When Jo decided to tackle a Halloween costume for one of her WhiteTree projects, she came up with a truly challenging idea. We're pleased to say she pulled it off with spectacular results. Here's a clue .....

When Jo used some leftover Liberty Print to create some undies for her friend, she turned her attention to making some for herself next. Take a look!

Sometimes the best ideas are the simplest ones!

Over Thinking

 

But in all honesty it never seemed to fit any of those ideas. Indeed the dreamed up garment in my head didn't even fit into my wardrobe.

 

However, my mum suggested, "Why don't you hem it and just make it into a scarf?"

 

She was soooo right.

 

A genius she is.

 

Thanks for continuing to help me sew (useful) stuff mum!

Happy Mothering Sunday to all mums out there (original publication date 15th March 2015).

Jo xxx

Inspired by a Vintage Sewing Pattern, Jo of Three Stories High combined our black tassled guipure lace with a gorgeous midnight blue coloured lining and the results is a stunning evening top. Read on......

This project started with some inspiration from a vintage pattern find; I needed guipure lace... what on earth is that? I thought... I visited White tree fabrics for some ideas.

I was sent this beautiful guipure lace . It has a cotton/crochet feel about it but in all honesty, I had no idea how to actually work with it. I sort of ran shy from the original vintage pattern. I started to think the less raw edges and cuts I made, the less amount of things could go wrong. So I fell back on a modern vintage pattern and went for another portrait blouse fromGerties Book for Better Sewing. She had made a lace version that I thought would fit the bill. 

The lining acted as a kind of muslin. I made it slightly bigger in the waist and hips to eliminate the need for a side zip. I was still going with the less is more theme. Inserting a zip in this lace? Absolutely no idea! The colour inspiration for the lining comes from my personal pledge to myself to only make things that go with other things that I already have.

In the end I lost some of the body shaping which I knew would happen with the tweeks I made but it is the most comfortable top ever. The vintage element eventually turned out to be a bit 1920's flapper girl don't you think?

I read a few tutorials on this lace and they all said to use bias binding (which is what had been done on the original pattern I looked at) to finish the edges which was the perfect.

I am feeling pretty on trend with lace - it is everywhere in the shops and it is not that scary to sew with. I would like to thank White Tree Fabrics for letting me try out their fabric. 

Your Shopping List:

Click here for the Tassle Guipure lace
Click here for Midnight blue lining fabrics
Click here for Bias Binding
Click here to find the sewing pattern 

Has this blog project inspired you? If you make something with our fabrics we'd love to see! Share your make with us - send us an email with a photo or two and receive an exclusive discount coupon, plus the chance to be featured on our blog.

Happy Sewing!

And now for something completely different! This fantastic make comes from Jo at Three Stories High and is one of our favourite creations to date, as well as being the first garment made for a man! Over to Jo....

One for the boys

We went to the wedding in our homemade outfits and lapped up the compliments.

Jo xxxx

We think Jo and her other half both look fantastic! What did you think of this make? If you want to make something similar, here's what you'll need:

The Satin lining can be found ► here 

The waistcoat sewing pattern is ► here

Matching sewing thread available ► here

Tweed Wool, inc. Scottish Tweed ► here

WhiteTree fabrics are delighted to welcome Jo Roberts to the WhiteTree Blogging Team.

Jo loves to make something everyday. She enjoys all kinds of crafts and loves to learn new things all the time. Jo is the proud owner of two (working) sewing machines and an overlocker. Her other passion is crochet. Jo teaches group workshops which she finds really rewarding.

Jo's two daughters, aged 7 and 4,  have started to select what they would like her to make for them which is a new thing for her as previously... Jo made it and they wore it! She's really looking forward to blogging for White Tree Fabrics and exploring new materials and techniques.

We're really pleased to have her on the team and look forward to her first make. You can follow Jo's sewing & crafting adventures over at her blog.