If there is one person out there who has perfected the Lottie Blouse, it has to be Amanda! Not content with sewing up a whole collection of Lottie's for her own wardrobe, she has now turned her talents to helping her mum expand her wardrobe too! 3 Lotties and counting.....
Liberty Wildflowers is our best-selling Liberty fabric. Our blogger Amanda simply couldn't resist buying some for herself and she has been kind enough to let us share her blog post with you all.
It was my Dad’s birthday on Saturday and so the treat is always morning coffee in our nearest Bettys. If you follow my blog you will know how often I visit! It is a quintessential English tea rooms. He is called Alan, hence ‘The Liberty Alan’ and he collects old cameras. Here he is, showing off the birthday gift.
I know I keep making Lottie blouses, but my excuse is…they really are lovely to wear, I feel smart even when casual and they really show off the fabric. After sewing my other blouses – The Lawn Lottie and The Feathers- (remember I cut out three waiting to take the Blog Manager to the bus to Rome!!?!) and loving them so much, I decided I was an expert and could certainly make a space in my wardrobe for a Liberty classic.
It was a gorgeous Spring day walking to Bettys and so could not resist the daffodil cluster for a few Liberty Wildflower themed shots!
I bought the Wild Flower Liberty fabric from White Tree fabrics. I just bought one metre and you may have noticed (those eagle eyed followers!) that the bow is slightly shorter on this Lottie.
Despite only buying a metre, I still had enough to make my own bias binding- I know May Martin would be so proud!! So I decided again to let it show on the edge of my sleeves. What is this called??!? I did it on The Feathers too and liked how the fabric is in a different direction, just an added extra!
I really loved sewing this fabric, it is like the Rolls Royce of fabric. I keep looking at the other choices on the website and eyeing them up as possible Lotties!!
HELP ME!! I think I have a Lottie problem! Be warned it is contagious! Hila has now decided she needs one in her wardrobe- will she stop at one tho!?!
Pattern: Simple Sew Lottie Blouse
Fabric : 1m of Liberty Wildflower from White Tree Fabrics.
Wonky Factor: 8/10 I’m wondering if I hemmed it slightly shorter than the others…..my midriff is not the type for showing off!!
You will be please to know I have ordered some more fabric from White Tree Fabrics…….wasn’t this designed to be made into a Ruby!?!
Amanda
We're so pleased to bring you the first blog team make from Curtis, who is a brand new addition to the WhiteTree team, and also our only male blogger. Curtis has only been with us a short while and has already completed a fantastic project! Take a look at his wonderful creation below...
This is my first blogging project for White Tree Fabrics, and I have enjoyed the challenge. I picked pyjamas after seeing this as a challenge on the Great British Sewing Bee last year (season two). I have been itching to give it a go and make my own cosy nightwear.
In total this took me about five hours to complete. It took over an hour to hem and tidy the seams inside.
I used the following for the challenge:
The Fabric
I picked Lodden C Tana Lawn Liberty Fabric, with quite a defined William Morris style pattern. The detail on the fabric is very ornate with lots of detail; the feel is quite silky cotton.
The Pattern
I picked a Vogue V8964, and decided to make the long sleeve and long legged version of the pattern.
Handy hint before I start: I would just say how important it is to press the paper pattern pieces before you lay them on the fabric, and if you do it as you pin it to the fabric there is some static that helps set the pieces in place.
My first challenge would be to pattern match as I cut out the paper pattern. This is the first time I have ever pattern matched, and it was less stressful than I thought. The main things to pattern match are down the front, and also making sure the pattern is centred on the back.
The other main challenge for this pattern was inserting piping. For this I used binding. The first thing to bind was the front pocket on the top, which also had to be pattern matched on the top bar, which all had to be pattern matched to sit on the top front.
The construction of the top was simple, sew fronts to back and the sleeves flat , and then the shape comes from sewing the sleeve together and down the sides.
