Meet Martha - Our New Sewing Pattern for Spring

Fancy making yourself a pretty dress for Spring? Say hello to Martha, our brand new sewing pattern!

ORDER THE MARTHA SEWING PATTERN

Martha is a gorgeous dress to wear to cocktail dates, weddings, power meetings… I’ve made three for myself so far and have worn them to the office, dinner with friends, a Christmas party, a wedding, business meetings, and had compliments on my outfit every time. It’s one of those dresses that works for different seasons – so far I’ve been wearing it with tights and boots or heels, and I’m looking forward to pairing it with sunglasses and wedge sandals as the weather warms up.

Behind the Scenes...

We've had a busy few weeks at TATB HQ. Here are some iPhone snapshots of what we've been up to behind the scenes...

Fun with Freestyle Machine Embroidery

Have you ever tried freestyle - or free motion - machine embroidery? I gave it a whirl last weekend at a workshop in our studio - it's SO much fun!

The class is taught by the super talented Sophia Palmer from homewares company Jessali Handmade. She showed us how to use the sewing machine to draw and write in thread. We started by freestyling words and pictures, and later mixed in appliqué to create textile artworks. (I use the word "artworks" loosely, hehe!) You can sew any image of your choice in the workshop - we all went with the scissors and kitty designs that Sophia brought along for us.

Five Tips to Stop Your Sewing Machine Swallowing Fabric

Have you ever had one of these arrrrggghhh moments - you’re having a lovely time sewing a beautiful voile or delicate chiffon, when suddenly the fabric gets sucked under the needle plate? Arrrrggghhh!!!

Today I want to share five tips to stop this happening. As always, if you have any tricks of your own to add, please share them in the comments – the more, the merrier!

Tilly's Grandad PJs

As soon as I spotted this super soft double gauze on my recent trip to Tokyo, I knew what I was going to make with it - the Carolyn pyjamas from Closet Case Patterns. While not my usual nightwear style, I'm a big fan of everything Zooey Deschanel wears in New Girl - if you haven't seen it, she wears grandad PJs like this all the time. So I snapped up the pattern as soon as it came into print.

Tilly's Dominique Skirts

I’m channelling 'Librarian Chic' with my navy needlecord Dominique skirt, made with some fabric from my stash. Always a good look IMHO, and I love how preppy it looks with a little brown leather belt. Navy is notoriously difficult to photograph - it's a bit like looking into a black hole - so try to envisage a velvety cord texture, centre seams and patch pockets. They're there, honest! ;)

Lexy's Dominique Skirts

We've got Dominique skirts coming out of our ears here at Tilly and the Buttons HQ!

Lexy here today - office manager chez TATB - to show you what I've been making. If, like me, you're new to sewing, you'll be pleased to hear that the Dominique sewing pattern is a dream to make! I’m not the neatest or most patient of stitchers, and even I found these gorgeous skirts straightforward and a breeze to sew.

Inside Our Online Sewing Workshops

Wanna take a peek inside our online sewing workshops? If you haven’t taken an online class before, or are just wondering what ours are like, today I thought I’d share a bit more about what you get once you sign up to our video classes:

Make Friends with a Sewing Machine
Learn to Sew Skirts
Sew Your Own Knockout Dress
Learn to Sew Jersey Tops
Sew Your Own Shirt or Shirt Dress