Reviewed: Cake Hummingbird 'Orange' skirt in red corduroy

So, this was not the greatest first garment make for 2014. My overall verdict is: meh. I am giving the pattern away if anyone fancies having a go to see if they like it better, though (and I know there are some Cake fans among my handful of readers!)

Pattern Description: From the pattern envelope: Knit top with horseshoe neckline, cap or elbow length sleeves and a seamless four-leaf-clover-shaped peplum inspired by the work of Charles James. Optional mid-century sewing challenge: dickey and bias cuffs from woven shirting fabric. Woven Skirt with no-gape panel pockets, back zipper and simple bound waistline (~1″ below natural waist). Optional back tailfeather flounce.

I made the "Orange" skirt, which is the basic skirt in the package (no tailfeather flounce).

Pattern Sizing: The sizing of this pattern is idiosyncratic, consisting of a set of sizes between 35-55" full hip. I made a "size 40" -- no noticeable relation to normal European size 40s, whether RTW or pattern -- and used the marking provided to choose what I thought was an appropriate waist band (it wasn't, as it turned out). I found the sizing easy enough to understand when I looked at it but didn't find it added much to my experience of making up the pattern, in terms of customizing fit out of the envelope.



Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? For the most part, yes. I think the line drawing makes it look like the hem is slightly pegged, and the actual pattern is completely straight.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, they are clear and straightforward. I found the constant references back to the pattern creator's website for information on steps like installing the zipper annoying, but I can see some, particularly novices, might prefer this option to a truncated description in the printed instructions.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I was most drawn to this pattern by the design and placement of the pockets, which I liked very much and which I think are the nicest feature of the finished garment.

Even after careful initial measurement and considerable tweaking during the sewing process, I found the waist and hip fit of the pattern a poor match for my body. This is not really the fault of the pattern itself, of course, which cannot realistically anticipate every body shape variation. However, it left me with the rather lukewarm conclusion that for me, with this particular pattern, while the unique sizing scheme is certainly not worse than Big4 or Burda, it is not particularly any better either, in terms of permitting out-of-the-envelope fit, with the disadvantage that I had to invest additional time figuring out what size to make in the first place.

Stupidly, I decided to take the suggestion contained within the instructions and did not interface the waistband, which was a terrible, terrible mistake. I think it is misleading to include this anti-interfacing commentary in the instructions. However, to be honest I am more baffled by my own suggestibility because no, really, I do know better than to think such a rule can be applied to all fabrics, especially when handling the fabric suggests it needs interfacing.

I also, as always, dislike the use of half inch seam allowances, although at least on this occasion it is clearly marked on the pattern and stated in the instructions. As far as I can tell there's no real advantage to this departure from the norm and it's an annoyance to me as I use a machine with metric markings, which do not include 12mm (1/2") marks. This is the second indie pattern in a row I've used to make this choice in pattern design, and I honestly don't understand it. I can only assume there is some design or philosophical reason behind it but from my metric-using point of view it is just a pain in the behind.

Fabric Used: I used just about 1m of lightweight red needlecord, and a scrap of cotton blend left over from another project for the pocket linings. This is slightly more than the pattern suggests as my fabric was a peculiar width.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: As written, the pattern is too short for my height and skirt length preferences. I added around 9.5cm to the length, but this was not entirely satisfactory in outcome. As I discovered, however, the skirt being quite narrow and not vented, it substantially reduces my stride when worn at just above knee length. As the skirt has a centre back seam, it would not be overly complicated to add a vent and depending on your preferences for stride and movement you may wish to do so if you also add length to the skirt.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I don't precisely dislike this skirt, but I am decidedly indifferent to it. I am very unlikely to sew the pattern again. Like most indie patterns this pattern was quite expensive. I would very likely only recommend it to others if they also wanted the remaining patterns and/or found some particular value to the sizing scheme (it does nothing for me, but I know from other reviews that it has been a hit for other people) because otherwise it works out rather expensive for a simple skirt pattern.

Conclusion: Not really the skirt I was hoping for, but not terrible either.

Extra wibblings 

Fabric: I bought 5m of this needlecord from the lady on eBay liquidating her late mother's fabric stash for £4/m including p&p. It is absolutely gorgeous fabric but making this skirt alerted me to how relatively lightweight it is. I have always planned to make a coat or jacket from the remainder -- I have a Mad Plan of Madness, actually -- but now I am wondering if the weight of the fabric will work in my favour or against me in the MPoM. The other thing is that it's really, incredibly RED, and I am wondering also if I would ever actually wear a coat quite so brightly hued!

Sewing: There isn't much to say about the sewing on this except for the part where I tried out my coverstitcher! Check out that triple stitched hem front and back :D I also did a ton of top-stitching to give this skirt a tiny bit more edge. I didn't contrast top-stitch, so it's barely visible, but at least I know it's there.

Cost: The big cost for this skirt was the pattern, which was far more than I should have paid though I don't remember how much. Fabric was, as noted above, £4 as I used a metre. The zip was from a very cheap bundle and cost 8p. It was theoretically 2cm shorter than the pattern required, but it was totally fine.  Catch was 25p. Including overheads, I guess the total cost comes in somewhere around £5 plus the price of the pattern.

On criticizing indies: My sense is that despite the backlash at the end of last year, you criticize the indies at your own peril. However, I am not going to lie: I find the fact that the instructions relied on you going back to the website constantly extremely grating, and I thought the "unique" sizing schema added time and complexity for no appreciable gain in the case of this particular pattern. However, I also think at this stage I can also conclude that I am just not the intended customer for Cake patterns, on many levels. I gave it a try, it was moderately successful in that I don't by any means HATE my skirt, and now I am done.