To create the piping effect on the front I sewed the binding to the fronts, and then attached the facing to this, to reveal the piping.
The bottoms: I found it a real struggle to try and follow the instructions for the fly but other than that they are very straight forward, once the fly and button are inserted, sew inner legs, outer legs and they are constructed! Held up by an elastic waistband.
I am already looking forward to my next project!
The good
The bad
We're pleased to share another fantastic lace make with you, this time from our lovely guest blogger Jane of Handmade Jane. Take a look at her lace skirt below - we love the contrasting lining!
Hot on the heels of 'Lace Week' on the Great British Sewing Bee, we have this lovely make from our blogger, Louise. What could me more elegant and classy than a black lace skirt? Take a look at how Louise's make went!
Hi there – as we just had ‘difficult fabrics’ week on the Great British Sewing Bee, there has been a lot of lace about. It is (honestly) completely a coincidence that I have made a lace skirt!
I started looking at lace skirts last year and I really liked the way lace was being layered over solid colours. I like the contrast of different textures and patterns and the element of transparency. But I had never sewed with lace so I wasn’t sure how to proceed.
I pinned a few examples for inspiration:
White Tree Fabrics have a huge selection of lace and they supplied all the lace for the Sewing Bee pencil skirt challenge this week. I got a selection of samples and I chose this corded lace. I liked the texture of the corded flowers – for the colour I didn’t think twice, I am with Neil – if it’s lace it has to be black!
The lace I chose has a lot of body and I found that pleating it created too much volume at my waist – for an alternative with more drape that could be pleated or gathered I really like this lace.
For the inner skirt I wanted something quite slinky and I chose this crepe backed satin.
So I was looking for a simple shape without pleats or darts – similar to the black and white skirt above. I went back to my TNT skirt pattern – New Look 6843, which I have now made many times – see here and here. I went for View D which is a flared skirt with no darts.
I cut the skirt twice – in lace and again in crepe backed satin and sewed them as two separate skirts joined at the waistband. The satin had a tendency to fray so I serged around all the edges before sewing it together. The lace is actually quite sturdy and surprisingly solid when you cut it. I went for the very easy option and simply used the overlocker for all the seams – you will see the seams on the right side whatever you do but I think a french seam would have added too much bulk. The serged seam is narrow and holds everything together neatly. I had to adjust the tension slightly but apart from that I had no problems sewing the lace. I sewed a centred zipper into the satin underskirt and then secured the lace overskirt around the zip with handstitching.
For the outer hem I just cut the scalloped border from the edges of the lace and sewed it to the bottom of the overskirt using a narrow zigzag. This was a surprisingly easy solution though I doubt it would win any prizes on the sewing bee. The satin skirt was serged along the edge first and then turned up and machine stitched.
Overall I was surpised how easy this was to sew! I think that the heavier flowers really helped as it gives the stitches plenty to hold onto – much easier than trying to sew onto a more open lace pattern. It’s good to know that lace doesn’t always have to be tricky!
Other White Tree bloggers have also been working with lace recently – I really like Amy’s teal dress and Sam’s pyjamas and t-shirt.
I received the fabric free of charge from White Tree Fabrics as part of their blog network. I provided pattern and notions and my own opinions.
So – who else has sewn with lace and how did you find it?
One thing WhiteTree fabrics are proud of is our extensive selection of laces. Stretch, rigid, with a scalloped selvedge, without, floral, geometric, all different colours and designs.....we have over 700 designs to choose from. So when we saw that The Greart British Sewing Bee were going to be using laces in series 3 of their show, we reached out to our bloggers to ask them to create some fantastic lace projects.
Maria not only created a fantastic outfit, she also documented every step to bring you this fantastic how-to sew with lace guide!
Be sure to stay tuned for part 2 and a very special photoshoot.
Sewing with great lace
A lace as lovely as this needed some planning to get the best result. You can see in the picture below I checked how it was cut and ran a ruler across the top edge
I clipped along the edge of the fabric so the circles all ran straight. There was a risk that I would cut out the fabric at an angle which I didn't want to risk. Below is the back pattern and I've lined the grainline along the circles.
