Gertie's Charmed Sewing Studio

Gretchen Hirsch, aka "Gertie," returns to her roots with a dive into beloved fashion classics—the mermaid gown, the 1950s Hostess Set (think Lucille Ball), the Lilli Ann princess coat—and includes a little fashion history to inspire modern-day style mavens.

Sewists, thrift shoppers, and fashion collectors will love making the patterns included in the book and learning how to reproduce their favourite looks from any vintage garment.

The first half of Gertie's Charmed Sewing Studio is a journey through pattern and couture sewing techniques. 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 designs and shows sewists how her studio re-creates a garment—all so that readers can do the same with their favourite styles. Focusing on just three designs offers a sewing and design foundation in a full range of sizes—from 2-34, with separate A-H cup sizes.

This wide range is not easy to find in other sewing books and is more important than ever for body inclusivity. Each garment (two dresses and a jacket) is shown with detailed instructions and full-size paper sewing patterns.