Megan Illgner is a seamstress in Santa Barbara known as “Santa Barbara Seamstress.” Hailing from the wholesome and hardworking Midwest, she transplanted to the west coast after earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Visual Communication from the University of Kansas.

She is currently incubating a sewing business at SBCAST and exploring the seemingly endless avenues of textiles. Having not yet decided which niche to specialize in, she is happy to work on a variety of projects. Her recent projects include everything from clothing alterations to costumes to quilts to bridal dresses to large scale shade structures and everything in between.

She does quite enjoy working with sequins and faux fur for music festival fashion and gets a real kick out of watching people transform.

While sewing at a hundred miles an hour in the studio she enjoys listening to random documentaries, TED talks, Bill Hicks stand-up comedy, old TOOL albums, and 90s episodes of The Simpsons. Her goal as a seamstress is to become an expert at all things related to textiles. She studies fabrics, stitches, sewing machines, garment construction, patterns, color relationships, and how to actually turn a passionate lifelong hobby into a business. She is currently working on The Autobiography of Megan Illgner, the book she was born to write.