The Great British Sewing Bee is back soon! (SPOILER ALERT)

My friend who was a very competent seamstress and knows a million times more than me says she finds a lot of the items very poorly made And not well finished off especially as they get to practice them first at home

I agree Bluebelle but do you not think this is due to time constraints.

Welshwife

I once made a pair of men’s pyjamas in Viyella with not only the French seams but also a fly front - so complicated.

I found a lovely piece of cream Viyella today which I bought to make DD a dress when she was about 2.
She's 38 now.
It's too nice for making face masks.

Callistemon I made DD a mask of 3 layers of Liberty lawn which were remnants of a summer dress dating to the early 1970s. I can't chuck things out either.
I made a patchwork quilt for a baby from some of the pieces.
That's why I gasp in horror when they let the contestants cut up brand new garments.
Did anyone you ever buy from Croft Mill?
www.croftmill.co.uk/ The catalogue described the fabric in colourful prose. They are online now.
I used to buy a big lucky dip bag of oddments and have made peg bags, shoe bags, etc.

Well, I’m pleased Claire won, I think she was the most consistent throughout the series.

A win for Clare and a win for the NHS! Quite fitting really, (excuse the pun!!)

The right winner I think.

Yes she was always consistently competent. Thank goodness; in her job she needs to be.
I thought Matt's red carpet frock was amazing! Much the most creative.

I am so pleased that Clare won. Each week Matt and Nicole seemed to make mistakes. Even In the final Nicole managed to sew her lining incorrectly.

I love the programme but dislike Joe Lycett. I cannot understand why they feel the necessity to dumb the show down like that. Claudia was always so interested in the sowers and how the garments were made.

I often wonder how much is decided in advance. Some weeks, determined to lose a contestant, the judges would pull someone out for small errors. Yesterday in the final, Clare's red 30s dress had a small but noticeable "pinch" at the front where the opening was but overall her performance was the best.
Will she give up her day job?
I will miss the programme. Not sure about those machines. They had too many broken needles. I am inspired to make something now apart from face masks.

I can't stand Joe Lycett. He ruins the programme for me. Bring back Claudia.

I agree - Joe is a pleasant enough chap, but spoils the programme with general silliness; and sometimes breaks the concentration of the sewers.

I was fully expecting Nicole to win so was almost as surprised as Clare herself when she (the right one to win in my opinion) was named.
She reminded me very much of the winner of the first series, Anne, in her sewing skills.

I like Joe Lycett and I think if you were really feeling the pressure he might provide a bit of light relief.

Joe Lycett and all the comedians in these Reality competition shows are in my opinion surplus to requirements and are actually very irritating I think Joy L gets in the way takes their minds off what they are doing and generally wastes time when they should be concentrating
As I said on the other thread I wasn’t that keen on Claire’s work whilst agreeing she is a great seamstress I think creativity should play a big part and for that reason I would have preferred Nicole to be the winner ...although I loved Matts last ‘dress‘ I thought it was the best of the whole show

I've really enjoyed this series and I totally agree that Matt's last dress was definitely the best of the show. I thought that he would have done a lot better with the 'festival' costume though.

I really like Joe in this. Claudia never seemed to have much clue about sewing. I thought Claire was a worthy winner and I loved the relationship between her and her mother. Matt's dress was wonderful! Great idea and beautifully made. Loved the way the skirt rippled as Martini walked.

I must put in a word here for Joe. OK, he is a bit silly, but he makes me laugh and there's not a lot makes me laugh lately.

I liked Matt's evening dress but agreed that Claire was the overall winner.

My favourite, after Liz left, was Claire, so I am glad she won. However, I thought it was lovely how Nicole helped Matt when he couldn’t figure out his kilt.

I really enjoyed the whole series and will miss my Wednesday night fix. I'm glad Claire won and think her mum is brilliant! Matt's final dress was stunning.
Joe Lycett? Sorry, but I love the guy and he makes me laugh out loud. He's a bit silly but sometimes silliness is a good thing.

I thought Claire should win. Nicole I think is a really nice person. Matt did so well his dress was gorgeous. I like Joe Lycett I thinks he beings out a sense of fun in Esme and Patrick which we haven’t seen before. Yes he’s silly but they all seem to get on with him.

Re: Matt's dress. It is much easier to design and make an unusual bodice if you don't have to worry about fitting the bust. I am also glad that Claire won, but Nicole was very good too. I don't mind Joe Lycett .

I was going to say the same, ilovecheese
The dress was stunning but designing it to fit a bosom would have caused a few problems in sewing and putting darts in that faux leather and could have made it bulky and ill-fitting.

I shall miss Matt's smile

I also thought that Matt's dress was easy because there was no bust shaping needed.
In fact a proper bosom would have riuned the lines of the gown totally.
So pleased that Claire won, though I also loved Nicole's creativity.

All three finalists would be able to make an interesting beginners program on sewing.....
they all brought different kinds of skills and creativity.

I think Matt is very creative but more theatrical and Nicole has the best sense of drama and fun.
Claire has the best sense of classical style and was never boring either.

All three were fab.

Joe gets on my nerves. I think he seems like a really nice bloke but too silly for me........