Now to cut out the next layer for the back, I laid the first layer on the second layer so the circles match along the same grainline.
Now for the front and the front front facing. Scary but do-able. I laid the front pattern grainline following the circles. Then I laid the front facing piece on the front and drew the large circle on the pattern piece so I could match the circles. I took my time when I cut this out and I made sure there were no distractions in the house too.
Here's a closer look at the circle markings being transferred onto the front facing pattern.
You can see below where I've marked the large lace circles on the pattern piece on the bodice so the large circles would run level across the body.
Then the 'easy' part was to cut out the knit lining. I decided to sew both fabric layers together as I sewed the jumpsuit together.
Both fabrics are 'knits' and don't unravel. This made construction a whole lot easier after I managed to cut each piece out separately and aligned to the lace circles.
The buttons selected by White tree fabrics blended in so well I decided to hand sew the button holes and each buttonhole is place in the centre of each large circle.
As I've already made this jumpsuit before the proportions worked well for this fabric. The leg width was slimmed down from the first version I made and I had raised the arm curve to suit my needs.
This is lace jumpsuit a keeper. Thank you White Tree Fabrics for asking me to do this special project post. Both fabrics have been great to sew and this outfit has been easy to wear in our hot Summer weather.
One thing WhiteTree fabrics are proud of is our extensive selection of laces. Stretch, rigid, with a scalloped selvedge, without, floral, geometric, all different colours and designs.....we have over 700 designs to choose from. So when we saw that The Greart British Sewing Bee were going to be featuring a Pencil skirt challenge where the contestants had to work with lace, we reached out to our bloggers and challenged them to make a garment of their choice, the only rule being that that had to work with lace too. Sam chose our Black/blue lace. Take a look at the two great projects below.
Two ways with lace
As you probably know, I'm lucky enough to be a member of the White Tree Fabrics blog team. A while ago Lisa from White Tree contacted me and asked me if I would like to take part in a special, top secret project for them, using a particular fabric.
The fabric in question was lace.
Of course, I jumped at the chance, I haven't had much experience of sewing with lace and thought it would be good to try.
The reason it was top secret (at the time) was that White Tree Fabrics had been asked to provide some lace for the current series of The Great British Sewing Bee. This meant that I couldn't share my project until the series aired.
The "lace" episode aired yesterday (it was the semi-final) so I can now show you what I've made with the lace I was sent.
I've actually used it in 2 projects, very different from each other.
The first is a pair of lace and satin pyjamas. A bit glamorous for me - I'm normally in jersey pyjamas - but lovely for a treat!
I had to pin them to Rosie, as they're a little tight for her. They fit me fine, but I didn't really want photos of me wearing them on the internet!
For the top I used Vogue V7837, view G. This is actually a teddy, but I just chopped the crotch part off, and made it a top. I used this view as I liked the idea of the darted cups for a bit of support.
I teamed the lace with some black satin backed crepe I had in my stash, using the lace to cover the cups and make an edging to the bodice and the hem.
The shorts I just left plain, using a free pattern from Vera Venus (scroll about halfway down the page).
Once I'd made the pyjamas I still had quite a bit of the lace left, so I sorted through my fabric stash to see if I had something else I could pair it with. I came up with some grey and blue striped jersey - the blue being almost exactly the same shade as the lace.
A striped Breton style top with lace yoke was born.
I used the free Deer and Doe Plantain t-shirt. It was the first time I'd used this pattern and it won't be the last. I'm really happy with the fit I got.
I used the lace for a yoke, both front and back, and cut motifs from the lace to use in place of the oval elbow patches included in the pattern.
I hope these two very different projects have encouraged you to have a go at sewing with lace. As you can see it can be used in very different ways. Do have a look at White Tree Fabrics selection, I'm sure you'll find something you love!
