Gertie's Charmed Sewing Studio: Pattern Making and Couture-Style Techniques for Perfect Vintage Looks

by Gretchen Hirsch

Bestselling sewing author Gretchen Hirsch returns to her roots with a fresh look at fashion classics—how they were made then, and how modern day sewists can re-create them now—in Gertie’s Charmed Sewing Studio .

Gretchen Hirsch, aka “Gertie,” returns to her roots with a dive into beloved fashion classics, including the mermaid gown, the structured sheath (think Elizabeth Taylor), the Rose Marie Reid swimsuit, and more—plus a little fashion history, to inspire modern-day style mavens. Sewists, thrift shoppers, and fashion collectors will love making the book's three downloadable patterns, and learning how to reproduce favorite vintage looks that fit modern figures.
The first half of the book is a journey through pattern and couture sewing techniques and iconic designs. Gretchen combines a bounty of sketches, historic images, process photos, and clear instructions to create an irresistible sewing guide and lookbook for the vintage fashion enthusiast.
In the second half, Gretchen deconstructs three intricate garments, the Madeleine dress, the Camille sheath, and the Lillian princess Focusing on just three designs offers a sewing and design foundation in a full range of sizes—from 2–20 and 18 to 34, with separate A-H cup sizes. This wide range is not easy to find in other sewing books, and more important than ever for body inclusivity. Each garment (two dresses and a jacket) is shown with detailed instructions and links to download and print full-size patterns.

Featured
The Structured Tropical Dress
The Rita Blouse
The Night and Day Dress
The Lilli Ann-Style Princess Coat
The Rose Dressing Gown
The Tropical Mermaid Gown
The Marilyn Jeans
The Rose Marie Reid Swimsuit
The Cummerbund Bubble Dress
Plus full-size patterns (to download and print)
The Madeleine Dress, the Camille Sheath Dress, and the Lillian Jacket

From Gretchen
Gertie’s New Book for Better Sewing
Gertie Sews Vintage Casual
Gertie’s New Fashion Sketchbook
Gertie’s Ultimate Dress Book
Gertie’s Charmed Sewing Studio

Genres: Sewing, Nonfiction, Crafts

208 pages, Hardcover

Published May 28, 2024

Reviews

[Sherri · Rating 2 out of 5]

The most eye opening for me was the difference between the craft and handmaking designs versus the mass production we have now days.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading about the design process for many of the designs sold by Charm Patterns! Detailed inspiration is provided for the Lamour Dress, the Night and Day Dress, the Princess Coat, the Bryant Gown, the Esther Swimsuit, and the Betty Dress with smaller blurbs about the Rita Blouse, the Marilyn Jeans and the Jane Set. The vintage photos are inspiring, and the design sketches and photo shoot pictures are beautiful. As a serial pattern-hacker without nearly enough experience to be one, I loved seeing how these designs came to be.

Three patterns are also included in sizes 2-34, A-H cups to print at home or through a copy shop. I love the inclusive sizes; I’m at the small end of the sizes and it seems to be nearly as difficult to find patterns to fit A-cup (or sub-A-cup!) ladies as it is to fit curvier ones. Gertie has gone above and beyond to include as many people as possible, and I am grateful.

The three patterns are the Madeleine Dress, a New Look inspired full-skirted dress; the Camille Sheath, a Shaheen/tropical inspired pencil skirt and softly pleated top; and the Lillian Jacket, a shaped jacket with a nipped waist and full peplum. Minor variations are offered to each style.

[E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book and inspirational for anyone interested in sewing vintage inspired dresses.

[Irene Adler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part sewing book (there are some downloadable patterns included), part autobiography, part how to run a pattern company business, part how to create your own patterns from vintage images and wrongly sized patterns.

I loved this book and I don't dress or sew vintage. But the discussion about drafting your own patterns from diverse source material is useful for anyone with an interesting in pattern drafting. The photos and instructions are excellent.

It has three sections:

Introduction

Part 1 - Gertie's Charmed Studio
This sections deals with the inspirations behind, and development of, 6 Charmed Studio patterns being:
The Structured Shaheen Dress
The Night and Day Dress
The Lilli Ann Style Princess Coat
The Tropical Mermaid Dress
The Rose Marie Reid Swimsuit (tempted, very tempted)
The Cummerbund Bubble Dress
All of these were available from the website when I checked, multiple variations are provided.

Part 2 - How to Sew the Patterns
The Patterns
Madeleine Dress
Camille Sheath Dress
Lillian Jacket (I was stopped in my tracks by the photo of the suit on page 187 - I have zero need for a such an item... and yet).

Glossary etc

[Elizabeth • Lucky Lulu Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Gertie and this was a great sneak peek into her design process as well as some cool vintage construction techniques. I wish the book had gone into a little more depth about the techniques themselves, I appreciated that Gertie included some of her favorite resources.

As someone who has followed Gertie for many years, it was fun to learn more “Gertie lore” and how she came to design some of my favorite patterns.

While I ultimately wanted a little more depth from this book, it was an enjoyable read, and came with three new sewing patterns in Gertie’s signature size range. It’s wonderful not to be an afterthought as the plus size community so often is in fashion, and I love Gertie for that. Her dedication to inclusivity is part of why I’m so loyal to her as a sewist. There’s even some cool history about sewing terms and how they’ve evolved to become more inclusive.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms Hirsch writes in a conversational style, which is terrific. It's like siting down with a good friend. She mixes in history, to assist with understanding certain decisions in the design process. Cultural appropriation awareness has increased recently, so she spends time and effort to put the designs in context of the era the dresses were created for. I appreciate this effort, as it gave me a better understanding, plus the history is fascinating. This book has fewer patterns, but they are good choices. The color photos and variations are marvelous. I especially appreciate that she recognizes that not everyone has a size 8 hourglass figure. All of her books are well worth reading, on so many levels. I highly recommend her books and website.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a bit sceptical as this kind of memoir-esque books from authors otherwise known for instructive and practical books can go very awry, but I really loved learning about how some of Gertie's most iconic patterns came into being (and as a home sewist with very limited patience, I really admire the level of dedication and sheer perfectionism that goes into their creation).

Also baffled how such a beautiful and painstakingly conceptualised volume got to be printed with a whole page of "DUMMY TEXT - to be filled in later", but at least it makes me feel better about my own mistakes.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gertie's sewing books are some of my favorites! I always learn something new. I really love the vintage designs, especially those inspired by the 50's and 60's - so gorgeous! This book was a fun journey into fashion history and the looks that inspired some of Gertie's most popular patterns. Included is a download for 3 patterns - the dress on the cover, a sleeveless sheath dress, and a beautiful peplum jacket with a shawl collar.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a sewist or even if you only have a passing interest in how fine clothing is made this is the book. Interesting background on where the vintage designs came from and lots (and lots!) of helpful hints should you want to make a vintage style dress for your self. Fun!

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

This only has 3 patterns so different from her previous books.