Weekend Review: Gertie's Charmed Sewing Studio

Gertie's Charmed Sewing Studio / Gretchen Hirsch
NY: Abrams, 2024.
208 p.

This is a different kind of book from Gertie - while she's sticking with her love of  vintage clothing, this isn't a book full of patterns and sewing instruction alone. Rather, it's a look over her career and an examination of the patterns she has created (and recreated) in the vintage style. 

There's a lot of history shared in each chapter - Gertie talks about the origins of many of these patterns, which vintage pieces inspired them and shares the social context of the original designers of many of the inspiration pieces. She also shares how and why she decided on that specific pattern as part of her design line. The background of the pattern development is also shared, which is particularly interesting to me - I liked seeing how the idea was turned into reality and some of the challenges or successes with each of the patterns. 

The first 2/3 of the book goes chapter by chapter in this way, featuring the following Charm Patterns:

• 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

And then, to satisfy readers, there are three full-size patterns included, to download and print. The instructions for each are in this book, however, very similarly laid out to her previously published pattern books. These are all vintage influenced womenswear, of course -- you'll find the Madeleine Dress, the Camille Sheath Dress, and the Lillian Jacket. All quite simple in comparison to some of the patterns discussed earlier in the book, since they are just quick patterns for this book. 

I haven't downloaded the patterns yet, as probably only the Lillian Jacket is appealing to me currently. So I can't say whether that process is easy or not, at least not yet. However, as to the book itself, I found it really interesting. The discussion of the setting of each pattern and its nuances both culturally and socially was handled openly, with acknowledgement of "vintage style, not vintage values". Lots of interesting stuff here for both history buffs and sewists! 

Literary Sewing Circle: More Inspiration!

 

 

It's time for more inspiration for our sewing projects drawn from Banyan Moon! This week I'll be looking at some of the settings and the outfits mentioned in the book to spark some ideas for our own sewing. 

Florida itself plays a big part in this book. The weather, the ocean, the fauna and flora, all show up here. We could be inspired by the ocean, simply with this Ocean Daze shirt by Pattern Emporium. Whether worn as a beach cover-up or in fabrics inspired by the title, it might be a great choice. 

There are a number of scenes on the beach in this novel. The novel opens when Minh, Huong and Ann are on the deserted beach in Ann's childhood - there is mention of the young Ann's wish for a new swimsuit as well as a description of Minh's outfit (as noted by reader Sara in our last post!)

'...She wore wide legged trousers in eggplant and a button down shirt that covered her arms entirely, except for a sliver of wrist, shaded exactly like sun-warmed hay. '

You could copy Minh in pieces by Liesl & Co, such as the Gallery Tunic along with the Cannes Trousers. 

Or you might want to try this Linnet Tunic by Patternerie on Etsy. 

Maybe it's the swimsuits that interest you. Huong teaches herself to swim during the action of the novel, facing her fears and tackling the ocean. You could make a swimsuit inspired by these mentions. 

You might try the Jalie Diane one-piece - practical and also a nod to Huong's sister-in-law Diane. 

Or maybe the Waverider Suit by Ellie & Mac for Huong's ocean swims. 

Perhaps it's the Seabright Swimmer from Friday Pattern Company that will catch your interest! 

In one of Huong's ocean swims, she gets caught in a riptide but survives with some quick thinking. Before she realizes what was happening she had stopped swimming to rest on a sandbar: 

I get on my knees and dig through the sand until I find what I'm looking for: the tiniest most perfect sand dollar. ... I can't wait to show Ann.

The most obvious make for this quote is the cheerful Sand Dollar Dress by designer Ann Treacy of Pattern Division! 

Or maybe the description of Ann's feeling when she's settled into the Banyan House will inspire you:

I want to be something feral and self-sufficient, like those panthers in the Everglades with their silky bodies, jumping from branch to branch.

You might choose to create the Panthere cocktail dress by I AM Patterns! 

Or even just use a thematic fabric for another project, like this Black Panthers rayon found at Simplifii Fabrics

Or take Ann's comment on her mother, near the end of the book: 

Her love is not flawless, a solitaire sparkling from a smooth hand. Rather, it reminds me of a geode -- rough and worn by time yet cracked, occasionally, to reveal a vibrant cluster of crystals. 