One thing WhiteTree fabrics are proud of is our extensive selection of laces. Stretch, rigid, with a scalloped selvedge, without, floral, geometric, all different colours and designs.....we have over 700 designs to choose from. So when we saw that The Greart British Sewing Bee were going to be featuring a Pencil skirt challenge where the contestants had to work with lace, we reached out to our bloggers and challenged them to make a garment of their choice, the only rule being that that had to work with lace too. Marie chose a lovely plum lace. Take a look at the beautiful results below.
It’s All About the Lace - GBSB lace project My first properly formal dress ever to share with you here! I love it, and can’t wait to wear it.
Lilypad dress (Vogue 8766 in White Tree Fabrics' lace)
I swear that hem is straight in real life!
This project is part of a White Tree Fabrics blog series linked to the Great British Sewing Bee's new series, which I think most of you will have been watching. I’ve loved it, but the series seems so short! Is it really usually this short? Word has it that the GBSB contestants are going to use a lot of White Tree fabrics in the lace challenge. I'm wondering if I'll spot my lace!
There are a group of bloggers making garments with the laces featured on GBSB. I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone else has made!
White Tree Fabrics very kindly provided me with this lace and satin for this project, along with the pattern, Vogue 8766. I decided to make view C, the strapless, full skirted version.
I recently realised I don't have very many fancy frocks in my wardrobe, and this seemed to be the perfect chance to change that!!! I do regret that didn't have the time I would have liked to spend on this project. A bit like the GBSB then! Having an actual countdown of hours and minutes must be so stressful. I'd hate that. I'm slow! So, I went ahead and toiled the bodice of V8766. It needed a lot of fitting work. No biggie, most patterns do, but just as I was about to hack into my traced pattern and start adjusting, I realised I had JUST completed a lot of fitting work on an almost identical princess seamed strapless bodice (Butterick 4443). Doh! At least I realised at this point and saved myself a lot of time. So this is my convoluted way of saying that this dress does look exactly like the pattern envelope of V8766, but it is actually the bodice of B4443 with the skirt of V8766 (which is a circle skirt, but I was glad to have the pattern pre-drawn rather than having to do the piece-of-string-tied-round-a-pencil circle drawing).
There are so many beautiful lace dresses out there. I just adore the feminine, fancy look of lace. I pinned about one hundred lacy ideas here - I would like them all please. This particular lace is quite heavy, is corded and has a pretty scalloped edge. It would've been nice to use the scallops on the hem but obviously that's impossible with a circle skirt. I tried using them along the neckline but it looked a bit weird! While we're on the lace, I have to say I was really impressed with the quality. This is £9.25 per metre, which I think is excellent value for money. I'm very tempted to buy some of the red and make a fiery backless number at some point. I am quite new to working with lace, but you might be seeing a lot more of it on my blog soon (my wedding dress!). I tried a bit of lace appliqué initially, to hide the princess seams, but I couldn't get it right, and the corded lace is quite thick. So I followed the pattern and sewed the lace and underlining together in the princess seams. I'm not sure Patrick Grant would be happy with my decision but I don't mind! Most RTW lace frocks I've seen are sewn this way, and quite pricey ones at that.
The underlining is lightweight satin. Both fabrics behaved well, but presented their own challenges. My tips if you’re working with the corded lace:
And the only tip I have for the lightweight satin is to pink everything if possible, even if you’re finishing the seam another way afterwards. It frayed like a good ‘un. I moved the zip to the side, and decided to put in a lapped zip. Under normal circumstances I would have liked an invisible zip but that would have been absolutely impossible with the thickness of the corded lace, so I went lapped. It’s a bit bumpy in the end but I’m happy with it. My underlining hem wouldn’t win any prizes, but it’s the underlining so I’m not losing any sleep over that. I love a circle skirt but man I hate hemming them. Especially when there are two to do in one dress! I did a (far from perfect) baby hem on the satin by machine, and turned up a 2” hem on the lace and sewed it by hand. I much prefer hemming my hand, even if it does take hours on a circle skirt. The lace has so much give in the open parts of it that it’s easy to ease it in when turning up the hem.
