Burda Style For people who sew

In the latest CRAFT Video Podcast, Natalie Zee Drieu takes us on a video tour of Season Two Project Runway, Chole Dao. You’ll get to see results of her work from sketches to completed garments, and hear tips like the ever-important detail of fine pressing. [CRAFT]

None of us would be where we are without these! They are the key ingredient to the success of sewing!! They are the workhorses of any sewer, and we would all feel very naked without them!!! Without a doubt, one of the greatest inventions in the history of mankind!!!! Ok, ok I’ll stop. But seriously, these are the most important, under appreciated tools of our trade! Though they are often the source of frustration, maybe even the cause of a tear to be shed, needles can be our friends. Like anything, appreciate their limits and they will excel at their job.

1. Where are you from and/or where do you live?
I am originally from Sofia, Bulgaria. I live since 2000 in Kassel – a middle size city in Germany. I came here to study architecture and I almost did the distance. My last exam is in march, so there is a limited number of sewing sessions till then.

2. What was the 1st thing you made? How did you start sewing?
I am not sure I remember the first thing I’ve sewn. It must have been a pant or a blouse, when I was a teenager. My mom used to sew a lot so I somehow slipped neatly into it – I even had a small sewing machine as a kid (actually I think I never sewed something complete with it, it was just fine sewing straight lines…). Than I had a long pause and started doing clothes for myself about 2 years ago again, when I bought my own sewing machine.

3. What role does sewing play in your life?
Sewing is a relaxing hobby. I love what I am doing and learning, but it can be very stressful and there is a lot of responsibility of being good and being professional in it. So sewing is a perfect distraction, because I still can do my own thing, but still doesn’t have to take as seriously as a profession. I am enjoying my layman status in it… The other role it plays it is this of me being tired of buying stuff, because it is fashionable and because I can afford to buy it, but me ending up with only few pieces I really love. So by sewing I made my resolution to make pieces I will wear for years, because they are exactly my style. And I like the idea it is much more correct and environment friendly… And it has been on the winning spot of best diploma distraction, next to the internet…

4. What is your favorite and what is your least favorite thing about sewing?
My favorite thing is to have the finished garment and have the feeling it is just what you wanted it to be and the satisfaction of being able to pull it through (I still have some unsewn dead bodys, that waited to be brought to live…).
I hate it when I do something wrong and must break the seams and start again. It just stops the flow and feels like a step in the wrong direction. And my machine is not very good at buttonholes…

5. If you could make something for anyone, who would it be and what
would you make?
I will love to make unique things that they really like for my friends and family. If I just only had the time and motivation for it…

6. What are you looking for on our site? What do you think should be
improved and what do you really like?
Hm, improving? I guess I will be happy to get more news feeds – I have my daily routine of checking website before i start working. I also will be interested in a kind of “behind the scenes” of every pattern that you make – the process from the sketch to the photo shoot.
And off course I love seeing the pattern modification how tos , but it doesn’t have to be you guys – users are also starting to post more of this. Sometimes when I am sewing something and couldn’t decide on a issue I get the desire to discuss is with some other users too.
What i really like about the site off course is the open source community idea. The positive attitude of the other users is a blessing too – it is just keeping one on trying again and being mean, since one can be anonymous is a think I hate about the web sometimes. I definitely sew and enjoy it more since i have the possibility to share the experience and the result.

7. What is your motto?
I don’t really have one. If I have to think of something it will be like “Don’t give up, keep on!” – just very down to earth and unromantic…

Learn more about ceregana by visiting her profile. Also check out her creations! To catch up more with Ceregana and find out what she’s up to, visit her blog!

Please pardon the pun, but if your sewing machine has been bugging you, perhaps you can pass it on to sculptor Christopher Conte. His amazing works of art – which include delicately gorgeous insects – are made with, among other things, sewing machine parts. Looking at his pieces of work is like a fun scavenger hunt. The presser foot in the spider above is obvious, but what other parts can you find in his work? [via]

We hope you all had a lovely Easter: that the Bunny brought you some chocolate, you got to wear a pretty dress, kiss some loved ones, and enjoy a little sunshine. Judging from our Inbox, many of you got into the Easter spirit by partaking in our very own BurdaStyle Egg Hunt! Many of you found all 10 eggs—Congratulations! Instead of a hat, we drew our three winners from an Easter basket, and they are: First place, kallers; Second Place, ziancabug; Third Place, charlotte287. The Easter Bunny and BurdaStyle are putting $100, $50, and $25 fabric vouchers in our winners’ baskets. Congrats to the big winners, and thanks so much to the rest of you for participating in our Egg Hunt. It would be no fun with out you!

Even though the Hunt is over, we know some of you still want to know where those last pesky eggs were hiding. Here they are:

BurdaStyle Profile, picture 9
Sewpedia: Duck
Desira, picture 9
Vanessa, picture 4
Alden, picture 1
Shari, picture 4
Blog: Letters from the Editors: Love Thy Member
Blog: Letters From the Editors: Sharing Secrets
Blog: Featured Member: ClaireLovesToSew
Blog: Sewing & Art: The Aeolian Bike Ride

Hi everyone! So as you know, last week we had to say goodbye to our dear friend Nayantara, this was very hard for us; but this week we get to say hello to someone new! We would like to welcome and introduce you to Heidi Grace!! Our brilliant contributor and good friend Nikkishell gave birth to a wonderful little girl on March 20th. So, congratulations Nikkishell and welcome Heidi Grace!!! All our best wishes to both of you.

