Transcription THE GREAT BRITISH SEWING BEE Series 2, Episode 1 Claudia Hello. We are back. We've got a brand-new sewing room. You're going to love it. We've got ten brand- new sewers. They're adorable. And in just eight weeks’ time, one of them will be crowned Britain's best amateur sewer. Voiceover This year, thousands of people from all over Britain applied to take part in the Great British Sewing Bee. Cerina I sew for my kids late at night. No one around, and it's just for me. Jenni It gives me the opportunity to create things you wouldn't normally get in the high street. I get some really personalised something and make it fit me. Voiceover Ten of the nation's best home-sewers have made it to this sewing room. Cliff I feel a little bit out of body at the moment as though this can't really be real. Cerina I've got three daughters and I'd really like them to be proud of me. I want them to think their mum is cool. Chinelo All my family are really excited about me getting onto the competition, and said to me, "Don't be the first one out.” Voiceover Each week, they’ll face three challenges designed to test all of their sewing skills. Heather It's fantastic being with people that are like- minded, doing the same thing. Wonderful. Voiceover They'll have to prove they have the technical know- how to follow any pattern, then show off their creative side by transforming an ordinarily high- street buy into something spectacular, and make the perfect made-to-measure garment. Lynda I really just want to get in there and start sewing. I can't wait. 1 / 43 Transcription THE GREAT BRITISH SEWING BEE Series 2, Episode 1 Voiceover Everything from simple cotton tops to men's pyjamas to prom dresses will be judged by expert sewing teacher May Martin and Savile Row's Patrick Grant. David Pat says it as it is. You can deal with that. But May, ooh, I don't know. I think she can tell you off. May This series, we're going to be testing a range of skills, from the most basic which will have to be absolutely spot on, to the more technical which will really push them out of their comfort zone. Patrick It's a bigger competition. We're going to be expecting the sewers to take what they learn each week, grow with it, show us more and more. We're giving them an opportunity to really show their passion and flair for sewing. Voiceover But who will they crown the winner of the Great British Sewing Bee? Simon I don't feel particularly like I've got a good chance of winning. But it's nice to be here. Claudia They're in. The scissors are at the ready. Welcome to the Great British Sewing Bee. Voiceover This year we're back in London's East End, home to the nation's rag trade for 500 years. But we've moved to the river where, since the 16th century, ships carrying fabrics from all over the world sailed up the Thames and unloaded at wharfs just like this one. Claudia Welcome to the Sewing Bee. Huge congratulations for making it this far. It means you are already brilliant. This week, the judges want to see how you work with the three most popular fabrics found in a dressmakers' cupboard. So challenge one is cotton. This is the scary challenge. This is when you're given a pattern that you've never seen before, but I reckon it's week one so they'll have chosen something nice. What have you gone for? 2 / 43 Transcription THE GREAT BRITISH SEWING BEE Series 2, Episode 1 May We have got a sleeveless top for you to make. Thank you. Claudia I can hear squealing, and somebody just went “Oh.” I believe that was you, Cliff. Have you made a sleeveless top before? Cliff I never wear sleeveless tops. Claudia There's a haberdashery which is wonderful, full of beautiful things. You can choose whatever cotton you like. You've got two and a half hours. I'm making tea. We can tease Patrick. He likes it. Good luck. Your time starts now. Voiceover In this first challenge, Patrick and May want to test how good the sewers are at following a pattern. Jenni Oh my God! Voiceover And to make the top, they're free to choose any cotton they like. Cliff Back in the '60s, I had a mod shirt. A polka- dots’. So I thought I was taken with this one. Chinelo I have worked with cotton a lot. It's quite easy to work with, doesn't move about, doesn't slip. You can do literally anything with it. Claudia Why have you set this week's challenges about the three fabrics? Patrick Well, cotton, wool and silk are probably the commonest natural fabrics that we use. And they all behave very differently. We're starting with cotton which is a very stable fabric. It won't be moving around too much. So it's a good way of testing their basic sewing skills, but it will also show every detail. May Absolutely. Patrick We'll be able to see every mark, every stitch. Claudia And you've asked for a sleeveless top. 3 / 43 Transcription THE GREAT BRITISH SEWING BEE Series 2, Episode 1 May These are the things we'll be looking for. Claudia Go on. May Lovely clean edges. Can you see how beautifully flat that neckline is sitting? Claudia Yeah. May We've set them the challenge of making a handmade loop. This is the first week, and we would like to test them on the quality of their hand-sewing. This is a really lovely technique. Julie I'm looking for a tiny print, I think, and then I don't have to worry about matching the sides, I think, for this first challenge. I want to ease myself into it. Voiceover Mum-of-three Julie is a housing estate officer in West Yorkshire. She began sewing just four and a half years ago. Julie I am very much a "have a go at it”. I always think, "Oh, yeah, I can do that.” I thought I could learn laminate flooring, and that's why you're tripping over it every day in the hall. But I always think I can do everything. Claudia This is divine. Julie It's a little bit boring, but… Claudia No, it's not boring. It's beautiful. Julie We’re just in the first callege. I want to make it nice and neat. Claudia First challenge. Make it classic. Julie You're better off doing… You’re better off doing three things fantastically than ten things rubbish, aren't you? Claudia This is correct. 4 / 43 Transcription THE GREAT BRITISH SEWING BEE Series 2, Episode 1 Tamara I'm looking at the trimmings first. And I'll try and match the fabric to the trimming. Voiceover Tamara lives in Surrey with her husband and two children. Her mum began teaching her to sew when she was ten. Tamara Sewing's been in the family for generations. My great-grandmother worked for a tailor, so she taught my mum how to sew and then taught me how to sew. I've chosen this fabric because of its bright colour. Probably could have made my life easy by choosing plain fabric, but never do easy. Lynda I was waiting for something to actually jump out at me, and this did. I love working with cotton - one of my favourite fabrics. Voiceover Lynda is a learning support assistant. Lynda Stop cheating! Voiceover Originally from Wales, she moved to West Sussex to be close to her grandchildren. Lynda When I make something for them, it's like surrounding them with my love. I could cry just thinking about it. I'm sorry. Voiceover Lynda is deaf and can lip-read. She also has a signer in the sewing room. Patrick So, you've got the most difficult spot in the room because you have the distraction of this beautiful view out the window. Lynda I haven't had a chance to look out of the window. And to be honest with you, because I'm deaf, distractions that might disturb other people, like sounds, people talking, that doesn't happen to me, so I'm totally in my own little world when I'm sewing. Heather I'm going to lay the pattern out, then we're going to crack on with it. Chocks away, Ginger! 5 / 43 Transcription THE GREAT BRITISH SEWING BEE Series 2, Episode 1 Voiceover The pattern comes in six sections - one for the front and two for the back, and three pieces of supporting material known as facing. Darts are sewn into the front to give the top shape. The front and back pieces are stitched along the shoulder, and the facing pieces are stitched to the reverse of the fabric along the neck and arm holes. The two back pieces are then passed through the shoulder sections. The side seams are then sewn together, then the centre-back seam, and that's topped with the hand-sewn button and loop. David I hate pinning. Pinning is just a nightmare. I end up pinning myself more than I do pinning the garment. Voiceover David is a police constable at Scotland Yard, but he's recently been spending more time at home in Surrey with his wife and two children after an operation on his leg.