Burda Style For people who sew

1. Where are you from and/or where do you live?

I’ve lived my whole life in Louisville, Kentucky. I’m a professional musician, and the arts community here is wonderful – it’s very different from they way I think people imagine Kentucky would be! I would never want to live anywhere else. I have a great love for old houses, and we are lucky that there are so many here! My husband and I own an old Victorian, and my second passion (after crafting) is restoring the house to its former glory.

1. Where are you from and/or where do you live?

I am born and bred in Singapore, a tiny urban island in Southeast Asia. I lived in Brisbane, Australia for three years while pursing my postgraduate degrees and have been back in Singapore.

1.Where are you from and/or where do you live?

I was born in St. Louis, Missouri and when I was 8 moths old, my family moved to Phoenix, Arizona.

2. What was the 1st thing you made? How did you start sewing?

I can’t remember exactly the first thing I sewed because I started learning at a very young age. I believe it was a stuffed animal kitty that came in a beginners sewing kit. I remember how impatient I was sewing it because I didn’t use a sewing machine. I learned how to hand-sew first. But what really got me started sewing was when I sewed my first purse without a pattern. I was 11 or 12 and I was sitting in the car, and my dad, in the drivers seat, asked me if I made the purse I was wearing. I thought his question was absolutely ridiculous, but then I thought; wait a second, maybe I could make a purse like this! So I got to work right away and I made a pretty good looking purse for a 12-year-old who had no pattern or directions. I also started sewing stuffed bear clothes for my sister and friends. I have been sewing, designing, creating, and learning ever since!

1. Where are you from and/or where do you live?

I’m originally from Japan, and I currently live in Brooklyn, NY. I am going to school, majoring in graphic design.

2. What was the 1st thing you made? How did you start sewing?

The first thing I made was an animal-shaped felt pochette for a community fair when I was like 8 years old. I made a few of them, and they were all hand-sewn. And the first thing I made with my mom’s sewing machine was a little dress for a door ornament. Then I was hooked into making my own clothes about 10 years ago, from skirts, at first. I measured myself and came up with a simple A-line skirt, which I still wear at home. Nobody around me sewed anything (not even my mom), so I have taught myself pretty much everything I know about sewing so far.

1. Where are you from and/or where do you live?

I am from Latvia, country near the Baltic sea. I live in city Jelgava.

2. What was the 1st thing you made? How did you start sewing?

I have been big crafter from childhood. In childhood I dealt more with knitting. I was tempted to sewing too, because my cousin did a little sewing and I thought this is so cool to do clothing and accessories by myself, but I did not have sewing machine and our family couldn’t afford it at that time.

The first thing that I sewed was trouser skirts at school. Later I used to borrow sewing machine from my moms friend for sewing. First things were: skirts, dresses, trousers. At that time I was about 14-15 years old. I didn’t stop dreaming about my sewing machine, but unfortunately it didn’t come true. With borrowed sewing machine I sewed dresses for my sister, myself, my mom and little sister.

Then I left sewing for several years until I started to work and finally was able to buy my first sewing machine, which I am still using. I bought it five years ago.

1. Where are you from and/or where do you live?
I am a European girl. I come from Belgium and after a while spent in Ireland, I now live in The Netherlands, in Tilburg.

2. What was the 1st thing you made? How did you start sewing?
I have three first things… Does that count?

My first hand sewing happened when I was 4 or 5. My Grand Ma’ was a seamstress, and when she looked after me, I would look at her too. She taught me the basic hanstitch and I made basic Barbie dolls tube dresses (no hem, and a belt in old nylon from broken tights)

For 20 years, nothing. Then, last Halloween, I decided to make my Fiona dress (from Shreck) with green IKEA curtain fabric. I did two huge rectangles, sew them together, and then I pinched uneven darts on myself.

For a few months, nothing! After receiving my first sewing machine, I started my first project this April 2010. It is on this website. After ripping way too many stitches, I was really proud of the end result. And I still enjoy wearing that dress.

1. Where are you from and/or where do you live?
My parents were both Scots, and while as a child I followed my father round with the RAF, I consider myself still a Scot. I now live far from home as a ex-patriot, in the South of England, perched almost on top of the North Downs in Kent, opposite a cherry orchard half way between London and Dover.

2. What was the 1st thing you made? How did you start sewing?
I have no idea! Lost in the mists of time… The oldest surviving bit of my sewing is an embroidery made for may grandmother when I was about five. I first ‘sewed’ with my maternal grandmother, standing between her feet at her grandmother’s treadle machine in the kitchen in Kirkcaldy, pumping the treadle with one foot and being steered by Granny’s hands on top of my own.

