and Ghislaine.

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

And so do I.

Firstly, a huge well done.

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

which is Garment of the Week.

This week, we have chosen...

-APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

-What?!

You've sewn it really nicely

and we absolutely love your godet.

ANGELINE LAUGHS

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

So, after deliberating, Patrick and Esme

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

..it's Ghislaine. Sorry!

-It's all right.

-Sorry.

THEY WHISPER

Erm...

my new friends are the highlight of the experience.

The amazing people, and I will miss them.

'I hope Ghislaine carries on sewing,'

because she has made some nice things.

Thank you so much.

'What really let her down'

was the babygro and the cape.

-Thank you.

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

-LAUGHTER

-Yes.

-That was a rollercoaster.

'She gave us a fantastic alteration.'

She's got an eye for an imaginative garment.

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

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

-Yeah.

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

-JOSH:

-'My heart was beating.

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

But I live to sew another week.

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

I still can't believe it.

Never be scared of trying something different.

If you try that fabric,

that pattern that looks complicated,

you will learn something and you will grow.

Next time...

I haven't got a bloody clue.

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

At my age, I should know better.

..with the smallest pattern challenge yet.

How can that fit on someone's boob?

A revealing alteration...

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

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

-This isn't good.

-..that out-foxes...

Why do I always cut it to the wire?

..the best of them.

You just haven't done it very well.