The BEST episodes of The Great British Sewing Bee
Every episode of The Great British Sewing Bee ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Great British Sewing Bee!
Amateur sewers take on challenges as they compete to be named Britain's best home sewer.
#2 - Episode 8
Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 4/2/2019
The contest, hosted by Joe Lycett, reaches its final as the last three contestants take on a trio of evening wear challenges before the winner is announced. Judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young begin by asking the sewers to create a double-breasted waistcoat. Next is the Transformation challenge, as the trio repurpose net curtains into exquisite, red carpet-ready, pieces of evening wear. Lastly, for the Made to Measure challenge, the sewers attempt to construct and fit glamorous strapless evening gowns for their models, this time hand-picked for friends and family. Last in the series.
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#4 - Episode 2
Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/19/2019
The nine remaining home-sewers are tasked with making children's clothes. Challenges include creating hoodies and turning fake fur coats into fancy dress beasts. The final task sees contestants up against the clock as they make made-to-measure dance costumes so the dancing kids can perform The Hornpipe, the Tarantella and Highland dancing down the catwalk.
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#6 - Episode 1
Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/12/2019
The contest returns with new host Joe Lycett, and Patrick Grant and Esme Young passing judgement once more. The first pattern challenge is a Dior-inspired `wiggle dress' designed to hug the female form. Contestants also have to transform three second-hand items of denim clothing into a single, stylish new garment, and the final task involves a made-to-measure jumpsuit.
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#7 - Episode 6
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/25/2014
The first challenge for the five quarter-finalists is to make silky blouses from 1930s patterns using sewing machines from that period. Next, they have to transform men's suits into garments for women, before fashioning complex and hefty made-to-measure coats taken from a historic or vintage pattern. Judges May Martin and Patrick Grant then decide which four will go through to the semi-final. Claudia Winkleman presents.
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#8 - Episode 8
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 4/8/2014
The competition reaches its climax as the three finalists enter the sewing room for the very last time, with May Martin and Patrick Grant setting them three tough couture-themed challenges. The first tests their hand-stitching skills as they are asked to make a man's tie, and then have to produce a child's bridesmaid outfit from a wedding dress in the alteration task. Finally they are asked to fit a made-to-measure gown for a model, before the judges decide which of them deserves the title of Britain's best amateur sewer. Last in the series.
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#11 - Episode 4
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/23/2013
The final of brand new series, The Great British Sewing Bee, presented by Claudia Winkleman, reaches its climax. The three finalists compete in three tough challenges set by Savile Row's Patrick Grant and sewing expert May Martin who must decide who will take the title of Britain's best amateur sewer. The first test is to follow a pattern for a man's shirt. The judges are looking for perfect top stitching with no pleats or puckers but the complicated challenge drives one sewer to tears. In the second challenge they have to show off their hand sewing skills, decorating an evening bag, and for the finale they are asked to create the most demanding garment so far - a stunning made-to-measure evening dress in a luxury fabric. The finalists are in for a surprise when they see who their models are.
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#14 - Episode 4
Season 8 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/18/2022
The Great British Sewing Bee does its bit for the planet with Reduce, Reuse and Recycle week. Host Sara Pascoe invites the nine remaining home sewers to create a quilted patchwork jacket from a load of old scraps from past Sewing Bees. Next, in the Transformation Challenge, the sewers breathe new life into boring old coats by completely deconstructing them and refashioning them into brand new stylish outerwear. For the Made to Measure, the sewers fit a maxi dress to a model using only an unwanted duvet cover. Who will ace this creative brief and win Garment of the Week, and who will have to leave the sewing room?
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#16 - Episode 3
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/26/2019
The eight remaining home sewers attempt to revive the glamorous, rebellious and sometimes ridiculous, style of the 1970s. Judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young challenge the sewers to create flared jeans, punk-inspired outfits, and Maxi dresses.
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#18 - Episode 1
Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/22/2020
In their first week, the sewers are eased in gently with wardrobe staples that might look familiar but aren’t necessarily straightforward to make. For their pattern challenge, the judges ask for a wrap skirt, a garment whose clean crisp lines can only be achieved through precise cutting, accurate stitching and a judicious choice of fabric.
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#19 - Episode 5
Season 6 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/20/2020
The eight remaining contestants take part in a series of challenges as they return to the sewing room for lingerie and sleepwear week. To test the sewers' handling skills, judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young kick off the pattern challenge with a boned basque. The task requires sewing together small pattern pieces for a precise fit and creating a tricky hook and eye fastening. Next, in the transformation challenge, the sewers transform pyjamas and nightwear into a summer dress, before finally being tasked to create a two-piece female sleep set which has to incorporates lace somewhere in their design.
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#21 - Puzzling Patterns and Pattern Cutting
Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 6/27/2016
Claudia Winkleman hosts the semi-final of the Great British Sewing Bee, where just four sewers are left to battle it out to for a place in the final. All that stands in the way are three challenges designed by judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young. This week, they want to test the sewers' knowledge of complex patterns and pattern cutting. For the pattern challenge, the sewers are tasked with making an asymmetric yoked skirt inspired by modern Japanese pattern cutting. This brain-teasing pattern requires the sewers to stitch one of the most technically difficult and curved seams ever seen in the sewing room. Next, it is the alteration challenge and the sewers are asked to transform a duvet cover into a female garment. To add to the difficulty level, the judges declare it is a no-waste challenge so every scrap of fabric needs to be used by draping and sculpting it around the mannequin. How will the sewers cope with this radical approach to creating clothes? For their made-to-measure challenge, their ability to draft and create patterns is put to the test as the judges seek to draw out the sewers' inner designer. Creating their own patterns in the sewing room, as well as constructing and fitting their dresses is the sternest test yet of their all-round sewing skill and their ability to imagine clothes, but who will flourish and who will fail to make the grade so tantalisingly close to that place in the grand final?
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#22 - Episode 1
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/5/2015
The contest to find Britain's best amateur sewer returns with 10 competitors trying to impress judges May Martin from the Women's Institute and Savile Row designer Patrick Grant. In the first episode, they are asked to work with cotton - a core fabric in every dressmaker's cupboard. First up they have to make a pair of women's trousers with a complicated invisible zip, then transform a denim shirt in just 90 minutes before producing a stunning summer dress for their real-life models. Claudia Winkleman presents.
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#23 - Episode 3
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/19/2015
Claudia Winkleman takes the eight remaining contestants back to the 1950s, when home sewing was at its height, with the first challenge involving following one of the biggest-selling dress patterns of that era. Next they are given a vintage item to transform into a wearable garment, before making a 1950s blouse out of an unforgiving sheer fabric. Judges May Martin from the Women's Institute and Savile Row designer Patrick Grant then decide who will leave the competition.
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#24 - Episode 8
Season 6 - Episode 8 - Aired 6/10/2020
For the quarter final, the five remaining sewers go global, taking on garments and techniques from around the world. Firstly, the sewers must follow a pattern like they have never encountered before, as judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young ask them to make a Filipino Terno Blouse. In the Transformation Challenge, the competitors are asked to turn Provencal tablecloths from France into a brand new outfit in just 90 minutes, before creating a dramatic Flamenco skirt from Southern Spain in the final challenge.
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