I recently received my Amazon Black Friday splurge: Gertie's New Book For Better Sewing. After being a fan of Gertie's blog for a long time, I took the plunge and finally bought her book (which I've wanted since even before it came out!) Needlessly said: worth every single penny.
The book was everything I hoped and expected of it: a solid resource for vintage sewing, with an intermediate seamstress in mind. It has tons of new skills I haven't learned or dabbled in yet and is a great transition into working towards Expert Mode. After having owned and looked through tons of beginner sewing books in the past, it's great to know it's not a "how to thread your sewing machine" sort of book; it assumes you all ready know the basics. I now have a really strong "dictionary" to cover all the questions I generally have when I work on my own clothing and clears up most fitting issues I've faced (and is a great starting off point into tailoring.)
In terms of cons, maybe more pictures? But even that is stretching it. In this modern day and age, I recognize this is a resource for me to quickly look things up. If I have more questions, I'll know with certainty what I'm looking for in a Youtube tutorial video or in a search. I also am not a huge fan of the type of book binding... but that's just a personal pet peeve because I don't want the pages to be damaged in use. BUT, I'm looking forward to writing all over this book with my findings through the coming years: this is a keeper!
The patterns are all really great as well-- and I'm looking forward to knocking each one of them out in time. While maybe the color schemes in all of them may not have been my cup of tea... I think each pattern has potential in its own way and I am sure can be adapted to me and my life.
First up? The pencil skirt!
I'm all ready thinking of fabrics I would want this skirt in... I'll definitely need at least 4 or 5 of these-- they're all ready one of my wardrobe staples! (especially since I'm officially down to only TWO pairs of jeans!) I need a ton of these in some good suiting fabric...
And of course, some amazing Linton tweeds. Yes, yes, I know these run for £30 per meter... (nearly 50$ per yard-- basically), but it'd be awesome to have something "solid" and "grown up." And if I ever make myself my Chanel-inspired jacket, the skirt would be a must have for a full suit!
I also found this Victorian Maiden "Charlotte Mermaid" skirt I could probably recreate with the pattern.
Now, this book is certainly not the be-all-end-all, but for starting to really incorporate more hand sewing and couture techniques, it's a great resource.
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