1. Where are you from and/or where do you live?
I am from Melbourne, Australia.

2. What was the 1st thing you made? How did you start sewing?
I had quite a few ‘false starts’ with sewing. When I was very young I used to make clothes for my dolls, they were pretty crude, but I loved them. One summer, when I was about 12 I tried to make a skirt. I think I had almost finished it by the time I was 14 or 15, but to this day I think it remains unfinished. I drifted in & out of sewing throughout the rest of my teenage years & then when I was about 21 I became really interested in it. I asked my Mum to teach me & she kindly obliged. First I made four plain stretch tops & then a black wool skirt (five years on I still wear them all regularly). The first thing I made that I was really proud of though, was a black jersey dress from Vogue Patterns(V2899) at the end of 2005.

1. Where are you from and/or where do you live?
I’m from Casilda, a beautiful city in Argentina. After graduating high school I moved to Rosario, one of the most important cities of the country, to study Fashion Design. Now I live in both places.

2. What was the 1st thing you made? How did you start sewing?
The first thing I made was a bag out of old jeans, when I was 15 years old. I was so happy with it that I used to wear it all the time! My formal learning began when I started fashion school, but I’ve also learned a lot on my own, experimenting, trying different things, making mistakes.

1. Where are you from and/or where do you live?
I was born and grew up in Wellington, New Zealand and moved to Perth, Western Australia about 6 years ago with my partner. Wellington is a super creative city and you can’t help but become a creative person just by living there, the influences are everywhere.

I remember my Mum had this amazing scrap bag that she let my sister and I cut up and hand sew to make clothing for our Barbies and Cabbage Patch dolls. That bag represents so many wonderful early sewing memories for me that now I have my own scrap bag which is full of off-cuts from some of my favourite pieces and I even bought myself a collector Barbie doll so that I can get back to my sewing roots and make her a few items from those special scraps just for fun.

All my early sewing knowledge came from my Mum, when I was old enough she taught me how to use her Globe sewing machine (which still chugs along to this day). She taught me all the important basics like inserting the bobbin, holding the threads when you start sewing, reversing at the end and her most important rule: only turn the hand wheel the correct way! I really enjoyed sewing on that robust little machine, it was so forgiving and made me very picky when it came time for me to invest in my first machine. I really value everything my Mum taught me and her foresight to nurture my early interest in sewing.

1. Where are you from and/or where do you live?
I’m from Buenos Aires, Argentina, I live in a suburb called Ituzaingó.

2. What was the 1st thing you made? How did you start sewing?
I’ve always made crafts and sewn, specially jewlery. But what I think it was a the real beginning of my sewing life was a denim skirt I made when I was 14 years old. It was all hand sewn and that made my mom feel sorry for me so she bought a sewing machine that waited for me upon my bed in a box with a big bow on it (and so I thought it was a tv set). So I learned by myself and by the time I went to the university I did the majority of my clothes.

SianySiany’s adorable and chic creations have wowed us for quite some time. We are pleased to announce her as this week’s featured member! Read below to learn about her love of hand-sewing, her inspiration sources and her favorite thing about sewing. Then take a look at her top ten BurdaStyle creations from other members!

And check out her awesome Etsy shop, too!

1. Where are you from and/or where do you live?
I’m originally from Zurich, Switzerland, but I live in Vienna, Austria.

2. What was the 1st thing you made? How did you start sewing?
I started making things very early on… first miniature clothing – and other stuff – for my dolls house, then for my bigger dolls and later for myself… My grandma was a seamstress and my mom a very good sewer. However, I always just did it somehow, but lately I have become much more picky, I want it all to look professional, inside and out, and it seems like I have to learn sewing all over again – this time for real!

1. Where are you from and/or where do you live?
I was born in a quaint village in Emmental, Switzerland (and yes, that’s where Emmentaler cheese comes from ☺.) I have lived in Poland, Ireland and London and went to University in Denmark and Sweden. Most recently, I returned from a year in India where I worked for the Akanksha Foundation, an organization that provides education and after-school activities for underprivileged children.
If you haven’t read about it yet, visit the Uniform Project (www.theuniformproject.com) which chronicles Sheena’s attempt to raise funds for Akanksha by wearing the same black dress for one year. I love her blog, and the lookbook of all the looks provides loads of inspiration on how to accessorize an outfit. I wish we had the pattern for her dress here on burdastyle….☺