MY NEW BOOK Learn to Sew IS OUT TODAY! 🎉
Have you got your copy? 🙏
Learn to Sew is THE book you’ll want to keep within easy reach of your sewing table, so you can grab it any time you need a bit of extra help with your project, whatever you’re making 🪡
If you’re a total beginner, it will help you get started using your sewing machine, working with patterns, understanding fabrics, and grasping the fundamentals of garment construction. If you’re more experienced, it offers a reference guide to essential sewing techniques, from fastenings to finishes, all outlined in our clear, colourful, signature style 😍
My hope is that it becomes a well-thumbed resource that you’ll treasure for years to come, and press into the hands of anyone with an interest in sewing clothes 💝
A huge thank you to the team who helped bring this book to life 😘 And a massive thank you to YOU too for allowing me to call writing books about making stuff MY JOB (eep!) 💕
📸 @janelookerphotography
📕 @quadrillecreate@penguinrandomhouse
#LearnToSewBook #LearnToSew #SewingBook
New year, new followers, time to re-introduce myself! 👋
Combining my passion for DIY fashion with my professional experience in education and training, I started Tilly and the Buttons with the mission to inspire and empower more people to make their own clothes ✂️
The business started out from my kitchen table, and we are now a team of four fabulous women working from a lovely studio in South London.
We are known for our beginner-friendly instructions, pastel-infused aesthetic, down-to-earth approach to sewing 🩵
Follow along for sewing tips, inspiration, pattern news and the occasional totally silly Reel!
#TillyAndTheButtons #SewingPatterns #SewingBusiness
If you’re used to sewing with old school sewing patterns, you may be surprised at what you find inside a TATB pattern envelope! 👀
🪡 Durable paper that won’t tear, scrunch up, or fly around your sewing space
🪡 Jargon-busting, beginner-friendly instructions
🪡 Colour photos of each step (great for visual learners)
🪡 15 sizes from UK 6-34
🪡 Handy tips you can use again on future projects
🪡 Links to free video tutorials for extra help
We are so proud that our patterns have won multiple awards for their design and user-friendliness 🏆 We are also happy to say they are all designed and printed in the UK ❤️
#SewingPatterns #TillyAndTheButtons
If you don’t know this already, this is gonna be a game changer! 🤩
Faced with a four thread overlocked or serged seam to unpick, you might be tempted to throw your whole project in the bin 😫 DON’T! It’s honestly not that bad when you understand that you only actually need to unpick the straight needle stitches 😎
The looper threads can then be pulled off in one long piece, saving you a million itty bitty pieces of thread to deal with. You are welcome 💁🏻♀️
If you’d like to get confident using your overlocker or serger, I have an online class for that! ☺️ Follow the link in our bio to our site, and find Make Friends with an Overlocker 🤩
Did you know this already? Or was it welcome news?! Let me know in the comments…
#sewingtips #overlocker #serger
To toile, or not to toile? THAT is the question 🤔
Short answer: sometimes yes… sometimes I wouldn’t bother 😅
A toile (or muslin) is a practice version of your garment sewn in cheaper fabric first, so you can check the fit before cutting into your nice fabric. And, while it does add an extra step, it can save SO much frustration later (yes, I am speaking from experience).
In this guide, we cover:
✂️ What a toile actually is
👗 Which sewing projects really need one
🪡 When you can probably skip it
📏 How to make a toile quickly and effectively
💛 Common fitting tweaks to look out for
If you’ve ever spent hours sewing something only for the fit to feel “off, this post is for you.
👉 Save this for your next sewing project
👉 Search ‘Toile’ on tillyandthebuttons.com (link in bio)
#SewingTips #Dressmaking #LearnToSew #SewingTutorial #FittingTips
We LOOOVE this Noa by @sewdisorganised 🧡🌸
“I’ve been eying up the Noa Pinafore for a while now, it’s the perfect every season outfit because you can wear it with or without layers. It was also really quick and easy to sew, I made a toile beforehand to check the length and fit and each only took a few hours. I love how clean the facing makes the neck and armholes, and I’m not usually a facing fan but in this instance it’s perfect.”
