Susie recently undertook the task of creating 2 different tops from 2 of our best-selling fabrics, and the tops turned out wonderfully. Here's part one!

White Tree Fabrics – Jersey Fabrics and Vogue V8951 – Part 1

I was delighted to receive some beautiful jersey fabrics, from White Tree Fabrics, for my next dressmaking projects. I received a 2-way stretch, blue-grey warm jersey and a one-way stretch, purple Ponti Roma jersey fabric.

I was originally going to make two tops from the Vogue sewing pattern V8951, which I also got from White Tree Fabrics. However, I decided on making just one of them for now as I was also eager to make a different top from another pattern I already had. So I’ll do a separate post on that one and start with the lovely Ponti Roma fabric which I used to make View C from the Vogue pattern.

Some tips on sewing with jersey fabrics: use a ball point or jersey needle in your sewing machine. Use a polyester (all-purpose) sewing thread, which has a little stretch and won’t break easily like cotton thread would. Remember to use a stretch-stitch and use an over-locking stitch to finish all the raw edges. I used my over-locker for the raw edges and main seams and I used my sewing machine for hemming. Don’t stretch the fabric as you sew it, unless your pattern specifically tells you to do so. Just gently guide it and let the feed dogs move it through. If you’ve never sewn with jersey before, Ponti Roma is a good choice to start with as it is quite a tight knit without too much stretch.

The latest from Series 3 Great British Sewing Bee contestant Amanda of Sew Deputy!

 The Olympia-White Tree Fabrics

The lovely wife of King Bee Matt arranged for the Bees to meet up at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Olympia last Saturday. As you know I usually visit the show when it is in Harrogate and do a blog post of my visit. 

So the Bees met for a coffee before heading in to the Show…..we did lose a Neil to begin with,as he was in the queue with an admiring crowd!

I had emailed Lisa at WT as I was really excited to think they may have a stall and I might finally get to meet her! I can’t wait for that! Sadly, not this year, so I decided instead to take White Tree with me! 

I used this beautiful petrol Ponti Roma to make The Olympia! 

As a blogger for WT I can choose the fabric to make for a blog post, and this is a definite go-to knit to use. It is a lovely fabric to sew with. I also made the Wiggle Dress from the same fabric in black.

I have made lots of these dresses now, but I feel really comfortable in this style and feel like it is very complimentary to my body shape. It is the first Skater Dress in a knit,however. The York  and The Elizabeth are in wool  mix fabrics. 

Back to the show……it was the best day ever! Lots of lovely people recognised us and wanted photos of us and their book signing. I had a ball! Talking and smiling is what I am all about so I had a great time! 

Hope you have enjoyed my Sewing Bee related posts! That’s it folks! Back to the usual twirling, swirling me, me, me posts from now on! But it was certainly a once in a lifetime experience!

Amanda 

Pattern: Simple  Sew Skater Dress 
Fabric: 2 metres teal ponte available here
Notions: thread
Wonky Factor: 10/10 the Bees said I had a perfect neckline……there can be no higher praise!

And thanks WT Fabrics for the beautiful fabric! 

Ponti Roma is the perfect fabric for Autumn/Winter. It's a great all round dressmaking fabric but it also benefits from having a cosy, snuggly feel. Our 8429 is available in 5 great colours. You can see Emily's Ponti Roma tunic in red here. However, this particular blog post is about Geo's beautiful purple ponti roma dress! Take a look....

Sometime in august I met Simona for a drink when she was in London and she told me about WhiteTree Fabrics and their blog team. I checked their website and they were still looking for bloggers to join the team, so I signed up!

It took me two months to make this dress and write this post, and this was after almost a month of trying to choose the pattern and fabric. In the end I decided to go with something practical, that I could wear everyday. I used Vogue 8787 because I loved that neckline, a purple ponte roma and black stretch lining.

After looking at images of finished dresses using this pattern, I decided to make the top one size smaller than what I would normally go for. The neckline and gathered detail were more obvious when the top is really stretched on the body. The little table on the envelope says I’m somewhere in-between size 14 and 16, but after measuring the pattern I cut the top in size 10 tapering to 12 at the waist/skirt.

I didn’t want a straight skirt, but a very full skirt wouldn’t look to good in this fabric either (I think), so I closed the darts on the straight skirt to get this A-line shape. I followed the pattern instructions for constructing the dress, but I always attach the lining following this tutorial.

The plan was to make a winter dress but it looked much too severe with long sleeves and skirt.

We love this dress and think it's perfect for the colder weather. If you fancy making this dress yourself, here's your shopping list:

Ponti Roma, available in 5 colours ► here. 
Lining fabric ► here.
Vogue V8787 Sewing pattern ► here.

Happy Sewing!

We have 2 bloggers based outside the UK - Erin from the US and Emily who is based in Belgium. So this post has a distinct European flavour as we bring you Emily's first blog post for WhiteTree fabrics. I'm not sure anyone could have predicted how abruptly Summer would end, but Emily seems to have had a sixth sense when she chose our Ponti Roma fabric to work with! We love this tunic dress and the lovely, bright colour proves that Autumn Winter fabrics don't have to be dull or dark. Here's the make in full.

Say hello to my first make as part of the White Tree Fabrics blogger team. I'm really happy with it; perfect for autumn's (early) arrival here in Belgium.  The pattern is V8977 and the fabric is red Ponti Roma. I was drawn to view C on the packet as I thought it was the type of item lacking in my wardrobe.

I sewed it up mostly on my overlocker (but my sewing machine was used for the darts, the front neckline pleat basting, the sleeve gathering, the neckline binding, and for attaching the back strap and the cuffs). It was also the first time I used my overlocker's blind hem foot. This tutorial greatly helped me work out how to use the thing.