29 April 2016

Saturday Sew In at John Lewis!

Tilly and the Buttons sewing patterns




What are you doing on Saturday 21 May? I’m going to be spending the day sewing at John Lewis Oxford Street, along with my friends Freya, Jane and Marie. If you’re nearby, come say hello - you can see what we're up to, browse our patterns, get some sewing inspiration and have a chat to us while we sew. It’d be great to see you!

Saturday Sew In
Saturday 21 May 2016
11am to 5pm
Haberdashery dept, John Lewis, Oxford Street

26 April 2016

Your Makes!

Hello, sewing fans! Lexy here, taking a look at the lovely things that you've been making for this edition of the Maker Gallery. It's been fab looking at all of your creations - here's our pick of the bunch!

Your Makes!

22 April 2016

A Denim Yoyo Dress

Denim YoYo Dress - Tilly and the Buttons

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen some peeks of this dress while I was making it. It's the Yoyo dress pattern from NZ-based Papercut Patterns, which I bought from UK stockist Sewbox. As soon as I saw the pattern, I knew I wanted to make a denim version (of course) to layer over stripey tops (naturally). And I love how it turned out!

19 April 2016

Trimming Ideas for the Martha Dress

Trimming ideas for the Martha dress - sewing pattern from Tilly and the Buttons
I designed the Martha dress with fancy embellishments in mind. That central panel is just screaming out for decorations! Think lace, ruffles, faux button opening, embroidered trims...

Before stitching the trim to the blue Martha dress used on the cover of the sewing pattern, we played around with a few different placements. Here are some ideas we tried...

15 April 2016

Sewing Space Tours... Katryna's Inspirational Space!

Time for another peek into an inspirational sewing space! Today, we're heading to Canada to meet Katryna, and hear about her fantastically feline space. Take it away, Katryna!

Katryna's Inspirational Sewing Space

Hello! I'm Katryna and I am thrilled to share my sewing space with you today. I live in Western Canada and I have been sewing for almost 14 years.

My grandmother taught me to sew during summer vacations, and I dabbled on and off for many of those years, mostly in High School Home Economic classes. I ended up taking my University degree in Human Ecology with a major in Clothing & Textiles, which took me headfirst into every aspect of clothing, from costume history to material culture, to pattern drafting and textile design. I never wanted to be a fashion designer but I found a love and connection to making my own clothing.

12 April 2016

Five Tips for Sewing with Ponte

Five tips for sewing with ponte... when your pattern is designed for woven fabrics

There's a little subtitle for this post which reads, “When your sewing pattern is designed for woven fabrics”. Since we listed ponte di roma or double knit alongside woven fabrics as a suggested material for sewing the Martha dress, we’ve had some questions about how to sew with it and any special considerations or changes you’d need to make. So today I thought it worth discussing tips on sewing ponte when the pattern you’re using is primarily designed for woven fabrics.

8 April 2016

Fitting Adjustments for the Martha Sewing Pattern

Martha dress sewing pattern - Tilly and the Buttons

Sewing the Martha dress? Vanessa here today to talk about pattern changes you might want to make for a beautiful fit.

While it's tempting to get sewing straight away, as the Martha dress has a fitted bodice and our bodies are all different shapes, this is one of those patterns where it's definitely worth pausing to consider any fitting alterations you might want to make, and to make a toile (AKA muslin) of at least the bodice. A toile is a mock-up in a cheap fabric that gives you an opportunity to adjust the fit according to your shape, before you cut into your nice fabric.

5 April 2016

You're Invited to the #SewingMartha Instaspam Party!


Thank you so much for the wonderful response to the Martha sewing pattern – we’re so glad so many of you like the dress as much as we do! We thought it was high time we have an Instaspam party to celebrate. And you’re cordially invited.

What’s an Instaspam Party?!

2 April 2016

Inspiration and Fabric Shopping for the Martha Dress

Making the Martha dress? I love this part – choosing fabric!

You can sew the Martha pattern in lots of different types of fabrics. And the fabric you choose will have a big impact on how your finished dress looks, hangs and feels to wear. So today I thought I’d talk through some options and share a few potentials I’ve found online.