You could make the Geo Dress by Sew Different, maybe in one of the many gorgeous Geode prints from Spoonflower -- or you could tie-dye your own!

You might look at some of the colours and items described in the book, like the red silk shot through with gold peonies that Ann finds when she opens the old trunk in the attic -- or the milky-white glow of the moon in the story of Chu Cuoi -- or the jade bracelets that Minh talks about ("their deep green like the bottom of a pool, a color that felt taken from a painting") -- or Ann's description of the 'blooming purple azaleas and starry milkweed' surrounding the Banyan House -- or the way the "light filters through the trees in planked yellow streaks on the grass". 

Or maybe you'll be inspired by actual descriptions of clothing in the novel, like Minh's outfit mentioned at the beginning of this post. Or Huong's effortless style:

Now Mom greets me at the door in jeans and one of those clingy polyester shirts printed in a mandala design, somehow making it look fashionable

There are so many jeans patterns you could try, from the Mountain View Pull On Jeans from Itch to Stitch to the Heroine Jeans by Merchant and Mills or the Everyday Jeans by New Craft House, to name just a few! 

And you could make one of a multitude of swingy, clingy top patterns but of course in a nicer fabric than poly - maybe a bamboo jersey or modal. Lots of great mandala prints out there too! The Laundry Day Tee by Love Notions or the (free) Mallory asymmetrical tee by Tiana's Closet might be a great pick. 

Or one day after swimming lessons, Huong returns home: " I shower quickly, then put on a cornflower-blue sundress". 

Maybe you'll make a Cornflower summer dress from Wissew! 

When Crystal first comes to the Banyan House to see Ann after all their years apart, she comments that Ann looks different from what she expected - like, that Ann might have "a Chanel blazer or those fancy shoes with red soles". Ann doesn't tell her that she does indeed have a Chanel blazer packed away. And we all know how sewists love our knock-off Chanel blazers! You might want to make a quick dupe, using one of many patterns. If you're on PatternReview, there is a Chanel Style jacket sewalong you can follow for many tips and ideas. And you can also find a list of great choices at this blog by Sewing Chanel Style!

pic by SewingChanelStyle.com

Perhaps you'll accent something with lace, like the one Ann finds in the linen closet and they use for Minh's altar -- "Ann spreads out a piece of white Chantilly lace from the Lady's linen closet. Maybe it was meant to be sewn into a dress once, or a veil." For tips on how to sew with Chantilly lace, you can find a lot of great info in this blog post at Gertie's original blog! And there are more tips on lace in general at the Charm website. Or maybe you'll just give a nod to this image by using the Chantilly dress by Seamwork. 

When Ann is in the hospital, Huong talks about their outfits on a chilly October day - hers a cardigan the color of an olive leaf, and Ann's a rust-red one with big gold buttons, while Ann later mentions Huong wearing one of Minh's old sweaters, the "Big Bird yellow one with the huge buttons she got at a church rummage sale". 

You could choose any of a number of wonderful sweater or cardigan patterns to copy these outfits. Maybe the Misusu Cuddle Cardigan in green would copy Huong, while Ann's rust red one sounds like a Marlo by True Bias  The Citrine Cardi by Made by Rae in big bird yellow might replicate Minh's rummage sale find. 

Misusu Cuddle Cardigan & Sweater

\

Marlo Sweater by True Bias

Citrine by Made by Rae

Of course, you might also be thinking of Ann's previous life, in which she dresses up for parties like the one that opens this book. At that pivotal gathering she has on a fancy gown:

...he runs his hand over my hip, across the ocean-blue silk  of my one-shouldered gown, modest yet bold

Meanwhile, Noah's mother is wearing "an unusual dress for her: pink chiffon in a swingy pattern, the color of a shell's pearlescent interior, a direct affront to the white-and-blue theme". 

Both of these fancy dresses make me think of Burda patterns! Ann's dress could be copied - in blue of course - using this gown from Burda 07/2011.

