Great British Sewing Bee 2026

[LIZS]

Back on 14th July at 8pm

I don't think she's unpopular on here.

Must say, what Anna did with the black net at the last moment (apparently) was nothing short of miraculous. If we hadn’t heard her saying it was the result of a mistake I would have assumed she fully intended what she produced.

But Beth’s dress was indeed breathtaking.

I get the impression that quite a few people don’t rate her. I’ve said before that I very much do.

There's no doubting Anna's talent, however her garment wasn't finished in time. I too loved the ruffled neckline.

I rate Anna in general, but didn't honestly think her Goth approach was imaginative: given her general style, it was incredibly predictable and really had very little to do with Jane Austen. I did wonder whether she wasn't also deliberately playing to what Esme would like.

Anna referenced Northanger Abbey which is a satire of Gothic novels.

I think it was fair this week; it’s just obviously painful because they are all very able and now it must feel really hard to leave.

I thought Beth’s GOTW was breathtaking. She is really incredible. Anna is slightly more original maybe in her creativity overall? It’s going to be so tough in the last episodes.

what confuses me is how often over many series they poorly time their MTMs and how often they are over ambitious. But I guess it is hard to create perfect practice conditions at home!

I do enjoy the series and really love Esmé. I do wonder whether PG is straight or another orientation. He touches the models with complete dead neutrality- it never looks creepy which is interesting. None of my business though!

thank god he’s over that awful nasal cold. He sounded so unwell.

i still don’t love the presenter, although really like her as an actress. I think the rigid structure just leaves her sounding like a northern comic cliché. The self deprecation is just so boring when the sewers are being mostly themselves. I hate the “your time starts NOW!’ -Shouting like at a primary school sports day. And “off you pop” to the judges sounds kind of rude, I know it’s the template but I’m so bored with the rigidity of it. And the comic ticks are tired. I think they need a non actor. Real comedians are more natural.

The Gothic novels in question generally related to innocent maidens getting abuducted by wicked uncles and imprisoned in very old castles where they would encounter the odd ghost or two. The assertive vampire style just didn't relate.

I like them all! Anna’s made some beautiful things.
I do think that Rebecca might have missed out because of Esme’s prejudices as I think she might be a better sewer than Emma but on the other hand I love Emma’s fabric choices. The yellow and pink dress was lovely. From the front.

There is a very small but interesting exhibition about the gothic at Dove Cottage in Grasmere I saw over the summer. They had an early edition of Frankenstein and a copy of the Mysteries of Udolpho. I do love seeing the original publications.

I thought it was Rebecca’s time. This is a sewing show, not a design show, and her jacket didn’t line up or sit right. Basics of made to measure.

I did like her enormously though - she was an old soul I thought.

I think the brief was 'muddled' again - like the disco one.

In the judges' conflab with Sophie they clearly said they would be happy with an interpretation of Austen style and that the dresses didn't have to be historically accurate. They also commented (I think) that it would be interesting to see how the sewers' own styles influenced or were incorporated into their MTM.

For me, it's between Anna and Beth. I'm more drawn to Anna's style but I do think Beth is incredibly good. She's not really had a bad week has she?

Rebecca was the right person to go based on her MTM. She is a great sewer and made some lovely outfits but unfortunately took part in a year where most of the contestants are/were amazing!

Yes, I was. I think it must've been the shock. I was shocked! I thought her transformation was more wearable than any the others. Anna's didn't look finished. But the judges like 'structural', don't they? I think Anna had a bad week and on that basis (as everyone is pretty equally good) should've gone, but I'm very glad they gave her another chance. Rebecca's MTM looked frumpy, sadly.

I think the problem with Rebecca’s transformation was that it looked like she had taken school uniforms and turned them in to… school uniform. Yes it was wearable but it looked like an upscaled school summer dress. The judges always pull
sewers up for not really changing the purpose of the original garments or textiles

Emma's dress was terrible from the back though. Rebecca's makes are just not to Esmé's taste.

