21 February 2018

Behind the Scenes on Stretch - Sketches to Proofs

Behind the Scenes on Stretch - Tilly and the Buttons

When a big project is finished, I'm usually already onto the next thing. This year though, one of my resolutions is to stop and smell the roses I've already grown - not just keep planting more bulbs!

It's nice to be able to look back at snapshots taken over the past couple of years while I wrote my second book Stretch!, and remind myself of the work - and joy - that went into creating it. I started it back in the Summer of 2016, which seems like a lifetime ago now. I thought you might be interested in seeing some of the stages of putting the book together...

Behind the Scenes on Stretch - Tilly and the Buttons
Behind the Scenes on Stretch - Tilly and the Buttons

The planning stage was a lot of fun - particularly when it came to designing the patterns. I put together a moodboard of Pinspiration plus some sketches for the book proposal to give the publishers an idea of what I had in mind. The final designs turned out pretty close to these original drawings.

Behind the Scenes on Stretch - Tilly and the Buttons

Once the proposal had been agreed and contract signed, we got to work making the patterns. Creating a book involves a large team of people, from photographers and stylists, through graphic designers and editors. When I wrote my first book, as well as writing the content, I made all the patterns myself. Four years on, Tilly and the Buttons has a team of brilliant people, so I was able to work with our pattern developer Vanessa on the patterns and samples. She did such a great job, and it was amazing to have another person to share the load and bounce ideas off of!

Behind the Scenes on Stretch - Tilly and the Buttons
Behind the Scenes on Stretch - Tilly and the Buttons
Behind the Scenes on Stretch - Tilly and the Buttons

Once the patterns had been created and I'd written the instructions (not something I took photos of - typing isn't exactly photogenic, haha!), we began shooting the steps. Our regular trusty photographer Fanni Williams came to our studio a few days over the Spring and Summer of 2017 to do these shoots.  Over the many shoots we've worked on together, we've got into a great rhythm, and she really understands what I want in a photo. I'm gutted that she's just moved to Budapest :(

Luckily only my hands needed to look glamorous as I was pregnant at the time and living in maternity dungarees!

Behind the Scenes on Stretch - Tilly and the Buttons
Behind the Scenes on Stretch - Tilly and the Buttons

Once all the content for the book was done, we got to what's probably the most fun part - the fashion shoots! We did these over three days in the Summer of 2017 with the photographer from my first book, Ellie Smith. I've got soooo many pictures from the fashion shoots that I'm going to share them in a separate post soon - watch this space...

Behind the Scenes on Stretch - Tilly and the Buttons
Behind the Scenes on Stretch - Tilly and the Buttons

The final stage before the book goes to print is editing and proofing. I worked closely with the book's editor Kate Haxell and the design team at Quadrille to ensure everything was just right. Spot the difference between these two images... as you can see by the addition in the second pic, the proofing process takes quite a few weeks!

I hope you enjoyed getting a peek behind the scenes on my book. I'm so happy with how it's turned out and can't wait to share it with you :)

You can get a preview inside my book here and pre-order a signed copy from our online shop.