Or for a more modern look, you could make this knit version by using the Bond Dress by Sewing & The City. 

Meanwhile, Alice might have been wearing something in a slightly lighter pink chiffon, similar to this Burda 127 from April 2024

Or it could be that this final image might stick with you, from when Ann is rummaging through her inheritance, Minh's jewelry box: "I sift through the precious metal, the gleam of rubies and deep, woodsy emeralds. Pearls that seem almost indecent in their luster, their perfect roundness. It's Aladdin's cave in there." 

This book feels a bit like a treasure box to me, and I love this image. You could take the jewels literally and make the Ruby Dress by Simple Sew, the Emerald Dress by Made by Rae or the Pearl Dress by Galia Couture, 

Or simply choose a fabric to represent this idea, like this Obsidian Baroque print by Raveneve on Spoonflower.

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I hope that you have both been inspired by this post, and are enjoying the reading. Please share any inspiration you might be thinking of for your project! 

And also, please share any quotes from the book that have jumped out at you so far, and thoughts about which parts have really caught you. I'd love to hear what you think of the story! 

Vogue 2053: Jacket in Cream Corduroy

For my latest Fabricville blogger project, I decided to make a dress and a jacket -- well, I've only finished the jacket thus far but do have the dress on the cutting table now! 

This Vogue 2053 was enticing, I pictured it in this lovely cream corduroy from the latest offerings at Fabricville.com. The fabric is indeed very nice, but this project was SO HARD. This boxy jacket was more complicated than it appeared at first glance. It has paneled front and sides, full length sleeves with a working vent, and is fully lined.

This wasn't too awkward until I got to the lining the sleeve part. Oh my goodness. It took me almost an hour of fiddling before I figured out how to stitch the sleeve hems and vent extension together inside out and then flip it so that it sat correctly with no holes! My brain was tired. Something I discovered was that none of my tailoring books had any instructions on this specific part of the process, and I couldn't find anything online that showed me what the Vogue instructions were trying to tell me to do. Finally I just tried a few things, unpicked a few things, and finally got it right. Whew! 

The other difficulty with this project is in the fabric itself. It's a beautiful cotton corduroy, but it does shed terribly when working with it. And pressing is another issue: I had to be very careful and press gently on a folded towel so that I wouldn't crush the wales. But it's hard to get it perfectly crisp when you can't just squash it down. I used a lot of steam and time and it mostly worked, but it does wrinkle up again fairly quickly. Especially in the sleeve where there is a lot of bulk. 

I took about 3.5" out of the sleeve length but I think I could stand to take one more inch if I try again. And if I did try again, I wouldn't bother about the working vent, I would just make a shorter simple sleeve ending. As it is, I didn't bother putting buttonholes in the vent, I just stitched the buttons right through both layers. The sleeve is boxy and doesn't need a working vent. 

Close up of the sleeve vent - kind of looks 
like my face when I finally finished it!

One thing I decided at the beginning was that I didn't want to use the corduroy for the facings. I felt that would be too bulky, and it could also cause the jacket to stick to the clothing underneath if it was at all grippy. So I auditioned a few fabrics in my stash, but ended up going with a pale linen in my upcycle pile - it was an old pair of summer pants that I didn't like wearing but were made of a lovely linen. It was perfect for the facings and I like the contrast on the inside. I used an 'oyster' lining from Fabricville for the rest of the lining, and found some very cool brass buttons there too. 

I learned quite a lot making this, and also made quite a few errors. I feel that I could size down a bit but it is way too late now to make any adjustments; I'm kind of tired of the project ;) Things I learned for next time - use a more pressable fabric, size down a bit, and don't bother with the sleeve vents. I think if I changed those trouble points, this would be a fairly quick project on a second go. As it is, after all the effort, I'm fairly pleased with how it looks, but am also not 100% convinced that this boxy style is right for me. I'll try it styled a few ways and see how it goes. It might go right into someone else's closet -- or not, depending! 

Weekend Review: DIY Thrift Flip

 

DIY Thrift Flip / April Yang
Beverly, MA: Quarry Books, c2024.
152 p.

