Anyone else like Tilly and the Buttons sewing patterns?

[Chamomileteaplease]

I am new to sewing and so far really enjoying it but I wanted to ask if anyone knows of any beginners' patterns which have a decent sewalong video ?

My very first project was Tilly's Jaime pyjamas and she has a little video which shows you how to do various bits. It was brilliant and so helpful for a beginner.

But when I did the next pattern, a skirt, there were of course instructions and pictures but no video. I think sewers forget how hard it is when you are a beginner to decipher instructions. It can take six goes of reading each bit to understand! And it takes away some of the joy IMO.

So I was wondering if any mumsnetters know of any other companies or even just patterns which have sewalong videos to help those of us who have no human help and and doing our best in the dark?

I’ve made a few things from the big 4 pattern companies this year and some of the instructions have been clear and easy to follow while others have been shocking. The worst was a butterick easy to sew pattern - I gave up in the end.

When I got back into dressmaking I relied heavily on an old book of my mothers which is very dated in appearance but the description of techniques and the diagrams are really helpful. I think there’s a sewing bee book which covers techniques as well.

Totally agree about StyleArc @FOJN! What most companies put into several pages, they put in a few bullet points!

Helen’s Closet patterns have very comprehensive instructions. I’m not sure about videos but the diagrams and step-by-step is very clear.

On the other hand I would avoid Just Patterns - I’ve just finished their Helena Wrap dress and omg it was like half the instructions were missing! And random extra pattern pieces kept popping up that weren’t in the cutting list. Really frustrating to have paid for something that seemed like it hadn’t been tested or proofread (although the dress itself is lovely!)

I’ve also made a few Sagebrush tops (Friday Pattern Company) and found those well-written

Merchant and mills are notoriously brief in their instructions and some struggle with their hand drawn diagrams. Sometimes unwittingly amusing, too. "organise the yoke" comes to mind. A little bossy and assumes you know what you're doing (though it's a shirt pattern, in this case, so not for an absolute beginner)

Ooh, more companies to look up, thank you everyone for sharing.

It's helpful to know that others have been disappointed with instructions too. It's not rocket science is it? Surely you get someone who hasn't seen the pattern before to try it, then comment. Sounds simple but it sounds like quite a few companies slip up here and it is a shame for us the customers.

Off to look up the latest batch

There are indeed plenty to go at.
I'd still maintain that TATB are the best from a beginner's perspective though. All the companies use slightly different ways of explaining things, so if you switch between companies then you've got a whole new way of learning to contend with. I'd say it's best to build your confidence and knowledge before branching out. And their instructions really are up there with the best - photos, and lots of them, and breaking things down into very small incremental steps. And they are so popular that there's bound to be a youtube sewalong for most of them, even if there isn't an official Tilly one.

And lots of bloggers' efforts - some mention any issues they had with the pattern, you can see how it fits different figures from the photos, they may tell you what adjustments they made or how they customised a pattern to suit their style and you get to see how it looks in different fabrics.

If you Google the pattern number you often get a video or some hints and pit falls about the pattern.

I think when you are a total beginner ( in anything ) your knowledge is such that it doesn’t cover ground rules which a “professional” has probably forgotten learning … this is incredibly frustrating and cab make the whole learning experience stressful and frustrating . In the example you describe op I suspect they’ve trimmed the interfacing by removing the seam allowance before applying it to the waistband . Back in the day (when I was taught sewing at school ) it was something we were told to do as it helps reduce bulk in the seams of the waistband ….tbh I rarely do this now and simply trim the seam in graduated layers which has the same result. There are loads of you tube videos on various sewing techniques as well as specific patterns and virtually everything is really quite straightforward - the trick is just to give it a go …and enjoy