10th series of The Great British Sewing Bee concludes on Wednesday evening

Well, according to judge Patrick Grant, it definitely has. He says: “We’ve had a pretty consistent standard [over the past few years].

“Sometimes we’ve had people who are more technically capable, sometimes people who are more creatively capable. And not just creatively capable with time to prepare at home. Some people have been phenomenally good at picking up whatever pile of gubbins we throw in front of them in the transformation challenge and making something incredible.

“This year is no exception. It’s not always the technically most competent person who wins. That’s what’s made the show much more interesting over the last four or five years.”

But while the levels of talent on display may stay constant, there have been plenty of changes on Sewing Bee.

Patrick, who has been with the show since the very first episode, says: “It’s interesting to see how far the conversation around clothes has changed over a decade. And the conversation around our own abilities to make and mend and reuse both the clothes and the textiles we have in our homes. I’d be surprised if Sewing Bee hadn’t had a fairly significant impact on people’s awareness of the issues around the production and disposal of clothing.”

He adds: “In this series, for the first time, there were a significant number of sewers wearing clothes they’d made out of non-new materials. Also, on various made-to-measure challenges outside of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Week, they were voluntarily choosing to make clothes out of reclaimed or repurposed textiles. That is a fundamental change in thinking and we’ve had a lot to do with that.”

Some viewers may think they’ve noticed another change – there has been some murmuring on social media this year about whether the challenges are getting too difficult, with many contestants struggling to finish in the allotted time.

That’s clearly a matter of opinion, but this final won’t change anyone’s minds, as the three finalists are faced with what even Patrick’s fellow judge Esme Young admits is a tricky pattern challenge – opera gloves.

She says: “I was really worried about that.. I mean, I can make gloves – I’ve got a glove pattern – but it is tricky. You can only use tiny, weeny seams. And it was a stretch fabric, which makes it even trickier.

“They’d never done that before. It’s really fiddly to sew and you’ve got gussets between the fingers and they’ve got to fit well – they can’t be like webbed feet.”

Luckily, viewers won’t have to dwell on the concept of finger gussets for too long, as the sewers are then asked to transform party paraphernalia, including bunting and napkins, into something fabulous and wearable. Then it’s the all-important made-to-measure, where they create a full outfit by draping on their models.

But who will presenter Kiell Smith-Bynoe, who has been a very welcome addition to the sewing room this series, announce as the winner?