C Sews

Fashion designer, sewing instructor, and BurdaStyle editorial and e-commerce manager, Jamie Lau is also the author of the new book BurdaStyle Sewing Vintage Modern: Mastering Iconic Looks from the 1920s to 1980s (Potter Craft). The book includes five master patterns from which you can create 19 different garments – including several dresses, tops, and two pairs of pants – that [...]

I love the public library. It’s a great source of free information for everyone. It’s also a wonderful place to check out new sewing books. Right now I’ve got five books out, four from the Berkeley Public Library and one from the San Francisco Public Library. I flip through the books to see how many [...]

I knew something was wrong last year when I saw the sale price of a floor-length black cotton skirt at H&M: five dollars. I remember asking myself: How was it possible to make and sell a long skirt – even with an elastic waist and lightweight fabric – for only five dollars? I really couldn’t [...]

I recently checked out this great book on hand sewing from the public library: Alabama Studio Sewing + Design: A Guide to Hand-Sewing an Alabama Chanin Wardrobe by Natalie Chanin. It focuses on creating a hand-sewn wardrobe – yes, everything from bolero jackets and wraps to dresses and skirts of varying lengths – from cotton jersey fabric. [...]

Last weekend my older sister showed my blog to my Mom on an iPad. A couple days later I spoke to my Mom on the phone (she lives on the East Coast and I live in California) and she said she liked the purple trench coat featured on this page of my blog. This is the [...]

When I began sewing again in 2009, I took out a lot of sewing books from the library. One of the books I repeatedly checked out was Bend-the-Rules Sewing: The Essential Guide to a Whole New Way to Sew by Amy Karol. The book contains several easy-to-make projects, everything from bibs and book bags to pillows [...]

As soon as I flipped through Chic & Simple Sewing by Christine Haynes, I knew I had to buy it. I immediately wanted to make many of the clothes in this book. There are great color photos of the clothes – always a plus. Sometimes a sketch just doesn’t quite do it. So it’s nice to [...]