Tilly Walnes, Founder, Tilly and the Buttons
Tilly and the Buttons began as a blog eight years ago as a way for Tilly to share her passion for making clothes and connect with other people who enjoy sewing. Blending her passion for dressmaking with over a decade’s professional experience in arts education and designing training courses, Tilly set out to rethink sewing patterns for modern makers – avoiding the technical jargon, diagrams and conventions of traditional sewing resources that confusing, intimidating and ultimately off-putting.
In 2013 she quit the day job to focus on Tilly and the Buttons full time and started growing a lovely team. Since then she’s released two sewing books for beginner dressmakers, Love at First Stich and Stretch! Make Yourself Comfortable Sewing with Knit Fabrics, and launched a series of online sewing workshops.
Tilly has been featured in the The Guardian and The New York Times, competed in the BBC2’s The Great British Sewing Bee, and was named ‘Favourite Sewing Personality’ in the British Sewing Awards the last three years in a row.
Image – Tilly and the Buttons