The Hummingbird (and Cabarita) patterns will be shipping next week, so in preparation I made a few new additions to the sewingcake site:

Hummingbird 30 Minutes A Day Sewalong Main Page

Badges!

Here you’ll find the schedule, blog badge codes and other info.

Hummingbird Sewalong Flickr Group

This is the Flickr group for the Hummingbird Sewalong.  In the past it’s been a great way to share progress and sewing tips, and it’s always fun to sneak a peek into someone else’s sewing room.  We’ll also use the Flickr group for fitting.

Hummingbird Community Gallery Page

It’s a little spacious at the moment, but I set up the Community Gallery page so it will fill as we sew along together.  I really like the Community Gallery pages, and if you have a Pavlova Separate or Tiramisu Dress you’d like me to add to those Community Gallery pages, just let me know.  I try to keep up, but I definitely miss some here and there.

Flickr Setup for Sewalongs Tutorial

I made this Visual Reference Guide before the last sewalong at your request.  It’s still there, and even though Flickr has undergone a bit of a change since then it should still be helpful in advance of the Sewalong.

The 30 Minutes A Day Sewalongs are written with beginners in mind, and I have a growing database of beginner’s lessons to help you achieve a nicely sewn garment even as a beginner.  I’m open to requests and suggestions, so if you see something missing from the schedule or would like to know more about a technique or equipment, let me know and I’ll work it in.

While we’re on the topic of sewingcake.com, I made a new section.  It’s “Fresh Cake,” which is a page that shows posts/pages in chronological order at a glance for easy browsing.  Each day’s sewalong lesson will show up here once it’s published, I’ll tweet and pin and also update the links on the main page.  I hope this is all smooth and straightforward, do let me know if you have any questions!

Next week, I’ll introduce you to the new Visual Reference Guides for cutting variations and denim sewing.  It’ll be fun, I’ve been waiting and waiting to share them with you!  Have a great weekend!

(…if you have a blog and you’re interested in test-sewing, please leave me a comment on the Muses Post from yesterday.  I’ll be reading up and checking out blogs over the coming week, and will email the testers with guidelines next Friday.)

Y’all know Leila.  If you live in the Northern Hemisphere and you purchased Cake, your pattern was almost certainly shipped by Leila.   She blogs over at Three Dresses Project, where she just posted a thorough review of the Cabarita Knit Top and the Hummingbird Orange skirt.

Seeing Leila’s Cabarita with a coordinating solid collar, cuffs and bindings makes me itch to stitch up another one.  I really like this effect, and in the comments on Leila’s post there’s some great suggestions for other patterned fabric mash-ups.

“I love an interesting back. Actually this top gives you front and back interest. Even my husband had a big wow moment when he saw the back.”  I love them too.  This back goes together easily, but really elevates this past being a regular old t-shirt- even if it’s just as comfy.

Leila also whipped up a serviceable and basic denim Hummingbird Orange.  That’s the short and sweet version of the skirt.  She did a great job picking out the seams with top-stitching thread- let alone the fact she put the skirt together before the instructions were complete.  How clever is she?  Flying blind and she put together a really great little skirt nonetheless.  Thanks, Leila!

Shipping and Sorting- Hummingbird

I mentioned last night that we’ll be shipping the Hummingbird (and Cabarita) patterns from next week.  The sewalong is set for June 17-27, and I’ll post the schedule, signup and blog badges on Friday.  I’m so excited!  This is my favorite part, the time when we get to sew together.

Last time, for the Pavlova Sewalong, we sent out pre-ordered Pavlova patterns with colored envelopes to sort Sewalongers into “houses.”  We had five fruit-themed houses, with the winning house receiving $10 Cake Patterns gift codes and bragging rights…  The sorting was Leila’s idea- she had to go shopping for envelopes and found the fun colored ones.  We put our heads together and came up with the sorting- once we thought it up, it seemed way too fun to pass up!

This time, we’re shipping pre-ordered Hummingbird patterns in colored envelopes for four houses:

Rufous House

Those who receive their pattern in an orange envelope will be in Rufous House, named after the pretty orange Rufous Hummingbird.

Anna’s House

Those who receive a pink envelope will be in Anna’s House, named for Anna’s Hummingbird.

Violetear House

Green envelopes will come to those who go into Violetear House, named for the Violetear Hummingbird.  Don’t you love his dear little ear-feathers?

Sabrewing House

And finally, blue envelopes go to Sabrewing House members, named for the Sabrewing Hummingbird.

The House that completes the greatest number of Cake-Standard Hummingbird Separates during the sewalong (no cutting corners, but variations are ok) wins!  It’s a fun way to make a connection to other social sewists, a bit of fun.  These envelopes are a bit bigger than normal, and they’re pretty so they’ll stand out in the mail.

What do you think of the mascots this time?  Do you think having 4 rather than 5 houses will change the dynamic?

