Burda Style For people who sew

Where are you from and where do you live now?
I’m born and bred in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. I haven’t strayed far from the nest, living only 10 minutes from where I grew up, but it’s an inner city suburb full of curiosities, chaos and culture so there’s not too many reasons to leave.

I work as a social worker on the other side of Melbourne, so I spend my days helping people finding their way to recover from experiences of psychiatric disability. I have a big space in my heart for social justice and equity which fuels my work with people amongst the most marginalized in our society.

How did you start sewing?
I was a stay at home mom who wanted to learn how to sew eleven years ago. I bought a 1960’s Singer sewing machine with desk and all attachments at a yard sale for $25. Using the manual as a guide I made lavender sachets, pillows, curtains for our RV and a few very simple little girl dresses. Fast forward 10 years later – I am back at my career and I cannot find a dress for a company party that fits me so I decided 2010 was the year I would dust off my sewing machine and learn to sew clothes.

Where are you from and where do you live now?
I live in New York City now, but I am from Vancouver Island, British Columbia — a world away from New York and about as different as two places can be. When I’m not sewing (or drafting patterns) I can usually be found playing with my daughter, who is almost three.

How did you start sewing?
My mom taught me how to machine sew when I was about 10, I think. My first project was a Hawaiian-print cotton skirt with an elastic waistband. Following that, I sewed off and on through my teens and early 20s (mostly adapting items of clothing I bought at second-hand stores), but it wasn’t until I was about 25 that I got seriously into making clothes.

Where are you from and where do you live now?
I am from Oregon, but have lived in New Orleans for the last 9 years. I teach middle school social studies/history. I am moving to Chicago this summer!

How did you start sewing?
My mom always sewed for us, so she taught me as a child. I starting sewing more after college, around 2007. My favorite project is my Cape of Awesomeness. It was made from a 1940s pattern. It took me a long time to make it and it forced me to learn new techniques and improve my skills.

Where are you from and where do you live now?
I live in Lodz, it’s a large city in the center of Poland. I have love and hate relationship with this place, it’s depressing and inspiring at the same time. I am currently attending University majoring in Psychology.

How did you start sewing?
My mum can sew (she is really good!) and growing up in my home we always had a sewing machine. She stayed at home when my brother and I were younger and she was making a lot of clothes for us. The sound of a sewing machine is one of my childhood memories. My first “creation” was a dress for my plush elephant. I was about seven when I made it. I distinctly remember sewing way too fast, neglecting every rule and braking many needles.

Where are you from and where do you live now?
My name is Morgan. I’m a 19 year old American girl. I’ve lived in the state of Georgia, outside of Atlanta all my life. I have finished high school and am currently working on getting my GED as I’ve been home schooled from 3-12 grade. I dream of someday going to design school or majoring in Fashion and Design. I started my own business last year selling handmade doll clothes online.

Where are you from and where do you live now?
I was born in Singapore and spent my whole life growing up there until 5 years ago. I moved to Palembang, Indonesia with my Singaporean husband, Brian who helps out with his father’s business. It was a decision we both made together, to experience a different lifestyle in a foreign country and most importantly to spend time with my aging father in law, an Indonesian based in Palembang.

Besides being a wife, I’m now a happy mother to a 3 year old son, Kaeden. I spend most of my time playing and coaching Kaeden at home. I get to crafting and sewing whenever I get my ‘me’ time!

Where are you from and where do you live now?
I live in Denmark in a small town called Hobro with my husband and our 4 children, Luna (12), Albert (7), Bertram (5) and Wilma (4) – and I’m dreaming of at least one more child. I used to be a social worker (and before that I was a bank clerk), but when we had our fourth child I decided to look for another job which allowed me to spend more time with my kids. I’m now a child minder and open my own house as a sort of day care center every morning.

Where are you from and where do you live now?
I’m from Serbia, from a small mountain town, though I live in Belgrade (which is a capital of Serbia ) for 10 years now. I graduated in art history and would know a few things about medieval manuscripts but never was too serious about getting anywhere with that. Instead, I do few other jobs, half of the year I work as an archeologist spending days in a dirt and sweat digging prehistory loving every second of it!

The other half of the year I spend working as personal assistant in my dad’s company (which is nice, since I work from home and have lots of free time that I can use to sew and try to start my own mini fashion line (wish me luck with that).

Where are you from and where do you live now?
I’m originally from the American Heartland. After getting an art history degree I moved to France to teach English and ended up marrying a kind French gardener. We now live in Alsace together.

How did you start sewing?
I started sewing in order to get to know my Mother-in-Law a little better. She speaks French with an Alsatian accent and I speak French with a Anglo Saxon accent, but somehow we understand each other perfectly when we sew! She received her couturier degree in the 1940’s before World War II and she is a complete 86 year old wonder!

Where are you from and where do you live?
I live in Oviedo, a beautiful but boring city in Asturias, at the North of Spain. I’ve been living here my whole life. I am a nurse, and now I’m working in developing the software at the new hospital. I started sewing at the age of 14. I’d seen my mom and grandma making their own garments all my life and I become envious, so I took a piece of fabric and it turned out as a skirt.

Where are you from and where do you live now?
I’m from and live in Bellingham, Washington, which is between Vancouver B.C. & Seattle. Right now I have the crazy luxury of doing this and that (I’m doing lots of alterations at the moment), but I’m getting ready to set up shop in the next few months.

Where are you from and where do you live now?
I grew up on a dairy farm in the state of Victoria, Australia. Fascinating as cows can be, I yearned for the bright lights of the big city, so sat down with my dad at the age of 18 and told him the sad news.

Me: “Dad, I’ve been accepted into a uni course in Melbourne, so I’ll be moving there at the end of summer.”

Dad: “What? The local community college doesn’t have a course for you here?”

Me: (Trying to stifle the screams of horror in my head at being stuck in a one-cow town) “Er, um, sadly no. So long!”

Where are you from? Where do you live?
I’m a transplanted Southern girl (born and raised in North Carolina) currently living in the Midwest (Springfield, Missouri). I’m currently a stay at home mom to my 17-month-old son Brydon, and in my spare time I run both a vintage sewing pattern shop and a small vintage clothing shop on Etsy.