Gertie's New Fashion Sketchbook: Indispensable Figure Templates for Body-Positive Design (Gertie's Sewing), Hirsch, Gretchen

Received this in the mail last week and am very pleased with the purchase. I know several reviewers were not happy with their purchase but I found nothing wrong with the sketch book. The book has a heavy duty spiral binding with hardboard cover and back. The pages are of a nice weight for sketching and erasing and are perforated at the top so you can detach your sketch easily. The author offers a nice introduction with notes on how to sketch your figure along with a brief history on various design era's and pointers on how to sketch your designs. There is a short compiled listing of recommended reading and sources. Onto the actual sketch pages. Many reviewers stated they could not see their croquis but I did not find that to be the case. The first four croquis in my book were indeed difficult to see but in flipping through "every single page" in the book the remaining croquis were fine and could be seen. I especially loved the pages with three figures on them offering you the opportunity to sketch the front, back and side views. I have included some pictures that I took with my cell phone. Not sure how they will view online but hoping they will help aid you in your decision to purchase this book. I do like the actual figures as well because they are more realistic as to what a women's body is and not the elongated figures of the fashion industry. As the author stated there are three sketch lines that you can follow to make your figure smaller or larger. Given this information the figures in this book are not plus-size but will give you an accurate depiction of say a small, medium and large body type. I would recommend giving this sketch book a try and can't wait to get creative and use it!!!

I love this book! I like to sew, and wanted a way to see design ideas on paper to refine ideas before mockups. Sadly, I stink a drawing and my figure proportions have always been off. This book is full of very light figure outlines in different poses you can trace. And the best part is they are real people proportions not sky high tall thin models. So I get an idea what the garment I’m designing will look like on my actual figure versus a model. And the more I trace I find the better my freehand is getting as I get used to the figure proportions. Perfect book!

My daughter loves creating outfits but never likes the usual alien thin bodies she had to draw them on. This was a HIT! It only has one body shape, but it is a realistic one. It is also very lightly printed, so the clothing is easier to cover the lines.Please keep printing this, and consider adding a variety of bodies o work with.

What I like best about this sketchbook is that the figures are realistically proportioned. When designing something for a real person, this works much better than the "high fashion" figures. It is easier to get a visual idea of how a style will work while sketching vs sketching on a runway model style figure and then finding it doesn't translate quite as well to a typical persons figure.What I'm not as fond of is that the figures are so light it's difficult for me to see them without looking very carefully. Granted, all similar sketchbooks are light in the same way and my eyes are getting older.

Yes it's faint...it's supposed to be so that the ink can disappear when photocopying. I can see it just fine. Sometimes I'll take a pencil and outline it first. For those who wanna keep it but can't see...have someone who can see take a pencil and darken the outlines for you.

I gave this to my daughter for christmas and she has loved it. This goes to school with her so she can design when she's got free time. It has been the perfect gift for her and she has been working on making 2 of the dresses she's designed. Truly a must have for those designing girls. The models in it are what really impresses me. They look like your average, everyday girl/woman.

I love this book because it's based on the traditional sizing method for full figured women. As a fashion designer myself I find it helpful in helping me learn new method s of sewing. I have always wanted to design clothing using traceable figures. I also love the included patterns.

So perfect for my daughter, she immediately started designing clothes for the diverse range of sizes/types. Love this book as much as she does!

I was very sceptical about this book after reading some reviews but I do pleased with itI wanted to sketch out designs but I can't draw accurate body shapes , this book takes that step awayI love the fact that the body shapes are a lot more realistic than most "croquis" I have seenYes the designs are feint but it's the clothes you want to see , I don't have a problem seeing the in normal daylight at allThere's also some useful information at the front tooAll in all I can't recommend It enough, I have only just started to make clothesI don't use patterns so I love to sketch my ideas out , this book has given me the confidence to do so

Good for experienced sewers. A great place to start designing from.

Do not buy it! You can’t see the figures. I have it away to a niece in kindergarten.

Ignore the other reviews about the body shapes not being right. Sure they're not skinny with long legs but they're certainly more akin to my shape!

Gorgeous book. I'll be reordering this once I've filled this one. 😀