And you know what- I just realized I have some very nice scraps of jersey that would be just large enough for some contrast Cabarita collar and bindings…

I’ve been working with some top-notch red dancewear velvet….

It’s been a little while since my last post- the one where I bought a load of fabric.  Then I was retreated into my drafting-cave for a bit of production work…  My periodic silences on the blogging front are necessary so I can make up new Cake releases for us to play with.   I’m always reachable by email though, even in my drafting-cave.   I’m really glad y’all understand.

I’ve been keeping in close contact with our printer in the UK while the new patterns are being printed and assembled.  We have a great working relationship already, the quick and timely exchange of information and files is refreshing.   Besides, as an indie designer it’s great to be working with a high-quality indie printer.  Our goals and interests intersect.

The patterns were to be ready for shipping by this week, but Claire our printer had an accident.  I was alarmed when I couldn’t get ahold of her for two days at the end of last week. I thought something must be wrong because we were right at crunch time with the patterns.  It turns out she had an accident and was badly burned down one side of her body by boiling water.   She spent the night in the hospital burn ward and checked herself out to get back to overseeing the work.  Indies.  Feel better soon, Claire!

This slowed down the work (which is in the last stages), so Leila and I won’t have patterns ready to ship to you all until early next week.  I am sorry for this delay, I really wanted a smooth and perfect process this time. Tira 2nd Ed and Bonny will also be a little tiny bit later. Before, it was blizzards holding up shipping… One of these days we’ll catch a break!

Besides, I’m really excited and impatient to get this pattern into your hands, it’s absolutely the best Cake Patterns release yet.

I didn’t put out a public call for Hummingbird testers because it made sense to have the other talented sewists who work on Cake projects involved in the test-sewing experience this time around.  (That, and, well, there’s a pleasant surprise about H-bird that I want to keep completely top-secret until you open them up….)

click for source

This is Mikhaela’s Hummingbird (Green) Top.  Rumor has it she’s working on a Hummingbird skirt or two, too!  Mikhaela makes Cake’s engaging cover art, and her husband Masheka illustrates Cake’s detailed instruction sheets.  We take turns skyping in the middle of the night for planning meetings, and I really enjoy working with the pair of them.  We send a lot of emails and files to each other…

A turquoise Hummingbird skirt… click for source

Mikhaela hasn’t been sewing much for the past year but lately she decided to get back into it and build out her wardrobe with simple and wearable basics.  I’m really delighted Mikhaela is sewing up Cake, and I love this capsule wardrobe she built herself.  Dotted Hummingbird Peplum Top- check.

Love this with jeans for a casual Friday, too!

I have some more looooovely test-Hummingbirds to show you this week from more Cake Collaborators.  On Friday I’ll post the Sewalong signup/sorting details/badges! (June 17-27 work for everyone?)

Then next week we can get started on the new tutorials and cutting options I have in store for Hummingbird!  It’s been tough to keep all that under my hat, I can’t wait to show you my jeans waistband autopsy, top-stitching tutorials, and alternate cutting layouts…! (Not to mention a super-fun torture test for the indigo dyed hemp-denim I got my hands on!)

…one of my favorite recent photos… Why have we never taken photos in the grocery?

It’s been really fun to show you the RiFFs that have been in progress behind the scenes here at Cake Central and chatting about invisibility cloaks and lady pirates.  Thanks for taking a look, and I’m really really pleased y’all like the new designs.

Of Petite and Plus…

For the sake of this post I’m using these terms as a shorthand while I talk about patterns.  I don’t use terms like this in my notes or my own patternwork, I use numbers.

…and the Patternmaker

Human beings come in a variety of shapes and sizes, with all kinds of quirks and topographies.  It’s unfair to expect a pattern to fit perfectly right out of the envelope because of this variety.  If you’re one of the lucky ones who doesn’t ever alter a pattern, then enjoy it!  I’ve met three of you unicorns in years of working with sewists in a classroom setting. (That’s a straight-up, no-alteration size 10 in the Big 4.  They were all 10′s.)

Everyone else has to shift a side seam here, blend between two sizes there, maybe lengthen/shorten sleeves.  I think that’s reasonable, don’t you?

Plus Alterations

How many plus women reading perform one or more of these pattern alterations on every single new pattern you want to sew?

• narrow shoulders
• narrow back
• FBA (Full bust alteration)

I am going to guess based on observation- most.  That’s the problem, as I see it.  If the majority of the women working with plus sized patterns have to do these kinds of adjustments, then the pattern is inadequate.  It’s not the bodies, it’s not that larger women should have to work harder than the rest of us for a good fit.  It indicates a problem with the grading.

Tiramisu Fit…

click for source

Have you seen this Tiramisu post by Susan at Moonthirty?  I only recently discovered her blog but I really like her writing and just look at this twin-needle post.  This is the way her Tira fit out of the envelope.  Her post made my Tuesday this week!  I don’t expect my patterns to fit everyone without alteration, that’s crazy, but… one can dream?