In other news this week, we too have a new addition here at BurdaStyle, the Naomi Jacket!! This pattern came from Kasia’s incredible jacket pattern for a doll and ended up on one of the all time queens of the runway. You can read the full story here.

We had two contests that ended this weekend, The Sew-Along Mini Challenge and the Easter Egg Hunt. We would like to thank everyone who entered these contests. Your creations were all breathtaking and your hunting skills are unparalleled. I guess when you have an eye for detail it helps with everything! We would like to congratulate JJ again for wining the Mini-Challenge! If you haven’t checked out her winning creation, you should. And remember, keep your eyes peeled for the announcement of the winner in the Easter Egg hunt!

Keep on creating!

Love

BurdaStyle

Congratulations JJ! Everyday we are impressed by the work of our members and this day is no different. Her incredible “Blue plaid with Microsuede Yoke Skirt” variation of the Sidonie has won her two books: Couture Sewing Techniques by Claire B. Shaeffer and The Practical Guide to Patternmaking For Fashion Designers; Juniors,Misses and Women by Lori A. Knowles. We hope that these will inspire her to come up with more amazing creations! We had so many incredible entries into the Sew-Along Mini-Challenge, but her variation on the Sidonie skirt blew us, along with the voters, away! Though everyone’s creations were amazing, we would like to give an honorable mention to Kasia26’s “Rosy Sidonie” for coming in a close second, congrats Kasia26! We were so impressed with the imaginative ways all the members took the original pattern and changed it into something of their own. We are so proud of the BurdaStyle community and all their hard work with this! We are excited to see what creations you will all come up with next! Congratulations again JJ, it truly is an amazing skirt!

I can’t think of a better way to spend the weekend than listening to music, attending some crafty workshops, and shopping at spectacular vendor booths. This year’s St. Paul Craftstravaganza promises all this – and it’s free! You can join the fun on Saturday, April 26 with the first 100 receiving free swag bags.

In the wake of globalization, socialite’s favorite pastime is the so-called “Kevin-Bacon”-game: establish your connection to just about anyone in the world via six degrees of friendship: Shelly knows Kelly, Kelly knows Tricia, Tricia knows Molly, Molly knows god knows whom who is a cousin thrice removed to Michael Jackson.

So we tried and tested the grounds and – voila! – We are now ready to present the visible link (plus pattern) to connect any BurdaStyle fashionista with the very catwalk of fame. The story begins on a miniature scale, i.e. Bratz Doll. Member Kasia26 constructed a truly incredible jacket on a tiny doll. Once the BurdaStyle team saw her amazing design (see above) it quickly swept through the headquarters and through a little tweaking, a pattern was born.

As a milestone of BurdaStyle’s international mission in the name of DIY-fashion, where did the creation venture? What started out as Kasia’s jacket on a doll’s humble plastic collarbone, quickly made its way into a pattern and then a creation. From there it was packed in Benedikta’s and Nora’s luggage when leaving for Burda’s Digital Life Design convention. Once there, where else was the jacket to end up but on the hallowed shoulders of larger-than-life catwalk queen, Naomi Campbell! Hence, from puppet to supermodel", the Kasia Jacket has seen all scales of size and fame – and now it is your turn to suit yourself. Here is the pattern to show your friends that the Kevin-Bacon-game owes it all to you.
You can find the very fabric of Naomi’s jacket here .

Hi everyone!

As many of you may already know, I am leaving the BurdaStyle Team to pursue some opportunities on my own.

I wish I could stay here longer, but instead, I’m showing you how to make your clothes longer!

Check out my last How To, at least as a team member, on How to Lengthen patterns! And if you’ve got arms that are anything like mine (almost freakishly long), this How To should come in quite handy!

Our special friends, Bre and Tara, from Etsy came downstairs to spend a little time learning about BurdaStyle! They wanted to go through the whole process, so Bre did everything from choosing the pattern he wanted from the pattern database, printing it, cutting it out and sewing it! He chose the popular Charlie grocery bag, and even added some cute critter applique! Check out his creation by watching the video here! Be sure to share this with your friends who are new to sewing too, so they can see just how easy it actually is!

Here is Today’s Hint for the BurdaStyle Easter Egg Hunt!:

This one lays eggs, and something else!

Sometime in these past few months, did we ask you to send us High-resolution photos of some of your creations? Well, if we haven’t yet, we might soon! But a lot of people are wondering for what. Well, here’s the deal. Burda Modemagazin so graciously gave BurdaStyle a special two page spread in every issue! We use this space to share news about Brooklyn, trends, and especially, our beloved members! And while we would like to feature all of the members who send us pictures, we cannot. We can decide the articles and the overall theme, but in the end, Burda Modemagazin chooses what will be published! So, if you are wondering why your photos were not published, this is why. We are really grateful to you for sending them to us, though, and will try to use them in some other way! We’ll of course let you know if we do. Unfortunately, this spread is only published in the German edition, so even some of the BurdaStyle team can’t read it!

Frumpy t-shirts – BEGONE! They are never flattering, and not very much fun. Thankfully, the stitch lounge in San Francisco, along with Bernina, has just posted a great tutorial on transforming that shapeless shirt into a sassy fitted tee with a boatneck. Enjoy and say goodbye to giant shirts for good.