Burda Style is a sewing site that has adopted the Open Source philosophy:

While creating BurdaStyle, we were captivated by the open source philosophy: the sharing of intellectual property and allowing the public to adapt it to their specific needs. We assimilated the concept to BurdaStyle, removing the copyright from our patterns. Our open source sewing patterns are free to be used as a base for your own design. Whatever you sew, you can sell if you like. We believe that removing copyrights from our designs will inspire creativity and spawn multiple new designs – and that’s wonderful!

(Summer Dress with a Bow)

Not only is it a site for learning techniques and gathering ideas, but readers can contribute their own tutorials, tips and techniques. The “How-Tos” section is fabulous – with a plethora of instructions. There is even a category for Maternity Wear Alterations.

It is also a community with an active forum and a blog.

Whether you are a seasoned sewer, looking for new patterns, or a newbie wanting to learn some basic “how-tos” Burda Style has it covered.

Create fun images, jigsaw puzzles, motivational posters, cd and magazine covers and much more.

All you have to do is upload your photo, either from your computer, or it can connect right to your flickr or photobucket accounts. Choose what you want to make, and it does all of the work for you.

I bet the kids would have fun with it on a boring rainy day.