Another fashion choice with a DIY aesthetic for today's review! I found this via my library and was intrigued by it. April Yang is a popular upcyling Youtuber and IG sewing celeb known as Coolirpa. She shares ways to upcycle/refashion things you might find at the thrift store, and has 2.2 million followers interested in this on Youtube. So it makes sense that she's now putting out a book as well. 

This book is full of ideas on how to remake thrift store finds, but I didn't find all of them equally successful. Of course, Coolirpa is young and quite thin, so she can get a new outfit from something purchased secondhand, fairly easily. 

The book is organized well and is aimed at beginners, not longtime sewists. There's an intro all about her and why she got into thrift flips, then three sections: Getting Started, Shopping & Altering Basics, and then a few Thrift Flip Projects as examples and inspo. 

This delivers on what it promises. Getting Started really is an overview of both the basic supplies and basic skills you'll need to get started in upcycling. She goes over things assuming that the reader knows next to nothing - so explains basic stitches, terminology and even fabric types (even as basic as woven vs. knit). This would be really helpful to someone totally new to sewing in this context. 

The next section goes over her top tips for shopping secondhand whether in traditional thrift shops or other venues, or even online, and how to tell what can and can't be fixed. She goes over the best way to seam rip, to add sleeves or pockets and basic tailoring. She also talks about using sewing patterns to help you alter or reuse clothing, as well as tracing off a pattern from existing clothing. It's quite comprehensive but again accessible to someone new to this craft. 

And in the final section there are a number of projects by a number of different sewists of other sizes and shapes as well as her own projects. From embroidering on to sweaters with bulky yarn to cutting slits in a knit dress for decorative purposes to upcycling a pair of leggings into a short/sport bra workout set, there are varied ideas. She shows how to cover unwanted logos, or add embellishments to make a dress look totally different, or make a loose cardigan style jacket out of an oversized t-shirt. She uses pillow shams and curtains to make quick tops, or even a corset style top. I thought the variety of examples was a good feature, showing different styles of remakes on different people. 

While this book isn't exactly for me, I did like the approach and the casual tone of it. It's not intimidating, but also not so simple that the projects look cheap or unfinished. She gives a lot of info but it's all useful and at the beginner/adventurous beginner level. I think if someone was new to upcycling this would be a great starting place. 

Literary Sewing Circle: Author Feature!

 

Today's the day to talk about the author of our pick for this round of the #LiterarySewingCircle! Thao Thai is an American writer who has had her work published in a wide variety of both print and online magazines, as well as guest posts for many websites. Banyan Moon is her first novel, featuring Vietnamese women across the generations. This novel was the July 2023 pick for the Read with Jenna bookclub.  It was also a Barnes & Noble Discover Pick, and Book of the Month selection. Banyan Moon was also selected by booksellers as an IndieNext pick and longlisted for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize.

Another fun thing is her Wallflower Chats substack - you can subscribe for her regular newsletter. In this substack, she shared a bonus chapter for Banyan Moon, one that was deleted - it's from the perspective of Minh, and you can read it here! 

Photo by Caroline Lohrey

Thao Thai also understands us sewists! She is a sewist herself, and has written a number of articles about sewing and creativity for a variety of online publications. 

At Literary Hub, there is a beautiful essay on "Sewing & Summoning Possibility", in which she says

The comparisons between writing and sewing are perhaps too obvious. Both are acts of creation, relying on pattern and ingenuity to produce a new thing in the world. A garment, a sentence, is composed of common elements rearranged in specific and fateful ways. Both require dedication and precision, and often, many, many instances of redrafting.

 

At the Bustle Book Club, she talks about elements of her creativity, including her writing desk:

 half the time it’s a real writing desk, but another portion of the time I kind of set everything aside and have all my fabric and scissors laid out.

Photo by Jen Theodore on Unsplash

 

At Seamwork she has shared a couple of essays of interest to sewists. 

In "Reclaiming My Family’s Collective Sense of Creativity" she states "I came from a family of seamstresses—a whole country of them." and "My grandmother owned a fabric store in the market. She filled it with bolts of creamy satin, rainbow-bright silks for ao dais, lightweight cotton for sleepwear." 

