Did you know it's Winter in Australia? It's probably still warmer than here, but as the Aussies are used to a lot of heat, they'll be wanting to keep warm at the moment. Maria took a remnant from another project and managed to create a lovely, winter white top.

Wow! This Summer is a real sorcher! ☼

What better way to stay cool that a gorgeous, open-knit crochet lace? In gorgeous white, this top is just the thing for making the most of the breeze that will help you cool down.

According to research statistics, 80-85% of women are wearing the wrong bra size. It's not exactly an appealing idea to trot off to Marks & Spencers to get measured on a busy, sweaty Saturday afternoon or pay some of the high prices out there just for one piece of underwear. So what can you do to save money and ensure the perfect fit? Make your own of course.

Our affordable bra kit gives you enough supplies to make 2 bras with. That's just £15 for the most comfortable bra you will ever wear. Maria from How good is that? has road tested the bra for us, with fantastic results. She also collaborated with us on the idea of the kit, bringing to our attention the fact that there is a real need out there for an all in one bra kit. Take a look below.

Bra Kit Test

Here's a sweet convertible bra using powermesh, lace and bra notions from White Tree Fabrics UK. This is an idea Lisa was happy for me to work on and I've used Kwik Sew 3300 as my bra template. I say template because the pattern doesn't provide the cross back feature. This bra style is something I developed following a 'ready to wear' bra that I own.

The power mesh is soft and stretchy so I've used two layers of powermesh on the bra band. This gives the bra band more stability and I've cut one layer on grain and one layer cut off grain.

Now the flesh colour tricot fabric and underwire piping was from my stash. The bra hooks provided by White Tree Fabrics give you the convertible version (slider, o-ring and garter hook).

What I found is the best result for bras is to have the notions either the same width or wider than the bra strap.

I used the lace across the top of the bra cup only and I tried to balance the bows in the lace.

Here's where I was deciding on how long the underwire piping should be. I ended up lining the whole cup with underwire piping even though this hemline underwire is a half wire shape.

I wore this bra on a humid Summer's day and it was very comfortable and supportive.

The cups are lined and all the seams are enclosed so I think that helped me feel comfortable.  The bra you see has been wash a couple of times now so I know this bra is durable as well as lovely. Thanks White Tree Fabrics for letting me indulge in sewing a new bra using lovely lace for Summer.

Since we're talking about bras - what better time to encourage all of our lovely female readers out there to remember to regularly check their breasts? WhiteTree are proud to be working with Butterick Sewing Patterns, who in turn support the Eve Appeal, fighting against women's cancers.  You can read more about how buying a sewing pattern will benefit this worthwhile cause. Butterick are donating to the Eve Appeal for every Walk Away dress pattern sold. Now there's some lovely news!

Time for another fantastic make from our very own GBSB contestant, Amanda!

The Lawn Lottie

I had to take Annice to school at 12pm on a Saturday night for her school visit to Rome, so I knew I had to stay awake and not drop asleep…..I knew sewing was out of the question because it would have gone wrong , but cutting out!!????

Amanda's latest creation is a classic black dress, made from our Ponti Roma fabric. Take a look.....

As you well know I am really enjoying making the Love Sewing magazine free patterns (The Ruby and The Skater Dresses). So when They included an Eliza M pattern for a wiggle dress called The Eva, I was very tempted.
Lisa from White Tree Fbarics asked what I would like for my next sewing post and decided on a ponte roma and she very kindly sent me some black and teal. As a blogger for White Tree Fabrics I get the fabric provided by them. The fabric feels beautiful and was great to sew. It has a heaviness about it which I always felt was lacking with stretch fabric I have used before………it comes down to cost once more!
I had planned to make one of the dresses from my Little Black Dress book.

It was a hard decision to choose but decided on the Eva wiggle! This was in the Love Sewing Magazine.

I decided not to use the facings or a zip, so I sewed the back seam up and cut myself some bias from my spare fabric, to edge the neck and the armholes. I used a flash of fuchsia bias for the hem.

I was quite brave with my fitting and just went for it as I knew it had to fit like a glove!
The stylist (aged 15yrs!) was very creative with my hair today so I got a beautiful style!

Pattern: Eliza M
Fabric : 2metres of ponte Roma from WTF. 
Notions: black thread , fuchsia bias for the hem
Wonky factor: 9/10…..I’m loving that wiggle!

Amanda of Sew Deputy was one of the very first bloggers on board the WhiteTree Blog Team and we're so pleased to have her blogging and creating for us!  Amanda has got to be one of the most productive seamstresses ever - take a look at all the wonderful garments below that she's made from our fabrics since we launched in May last year......but check out her blog to see all her other makes too!

To view all of these makes in detail and to discover which products Amanda used, click here.

Amanda has created outfits for everyday wear, formal occsasions, special occasions - every occasion! Imagine if you never had to shop on the high street again, because every time you needed something new, you were able to make it yourself in a day (or less). We hope this round up of Amanda's wonderful handmade 2014 wardrobe has inspired you to start some new projects. Take a look at our online store here and start discovering the fantastic products we have that can help you on your way.

If you haven't already discovered one of our bestselling products, we hope this blog post will serve as an introduction! Our 4658 is a popular floral stretch lace, with 2 scalloped edges making it perfect for ready made hems, sleeves and necklines. Available in over 25 colours, including 2-tone, this lace is perfect for dresses, tops and more. Here, Amanda shows you what you can achieve with a couple of metres of this much loved lace fabric.

Simple Sew patterns are my favourite at the moment. They are an easy sew which means I do everything carefully and neatly.
This is the Lottie Blouse and I used this lace from WhiteTreeFabrics.

I got two metres so I could use the scallops for the hem and sleeve ends. I used a slight zigzag stitch, cut close to the stitching and then a bigger zigzag to finish the edge of the fabric. 

I love navy and white to wear and so it seemed only right to get some photos next to my gorgeous car! My FIAT 500!

Pattern: Simple Sew Lottie blouse
Fabric: 2m of white flower lace
Notions: thread
Wonkiness: 9/10 I really like it! Perhaps a little too long so I can’t show off the scalloped hem