Thank you so much for sharing your Noa experience @sewdisorganised - your version is SO joyful 🌈🫶
Share yours 👉 #SewingNoa
🔗 Noa pinafore pattern linked in our bio
#SewingPattern #SewistsOfInstagram
Since launching our popular Bodice Fitting for Home Sewing online workshop, one of the most common questions we get asked is if we can make a Trouser Fitting class too 👖
Well... I bring good news! We are in the early stages of planning this exact workshop with the same amazing teacher Kate from @ProjectPatterns 💁♀️
To make it as helpful as it can be, we’d love to hear from you about the biggest fit issues you have when it comes to trousers. Are you team:
✂️ Full bum
✂️ Flat bum
✂️ Full tum
✂️ Waist to hip ratio
✂️ Sway back
✂️ Excess fabric under the bum
✂️ Excess fabric at front crotch
✂️ Hungry bum
✂️ Camel toe
✂️ Full calf
✂️ Leg shaping/angles
... or maybe something else? Let us know in the comments! 🍑
#TrouserFitting #PantsFitting
Finished another pair of Winnies 🪡 They are soooo comfy I don’t want to ever take them off! 💜💙💜💙
Flat-fronted waistband, elasticated back, gentle barrel shape, and roomy pockets galore 😎
Now I just need a matching top - and I have just the pattern in mind… Watch this space… 😉👀🤐
Sewing pattern: Winnie trousers
Fabric: Yarn dyed cotton from @heysewsister.co.uk
#sewingwinnie #barrellegtrouserpattern #trouserpattern
One of the biggest surprises when you start sewing clothes is realising that your sewing pattern sizes aren’t necessarily the same as your shop size 👀
Ready-to-wear sizes can vary from brand to brand so, when selecting your sewing pattern size, it’s important to pick your size based on your actual measurements.
In our detailed blog guide, we cover:
📏 How to take accurate body measurements
✂️ How to choose your sewing pattern size
🪡 What to do if your measurements span multiple sizes
👗 What “ease” means (and why it matters)
💛 How to get a more custom fit when sewing clothes
👉 Save this post for your next sewing project
👉 Search ‘How to Select Your Sewing Pattern Size’ on our blog (link in bio)
#SewingTips #LearnToSew #SewingTutorial #Dressmaking #SewingForBeginners
Polka dots are in and I’ve never felt more personally vindicated 🙌 (but let’s face it… polka dots are always cute, right?)
Abi here 🫶 Meet my Thea trousers, pair number four. Yes, four 🫣
This time I went for a cream polka dot twill and the cropped length. For me, Thea is one of those patterns I come back to again and again, and I think four pairs speaks for itself (yes of course I’ve made a leopard print pair)!
The fit. The cut. The style. Mwah 😙🤌
Have you made them yet?
Pattern: Thea trousers by @tillybuttons #SewingThea
Fabric: @pigeonwishes.shops
#Sewist #Sewing #MeMadeWardrobe
Final hours of our 20% off spring sewing pattern sale! Don’t say we didn’t warn you… 🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️
[Use code ‘SPRING20’ at the checkout for 20% off individual printed + PDF sewing patterns - excludes bundles. Offer ends 9am GMT Tuesday 5th May 2026. Cannot be combined with other offers.]
![Final hours of our 20% off spring sewing pattern sale! Don’t say we didn’t warn you… ️ ️ ️[Use code ‘SPRING20’ at the checkout for 20% off individual printed + PDF sewing patterns - excludes bundles. Offer ends 9am GMT Tuesday 5th May 2026. Cannot be combined with other offers.]](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6739254130562432515816_0_4ff93a3e32675291e377adad91006213.jpg?o=aHR0cHM6Ly9zY29udGVudC1vcmQ1LTMuY2RuaW5zdGFncmFtLmNvbS92L3Q1MS44Mjc4Ny0xNS82ODM4NDEyMjVfMTg1NzY5MjY4ODcwMDI3NzdfNzU5NTc1NDEyOTk3Njk4MTI0NF9uLmpwZz9zdHA9YzAuMjgwLjcyMC43MjBhX2RzdC1qcGdfZTE1X3M2NDB4NjQwX3R0NiZfbmNfaHQ9c2NvbnRlbnQtb3JkNS0zLmNkbmluc3RhZ3JhbS5jb20mX25jX2NhdD0xMDkmX25jX29jPVE2Y1oyZ0VJeHBGeGlaRjlFdEg3d2VjUHVtSG9rcUoyQkQzWE1PU3RUSFI4WjhmNkZQY1lsTGczM1VfNmM1VUMxbjBBUUMyajdmaE53elAxZWp4U1Q4ck92R0tSJl9uY19vaGM9V21vMUJXX1oteFlRN2tOdndGaDFLTGYmX25jX2dpZD1JNGFqUm9HTDZBeTlua1dvVS1GMExnJmVkbT1BUFU4OUZBQkFBQUEmY2NiPTctNSZvaD0wMF9BZjcxRjJnQWxhaDVnc3VxNTNEaC11NS1EdllBMGl4OTc3WERBM1RsVnhrUVBBJm9lPTZBMEZDRTc2Jl9uY19zaWQ9YmMwYzJj&h=b021da87999e813d00302ae561ce296e)