Anyway, I’ve gabbed enough. Can’t wait to see the GBSB final and see who wins! I'll leave you with some more shots of my lovely purple lace dress. I adore it. Now I just need an occasion to wear it!
One thing WhiteTree fabrics are proud of is our extensive selection of laces. Stretch, rigid, with a scalloped selvedge, without, floral, geometric, all different colours and designs.....we have over 700 designs to choose from. So when we saw that The Greart British Sewing Bee were going to be featuring a Pencil skirt challenge where the contestants had to work with lace, we reached out to our bloggers and challenged them to make a garment of their choice, the only rule being that that had to work with lace too. Katie chose our corded Burnt Orange Lace. Take a look at the gorgeous results below.
When White Tree invited its blogger network to pick a lace fabric to celebrate the lace week (episode 5 of GBSB), it didn't take me long to pick my favourite. I went for this Burnt Orange corded lace because the colour is so beautiful and, being quite inexperienced in sewing lace, I thought a more rigid lace would be easier to deal with.
It's fabulous quality with a corded flower design set on a firm net background, though still with a bit of give for wearing comfort. The selvedge is edged in scallops, which I was determined to use as part of the design.
To show off the lace I picked a simple T-shirt pattern - the Salme pleated t-shirt. I did plan to add the pleats initially, but decided against it in the end as I wanted the lace pattern to be the star of the show. I made sure to line up the bodice and sleeve hems against the selvedge to be able to use the scallops for the edges.
I was going to underline the lace in a matching coloured cotton originally, but I like the idea of being able to wear different coloured camisoles underneath for different effects - I think it looks equally nice with dark and light colours underneath.
I wanted the seams to be as inconspicuous as possible, so after sewing the seams with a plain straight stitch I cut the seam allowances down to about 5mm and finished the raw edges together with a small zig zag (the fabric barely frays at all anyway). The neckline is simply turned and hemmed and of course there was no hemming required on the cuffs and bottom hem! This tee feels really luxurious yet easy to wear too. Be sure to tune in to episode 5 of the GBSB to see what one of the contestants did with this very same fabric!
One thing WhiteTree fabrics are proud of is our extensive selection of laces. Stretch, rigid, with a scalloped selvedge, without, floral, geometric, all different colours and designs.....we have over 700 designs to choose from. So when we saw that The Greart British Sewing Bee were going to be featuring a Pencil skirt challenge where the contestants had to work with lace, we reached out to our bloggers and challenged them to make a garment of their choice, the only rule being that that had to work with lace too. Amy chose our beautiful Teal Leaf Lace. Take a look at the fabulous results below.
Hello Sewing Bee fans!
In advance of tonight's episode White Tree Fabrics gave me 2 metres of the lovely teal/aqua coloured leaf lace seen in the show and in the accompanying book, used on this gorgeous pencil skirt.
The lace has such a pretty scalloped selvedge I wanted to showcase that. So I thought if I made a strapless dress I could include a scalloped neckline and hem.
I used my tried and true Butterick 5351 as a starting point. This is a non-stretch lace and I found a teal rayon to use as a lining. I underlined the lace using tiny hand stitches and then changed the order of the construction to line the bodice and added fabric covered boning. I decided not to line the skirt and just underline it; the skirt pieces are just two gathered rectangles.
I don't personally think this is the type of lace to worry about pattern matching. The leaf design is quite free flowing so seam lines don't interrupt the print too badly. I bet I'd get marked down on the sewing bee though.
Before I started I washed the lace on the cool handwash setting of my washing machine, and because it's a cotton lace there was a little shrinking but no colour fading. There's not a massively clear difference between the right and wrong sides either. It was a really nice lace to work with.
So there you have it! A sweet new blue dress paired with a black patent belt and shoes.
