When Lillia Whittington was 4 years old, she walked up to her grandmothers and told them she wanted to sew an outfit for herself.
Since they had both worked as seamstresses, they were eager to help. And although Whittington now describes the skirt and top she made as “horrific,” this project sparked a love of sewing that has continued throughout her life.
“I ran around the house thinking I had made a red carpet runway look,” Whittington said. “I was just so excited. So pretty much ever since then, I’ve been hooked on sewing.”
Now, at 27, Whittington is a local seamstress who shares her love and knowledge of sewing with the Denton community and beyond, with the help of social media. She teaches private sewing lessons, hosts sewing workshops and makes TikTok videos where she gives sewing advice to more than 85,000 followers.
It all started in the summer of 2022. Whittington started teaching kids how to sew as part of a summer program at Texas Woman’s University, where she is now about to begin graduate school. She posted on a Denton moms Facebook group, she said, to see if anyone would be interested in signing their children up for private sewing lessons with her. She was surprised, she said, to get a different kind of response: “I don’t want you to teach my kids, I want you to teach me.”
Around this time, Whittington also made a video on TikTok offering to teach people how to sew.
“I woke up [the next day] and I had 10,000 new followers,” Whittington said. “I was like, ‘Where did you all come from?’”
She creates videos answering specific sewing questions and has started several video series, such as one on “Sewing Simple Seams.” Her online content has led to great opportunities, including the opportunity to teach at Sew Expo — billed as the largest annual sewing community gathering in the U.S. The 2024 event is in February and takes place in Washington state.
“[Sewing has] been an outlet,” Whittington said. “It’s been a way to be creative. It’s been a way to share my love for something that I’ve learned that can bring me so much joy. And I want other people to experience that joy.”
She is able to share that joy on a more personal level in her private lessons. Natalie Kutach, 56, had years of sewing experience before meeting Whittington, but she had never made her own clothes. Kutach said she was an avid quilter, but had started to lose her “sew-jo” and became less excited about sewing.
That changed when she signed up for Whittington’s lessons.
“[Whittington was] so enthusiastic about what we were doing that it took, like, one lesson for me to get excited again about sewing,” Kutach said.
Since starting lessons in July, she has made a caftan, a wrap skirt and blouses. She said she would encourage anyone to take sewing lessons.
“Especially for women my age, I would say you’re never too old to learn something new,” Kutach said. “And learning something new is just so exciting for your brain. … I just think it makes you happier.”
Kutach also mentioned that as a mom who has two daughters around Whittington’s age, she is proud of her.
“I’m just so incredibly proud that there’s young women like Lillia out there, teaching other young men and women,” Kutach said. “If I had young girls [and] they showed any interest in learning to sew, absolutely, they would be in Lillia’s studio.”
@just.lilliaa #duet with @Chrissy Mallouf #dentonrealtor I MADE THIS. 💖 Chrissy looked amazing at her#Barbie Premiere party she had on opening day! Look at that smile 🥹💖 #GOBARBIE #barbiedress #barbiegirl #barbiemovie #barbiepink #barbietiktok #customlook ♬ Pink - Lizzo
There are, in fact, young students who work with Whittington. Lillian Martin, 8, said she wants to be “a fashion designer and famous singer” when she grows up. So, after hearing about Whittington’s lessons from a friend, her mom signed her up for sewing lessons in June.
“Miss Lillia is kind and patient, and she always encourages you to keep on doing what you love and follow your dreams,” Lillian said.
Her most recent project was her Halloween costume: the pink and white gingham dress from the Barbie movie. Her mother, Elizabeth Martin, was impressed that her daughter was truly able to make it herself, from cutting the fabric to sewing the garment together, with Whittington there to guide Lillian.
“I’ve seen that her independence has definitely grown,” Martin said. “Her patience and kind of that delayed gratification [have also improved] because the projects now are over longer periods of time. So, seeing her really set a goal and work towards it has been really cool, as her mom.”
Whittington said learning to sew can help anyone become more independent in a few different ways. She said she hasn’t always had a positive relationship with clothing, as is the case for many women. By making clothes by hand, women can feel comfortable in clothes that truly fit them.
“People expect you to fit the clothes and not the clothes to fit you,” Whittington said. “So, making clothes that fit you makes you feel more confident and makes you feel that much better about yourself and about your skills.”
Making clothes also allows a person to have more control over where that clothing comes from, Whittington said. Sustainability is at the forefront of her work.
She prioritizes the use of natural fibers and secondhand materials, many of which are sourced from local secondhand craft supply store Thistle Creative Reuse. She said she prioritizes the use of sustainable materials not only because of the environmental impact, but also because using these materials allows people who sew to create unique pieces without spending a lot of money on brand-new fabric.
“It’s important to me to show sustainable sewing [because] fashion is one of the top polluting industries in the world,” Whittington said. “Being a sustainable sewer has allowed me to be creative and continue to sew one-of-a-kind pieces that I know I’ll love and cherish for years to come.”
She encourages anyone interested in sewing to give it a try, even if they just sew a little bit each day. She acknowledged that sewing machines can be expensive, so she recommends visiting the Forge center at Denton’s North Branch Library. The Forge has sewing machines that are free to use for anyone who has a library card.
Whittington also said practice is key. When someone learns how to sew, as is the case with any new skill, they will not be good at it at first.
After all, even Whittington herself started off with that “horrific” skirt and top. And now, she is able to teach other people about the art of sewing.
“I really want as many people to learn how to sew as possible because I know how much has changed my life,” she said. “By being able to sew and being able to create, you’re able to break out of that mold. Even if it’s just like, ‘I’m just gonna put a peplum on this T-shirt,’ you’re breaking the mold because you’re doing something with your hands and you’re being creative.”