I thought Emma would go, mostly because her error in the MTM was worse than Rebecca's - Emma's dress didn't close and she blamed the pattern which she should have really figured out before doing it in the studio.

I think Anna is talented, but that most of her clothes look more costume than clothing. It doesn't help that the MTM briefs in particular can be woolly, but if you compare what Heather or Beth made, you could see them as actual clothing but Anna's would be for a specific costume event.

I am getting tired of the transformation challenge now. Every time the Bees get fabric, and asked to make an outfit, you end up with fabric plaited or risqué cut outs. And Esme and Patrick coo over the innovation. But it's always over some pseudo bandage halter top with a mini skirt! Bah!

My favourites are Heather and Beth now, they are excellent technicians,.follow the briefs and produce beautiful clothes. I think both Anna and Emma (and Rebecca too) make clothes only to suit them so either gothic flowy costumes or bright pink and acid yellow dopamine clothes. There's nothing wrong with their styles, they suit them well, but it doesn't show as much versatility as the other two.

I think Emma’s dress fit much better than Rebecca’s though. Yes the back was unfinished but I think that was because she tried to use a ribbon fastening like they would have used in the Georgian era and found it didn’t work, so tried to fix it with hooks and eyes which didn’t work either. But the drape and fit were good and it could have been salvaged, whereas Rebecca’s did not fit at all and also had sewing errors. Her transformation also didn’t hit the brief. It was close but I think they made the right decision

@queenceleste he has a girlfriend/partner, he’s mentioned her in interviews!

with Emma’s, I’m assuming it was intended as an overdress so would have had something underneath which would have been less of a ‘bum-on-show’ problem with the ribbons. She probably should have picked up on that earlier and either altered the pattern or made an under slip (time permitting).

But Rebecca’s was a great idea, and if she’d pulled it off with a better colour for the Spencer, and with less of a very visible misalignment on one side she’d have got through. I think. A buff would have been perfect. Just not that pink.
And her darts were a bit pointy and not well pressed.

I respect her very restrained style, but it frequently looked a bit dull next to the others. And if you’re going restrained you have to execute it perfectly because there’s no flashiness to distract attention from every seam and finish.

For me it was the right choice.

There is no way Anna should have gone - her M2M was much better than Rebecca’s - her little jacket was beautifully made & fitted the model perfectly. I didn’t personally like the net but it was still a far better sewn and fitted garment.

Having said that, I thought it was Emma’s tine to go, but her M2M was more attractive than Rebecca’s and her transformation met the brief better.

Beth’s was stunning & a well deserved winner. Heather’s was also very lovely. This season has had some of the most talented sewers & most beautiful makes. I’m really enjoying it. I’d be content for any of the contenders to win, but think Anna& Beth have the edge.

I think Anna would be brilliant in theatre and film costume design.

Beth is an engineer isn't she? That feels like it fits with being good at deciphering patterns.

Patrick referred to it as a spencer.

Yes, good point about the dress.

Yes Rebecca’s transformation was brilliantly sewn but didn’t look transformed, it looked dull and they love impact!

I recently read Northanger Abbey ( which is what Anna based her garment on) and the heroine in that has read Mysteries of Udolpho and references it several times. I loved Anna's garment. If she hadn't had the slight problem at the end I think it would have deserved to win.

I felt sorry for Rebecca but wasn't surprised she didn't make it. I am afraid I often found her designs a bit frumpy.

One thing that I intrigues me, if Anna lives on a narrow boat how on Earth does she manage to get space to cut things out? I made a dress recently and struggled to lay everything out even with a large dining table to use.

ETA: the dress I made was Empire line so was interested to compare with last night's designs!

Just caught up. Rebecca seemed gutted but that's just the way she reacts to things I guess : I'd be the same.

I know I sound like a broken record but her downfall was not knowing how to fit clothes to a larger bust!

As a more busty person myself I would rather impale myself than wear an Empire line. She was working with that with the jacket but it didn't fit.

Also - I hate Jane Austen. Not sorry at all.