In "The Peculiar Grief of Sewing My Daughter’s Spring Dress" she shares the bittersweet feeling of sewing for a fast growing child and having to put clothes away when they're outgrown. 

In her own substack she has shared thoughts on mending and how it can be a metaphor for life and art as well as just being itself:

But now I’m older and more tired. I don’t want to discard anymore. I want to mend where I can, lovingly and with reverence. The accumulation of time means more to me than it once did. A thirteen-year friendship is worth preserving. A beautiful dress is worth repairing.

And at Elle.com, she's written a brief essay on the traditional and modern Áo Dài - 

My grandparents aren’t the first, or last, to hold cherished memories of the áo dài. This garment, translated as “long shirt,” has been a fixture in the cultural imagination of Việt Nam since 1744...

 

Photo by Kris Atomic on Unsplash

I've shared some excerpts here but I encourage you to click through and read the full articles - they are lovely and so interesting for sewing readers!

If you are interested in more about Banyan Moon, including a recipe, you can find a Reader's Guide on her website. You can also find out more about Thao Thai on her socials 

Website 

Instagram 

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I hope you are enjoying Banyan Moon so far! Please feel free to leave your thoughts on the book so far, or on any of the articles shared today, in the comments on this post. 

October Sewing

October's off to a busy start! I'm not finishing things as quickly as I'd like, but I'm working away on a few things anyhow. The most important one right now is my project for the Fabricville blog; it's proved a little more time-consuming than I'd planned for -- I'm working on this Vogue 2053 jacket (the white view) in a cream corduroy, and to go with it I'm also going to make Butterick 6871 in this pretty patchwork print. Hopefully these will be done soon! 

Then I'll be moving on to this cool retro fabric. I've got it into my head to make another Merchant & Mills Factory Dress Top using this cotton. I have great buttons to add to this print, too! 

PatternReview is holding the Bargainista Fashionista contest right now as well, which is always so fun to plan for -- getting something done can be another story though ;) If I get through my previous projects, I'm thinking of copying an 80s style Akris dress using some blue cotton in my stash, probably using the bodice of this Burda and the skirt from a 90s Burda magazine dress which I've made before. 

And of course I will be planning my Literary Sewing Circle project as well! It might be something from this inspiration post, or perhaps something from an upcoming one... Lots of fun to come up with a plan! So a busy month or two of fall sewing ahead. 

Weekend Review: Sew It Yourself

 

Sew It Yourself / Daisy Braid
London: Hardie Grant, 2022.
207 p.

This is a cheerful, colourful book with multiple pattern-free projects included - 10 clothing pieces, and 10 accessories, all with variations. The accessories range from scrunchies and tie belts to bags and face masks. The clothing covers tops, dresses and even one pair of pants/shorts. All of the clothing is boxy and voluminous, based on rectangles, squares or trapezoids, some with lots of ruffling or gathering. 

If you are a younger sewist, or someone who likes more free-form, body based sewing, you will love this. The patterns are very trendy right now, with tiered ruffly skirts, big sleeves, lots of gingham and 'sweet' colours. The accessory ideas are a great intro to sewing, and I think that total newcomers to sewing might be attracted to this book by it's trendiness and bright layout. 

The book begins with the basic facts of sewing: tools, materials and key skills to learn. It starts out simple, from how to measure yourself and cut out a project, and advances to making and applying bias binding, and even caring for your clothing. Then it goes into the project chapters, which have both photos of the project, and illustrations of the steps. Most of the projects are straightforward, being cut out in big blocks of squares or rectangles, with no closures, so they are accessible to new sewists. 

This kind of sewing is definitely not my style; oversized, ruffly or ginghamy is not my aesthetic. So I am unlikely to make any of these, except perhaps the boxy jacket which might work for me. But, the clear and friendly tone of the book, and the easy to approach instruction and projects, are welcoming to anyone wanting to learn. I found it well put together, with lots of variety and levels of sewing included. I think this would appeal to a newer or younger sewist who loves these kinds of outfits, and it would serve them well.