great british sewing bee ssn 8: episode 10

Forget the after-show party ....the party is in the sewing room!  
It's the Final Four in the Final!! 
​

Nooo!! How has this happened, where have that last 9 weeks gone!!  I really can't believe this week was the final of season 8 of the Sewing Bee.  I am going to miss watching this on a Wednesday night, but I am really going to miss our weekly Sewing Bee chat in Stitch Sewcial, it's like sitting down to watch each episode with a fabulous group of like minded sewing friends in my lounge.  But hopefully there will be a Christmas Special and we can do it again 😊🤞
​

Before then however, there is still this year's final to discuss, and the contestants didn't disappointing with their makes.  But saying that neither did the judges with their challenge choices!  This was evident from the start with the final pattern choice of this series being a dress design of Esme's, that she had sold in her shop, Swanky Modes, in the 1980s. The contestants were asked to make the wonderful Amorphous dress! This dress is cut from one piece of fabric (as shown in the picture below) and joined with D rings to form the dress. It is made in a lycra fabric to fit the shape of the body, but whilst stretchy to the body form it can be tricky to stitch. ​

Lycra can have a tendency to stretch when stitched, especially on curves.  At this final stage of the competition I would have expected the sewists to have a good grasp of this issue, as well as a good grasp of the fabric 😉.  That said I was very surprised not to see them using a walking foot to help avoid stretching the hems as they sewed, but .maybe that was part of the brief??

Brogan chose to work with a foiled lycra fabric that was very unforgiving and difficult to work with.  Consequently she found herself placed last in this pattern challenge, a position she is not usually in at this stage of an episode. 

Whilst Annie fared a little better with her striking red dress, again had some some stretching of the curves seams and she was third.  Man Yee produced a stunning sparkly stretch velvet number, but a twist in the stitching around the neckline meant she missed the top spot. 

​This honour went to Debra with her almost perfect silver dress, that had more than a hint of the 80s  about it.

​

---

And with that it was on to the Bee's last transformation challenge.  This time the contestants were given the off-cuts from previous challenges and asked to make something to wear to a party.  Interestingly Brogan followed her usual fabric choice instincts in grabbing the off-cuts from her own previous makes, whilst the other contestants opted for fabrics that had previously been used by other Bees. True to her style again Brogan produced a top and skirt with lots of frills and bows, but unfortunately for her this did not 'frill' the judges and she found herself  placed last again..

Debra chose to work with off-cuts which included some of Brogan's past fabrics, and maybe this was her downfall in this challenge.  She made a dress for a garden party but he judges felt it lacked real party glamour, something I have to agree with, as to me it was more gardening vibe than garden party vibe.   So after her first round win Debra was placed third in the transformation challenge.  Annie's choice of off-cuts transported her back in time to Japanese week, making a wide sleeved blouse with an obi inspired belt..  The judges however were not totally transported with delight and she came second.  

It was Man Yee who triumphed in this challenge with her front laced corset style top. 

She chose the metallic blue fabric Annie had used for her David Bowie inspired coat in music week. 

​The top delivered on the party glitz and vibe the judges had been looking for, with Esme loved the eyelet detail and cheekily said about the top  'you could have fun in that!'​

So going into the final round it was pretty clear that Brogan hadn't made the cut (oops I think that's a different sewing programme!! 😉) to win this final.  Man Yee and Debra were looking were well placed after the first two rounds, but Annie definitely wasn't out of the running either.  The final challenge of the series was the made to measure and the Bee's were asked to make a red carpet worthy jumpsuit for a friend or member of their own family to model.
​

Brogan surprisingly moved away from her traditional pastel colour choices and made a gold romper suit with a black and gold detachable netting skirt.  In my view, although this make had a bit of glitz to it, there was also an air of Halloween about it too, and I don't feel it really meet the brief.  But given that Brogan wasn't in a position to win by this point I think she just let herself have some fun making this, and why not, after all sewing should be fun!! 
​

Debra made a beautiful strapless boned top jumpsuit for her friend to wear for her hen do.  She softened the look with a small netting frill around the top and a beautifully draped effect front seam.  It really was stylish and wonderfully made, but it did leave me wondering if it was red carpet enough for the judges.  Man Yee's jumpsuit featured a beautifully flowing cape.  The jumpsuit itself was made from two tricky to sew fabrics, one shiny, silky and very drapey and the other sequined.  She did a fabulous job of getting four separate pieces (two of each fabric) to meet exactly in a point at the middle front of the garment, and the cape definitely gave it some red carpet drama. ​

Annie used two contrasting fcoloured abrics for her wonderfully stitched and dramatic ivory strapless jumpsuit.  This was reminiscent of a tuxedo with wide black stripes down the legs and, her pièce de résistance, the enormous bow at the back that ran into a train.  Given the drape fabric she was using this really was a feat of engineering to make a bow that retained it's shape, especially given the size of it.  And we all know there is nothing like an enormous bow to win Esme's vote.  Not only did this outfit win Esme's vote it also won Annie the Sewing Bee crown for this series. 

In my view Annie was the rightful winner, she had a slightly slow start start to the series, but it was lovely to watch her confidence and sewing skills grow so much as the weeks progressed.  She certainly has an eye for style and detail and this made her garments very special and I think was ultimately what won her the title.  

👑🐝 Well done Annie on your Queen Bee crown!! 👑🐝

If you fancy having a go at making your own version of the Amorphous dress, or any of the other makes in this final, the Fold Line have done their usual amazing round up of similar patterns.  
​

So very sadly 😢that's it for this years Sewing Bee🐝  Like I said I am really going to miss watching this and chatting with everyone from Stitch Sewcial on a Wednesday evening. 

But on the positive side no Sewing Bee means the return of the brilliant Stitch Sewcial #getsetsew challenge. Hurrahh!! I just can't wait to get going with that again.  
​

Oh, just one last thing.... if any one knows where I can get hold of any sequined leopard print,  fabric as modeled by Esme, then please please please let me know!!🐆🐆🐆 After all....#everythingmustbeleopardprint