We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.

"This has never, ever, ever happened before"

This article contains spoilers for the latest episode of the Sewing Bee

The Great British Sewing Bee has entered the semi-finals and the four remaining sewers were clinging on to their sewing machines for dear to life to get to the final, win that coveted trophy and top praise from perfectionist judge Esme Young.

This week took inspiration from Japanese culture, and saw remaining contestants Annie, Debra, Brogan and Man Yee tasked with creating bow kimonos, mastering the art of Sashiko and creating origami inspired dresses as the episode took us across the globe to the Far East.

Up first was the pattern challenge, which was to create a kimono (which we learned, means "thing to wear") with a belted bow big and beautiful enough to impress bow-loving Esme.

The kimono also had to feature dramatic rectangular sleeves, an upstanding collar and feature a lining the same length as the top. The sewers would be tackling bagging out the garment through a small hole and, as they were using the largest pattern pieces ever seen on Sewing Bee, it made the process even more complicated.

The pattern challenge is as follows: Long pattern pieces and the main body are formed by two pieces sewn together down the centre back seam. Next, panels are added to create a wrap front, the collar band is attached, and the sleeves joined at the shoulder. The lining, a belt and ties are attached and are sewn to the outer layer leaving a small hole for bagging out the entire garment. The hole is hand-stitched shut, the dress pressed and the belt tied in a bow. A big and showy one, hopefully.

Debra's kimono looked very Japanese with its bamboo-print fabric but the judges agreed it needed contrast on the collar, and she had sewn her sleeves too far down. This placed her fourth, followed by Brogan in third, as she had run out of time so hadn't pressed the dress, plus her lining was too short.

Next was Man Yee in second, who had used a nice combination of colours but her lining was also too short, which caused some puckering on the fabric.

Annie comes first in the Pattern Challenge with this beautifully sewn kimono dress. #SewingBee pic.twitter.com/6jerxAGg55

Annie's kimono got one better than a "chic" from Esme; there weren't words to express Esme's delight so she gave an impressed "oooooh" (as opposed to the usual uh-oh "ooooh" which poor Debra had just experienced due to her blundered sleeve). Annie's kimono was beautifully sewn and looked so elegant with its contrasting colours, with Patrick concluding that he "couldn't commend it more highly".

Next, it was the Transformation Challenge, and the sewers had to repair and beautify old denim by using the technique of Sashiko (which translates into "little stabs"). Sashiko – similar to darning – is a type of traditional Japanese embroidery or stitching, where you would place a patch and run running stitches through it, and bond the two fabrics together to effectively create a new fabric.

The sewers were given patches, stencils and embroidery thread to play around with.

Debra's pinafore lacked Sashiko and she hadn't concentrated enough on the mending, according to the judges, so she came last. Brogan's denim skirt looked pretty with her embroidery stars and pearl embellishments, but again, she hadn't really applied the technique of Sashiko either, so she came third.

Annie's denim jacket featured a cool and colourful Dutch Wax print, but again, it lacked Sashiko, so she came second.

Man Yee nailed the brief and came first, with the judges loving her hand-stitched rainbow and how she had sewn denim behind the holes and cleverly embroidered over the top. We all loved her red rising sun embroidery on the pocket of her skirt which was a lovely nod to Japan.

Man Yee's celestial sashiko gets her first place in the Transformation Challenge. #SewingBee pic.twitter.com/h5Off0pHxd

With one challenge left, Debra and Brogan had everything to sew for as they found themselves in the bottom two.

The Made to Measure challenge was arguably the most exciting, creative and adventurous yet as the sewers had to make origami dresses (meaning folding paper in Japanese) that gave the appearance of folded material across the body, with interesting silhouettes.

Man Yee's origami dress was inspired by origami cranes, and it featured pleated trims on the shoulders and hem, which Patrick loved, along with the beautifully folded crane. But he thought it felt like a simple dress with origami features, rather than the origami making the dress.

Brogan was really taking a risk with her dress, which was inspired by origami lotus flowers and made up of folds, spherical cuffs and 3D flowers made from the same material used to create wetsuits – which doesn't have natural folds so she had to create illusion of a fold.

Origami lotus flowers inspired Brogan's colourful dress. #SewingBee pic.twitter.com/QW6rCk7MWO

While the judges thought the dress looked very striking, was well-sewn and created some interesting shapes, they didn't think it looked 'origami' enough.

Debra's inspiration was Mount Fuji and cherry blossoms, and her dress had sculptural sleeves and over 100 hand-made origami flowers across the skirt. Patrick said her frock had a striking silhouette and captured the much-loved Japanese aesthetic of minimalism. The judges also loved how she blended the cherry blossoms from pink to the blue to represent the sky. Overall, it was "really stunning".

Annie's pink strapless taffeta dress was inspired by her pink origami bunny, but with an abstract vibe, featuring angular panels based on the folds of her origami creation.

Annie's origami dress, inspired by the geometric lines of a folded paper rabbit. #SewingBee pic.twitter.com/Q9ZPdo1EXr

Esme agreed that it was "very origami" and loved how it stood away from the body, and how we could see every pleat and shape, and the legacy of the rabbit's ears and feet. Esme even described it as chic's older sister (maybe!), a "very sophisticated dress". Annie's embodiment of the origami challenge landed her Garment of the Week.

Man Yee thought she would be going home and was overcome with emotion. Presenter Sarah Pascoe welled up too as she informed the sewers that the contestant going home was... No one!

All four are going into the final as the competition was so tight and all the sewers were too talented to be sent home. Hooray!

"This has never, ever, ever happened before on the Sewing Bee," said Esme. "I'm really looking forward to the final."

The Great British Sewing Bee concludes on Wednesdays on BBC One and you can catch up on iPlayer.