York contestant sails through to next round of hit BBC TV show
(Image: BBC One)
A York contestant in The Great British Sewing Bee has sailed through to the next round of the competition after impressing judges in Mexico Week.
In Week Four, aired on BBC One on Tuesday (August 4), Anna joined her fellow contestants in creating three new Mexican-inspired garments.
It came just a week after viewers marvelled at Anna's Made to Measure Himalayan Balsam Indian calico dress, which judge Patrick Grant said moved him to tears, being "one of the best things" he'd seen on Sewing Bee.
Now a firm favourite in the competition, Anna began strong with the episode's technical challenge.
Anna joined a cast of 12 in the BBC series - and has sailed through to the fifth episode
(Image: BBC/Love Productions/Neil Sherwood))
Guest judge Erika Alvarez tasked each contestant with making a folklore top using fabric from the Oaxaca region, made on a loom with recycled cotton.
She emphasised the importance of precision, co-ordination and detailing of the top.
Speaking about her design, Anna said: "I really want to do the fabric justice. I don't want it to have come all the way to England to get butchered.
"I want to arrange the braids and trims for the best visual impact."
Judges were “a little concerned” about how Anna’s chosen trims and braids would work together on the garment.
However, her careful construction won them over.
Judge Patrick Grant said: "The quality of construction is great. The spacing between braids looks really even.
"There is a slightly imperfect corner but I'm being really nit-picky."
Esme stands next to Anna's Mexican folklore top, complete with coloured braiding and trim
(Image: BBC One)
Erika described the final top as “artistic,” while regular judge Esme Young praised its authenticity.
Erika added: "By mixing the black braiding with the plain fabric, it looks folkloric."
Anna finished second in the challenge, behind fellow contestant and last week's overall runner-up Beth.
In the transformation round, contestants were seen turning an oilskin tablecloth into a wearable, structured clothing.
Anna focused on the circular patterns in her tablecloth, choosing zip colours to complement the fruit designs in her skirt piece.
Judges complimented this coordination and the segments she built in the skirt, though ultimately placed Anna's design fourth in the challenge.
Anna began strong with episode four's technical challenge
(Image: BBC One)
For the Made to Measure task, Anna opted to make a Jalisco ribbon mini dress to wear for Mexican Independence Day.
She said: "I love to dance. And this dress is made for dancing.
"That's a really cool thing to me."
Her design was complete with a princess seam, fastened together with an invisible zip at the make and a double circle skirt, with rows of alternating colours of ribbon and lace trim.
Mindful of her five-hour deadline, she adapted the dress to make it shorter.
Judging her finished dress, Patrick said he was "impressed" by Anna's attention to detail, particularly how her ribbons lined up with the invisible zip.
He said: "This feels very on point for festival attire and you have applied miles of ribbon.
"The invisible zip goes through all sorts of trim, which must have been tricky to do."
Guest judge Erika Alvarez analyses the designs with Patrick and Esme
(Image: BBC One)
Erika acknowledged the difficulty of the construction but questioned the shorter length of the skirt.
She said: "I really like how you managed to complete the short version, however I do not understand the length."
Patrick agreed that one more tier to make the dress a more traditional length would have improved it.
With Mexican Week complete, the sewers now face a new set of challenges with Sports Week, aired in episode 5 on Tuesday (August 11).