…and Tiramisus that don’t fit immediately…

click for source

After reviewing possibly every Tiramisu Dress posted to the internet (link in comments if you have a blog post!), I decided to change the underbust seamline position on the Second Edition Tiramisu Dress.  Almost every 30 I saw and some 35′s found their bodices were longer than their bodice areas.

click to view

I say this as someone who fears not the seam ripper, the quick scissors, and a little bit of fit-as-you-sew: it’s not difficult to tune up the Tiramisu underbust seam.

Sure, it’s a little fiddly, but it doesn’t require re-cutting the bodice or actually unpicking the seam in the vast majority of cases (I’m serious, cut it off).  There’s no crazy-involved patternwork slash n’ spread alteration to perform on the pattern, either.

By my own reasoning regarding plus sizing, the 30′s needed a tweak.  For the Second Edition Tiramisu, this is what I did:

• removed the “A” gathering on all but the largest bodice for a smooth and streamlined underbust seam
• raised the underbust seam by 1″ for 30′s
• gently raised the 35 underbust seam

We worked hard on the Second Edition of Tiramisu and the new RiFFs, and I’m so excited to get these into your sewing room.  They’ll be shipping in no time and all, and then we can get into some sewing!

A bit of business:

Cabarita ships out next week!  The electronic version of Cabarita is available now on Etsy.  It’s a little early, but I wanted to be sure I understood their new digital file system before I’m busy with the paper patterns next week.

(For the record, pdf sellers: if you upload revision files to Etsy, your customers will not have access to the revisions.  They only have access to the files which were uploaded at time of purchase.)

I mention this in case anyone wants to change their order and in the interests of transparency, because I said last week that the paper and pdf would be released at the same time.

The pre-sale prices for the two RiFFs and the Second Edition Tiramisu will only last until the 10th, when they’ll go to RRP.  I have a few posts for the end of this week, and then I’ll need to go quiet on the blogging front again while I pull together the next round of visual references for Hummingbird!

click to view listing for paper pattern.

As much as I like a sailor collar and nautical styling, sometimes I just want a normal, comfy top to wear with my normal comfy pants while I go about the unglamorous business of being a functioning adult.  I think of these kinds of garments as “invisiblity cloaks”- though I suppose not everyone considers red an invisible color.

Every Cake Pattern carries a promise of “re-make-ability.”  That’s not a funny word I made up for marketing purposes.  It’s one of my main drafting considerations.   I get a lot of ideas and I have to I decide which of my designs is worth producing and printing.  If I can’t honestly call it “re-make-able” in my own wardrobe, then it’s not Cake.

Ketchup? Tomato Sauce? Catsup? What do you eat?

The collarless Bonny looks like a simple square neck tee at first glance, but she’s so much more.  For one, the linework provides a dotted line guide to customizing the princess seams.  It’s not comprehensive, it is a suggestion only and the lines can be followed during construction.  Use a basting stitch, and don’t be afraid to run those princess seams in if you want!  Someone asked if the princess seams demand a heavier fabric.

Mmmmm sushi mayo… I’m not a fan of british style mayo, but this tastes like America…

No, they don’t.  For this sample and for the navy blue sample, I used a relatively lightweight organic cotton with a 5% Lycra content.  I also ran in the princess seams to remove excess fabric- that’s my preference, yours may be different.   Also note that heavier knits tend to “gloss over” lumps and bumps, while thinner jerseys will accentuate this when made into a closely fitted garment.

The binding requires a little bit of nimble-fingered dressmaker skill to balance them properly.  We’ve talked about how knit fabrics behave differently, and this is one of those areas where it’s essential to understand how the binding behaves.  It’s important not to stretch the binding along the straight edges, and to gently stretch it across the back neck curve.  It’s not hard- but I would highly recommend approaching this pattern after gaining a little skill with knit binding.

The front neckline uses a particular facing finish to ensure it doesn’t gape, flip, or buckle during wear (and troubleshooting suggestions because I want your Bonny to be perfect!).

Grocery Store Bonny also features a hem band, just like the Sailor Bonny.  This creates a nice firm edge for the bottom of the top, and of course you select the band width by your hip measurement.  Handy!  It’s also suited to various ribbing or striped fabrics, which allows you to put a designer touch on your Bonny.

MmmMmmm, mushrooms…

I didn’t think I’d like this plainer top, but I do.  I really do.  She goes together quickly, she’s not fussy but she looks good, and I’m already considering what she’d look like if I used a striped fabric in the center section.  I don’t know, but I really want to try it.

Talk to me…

Do you have an invisibility cloak?  What is it?  I realize red isn’t on everyone’s invisibility list… What color do you wear the most?

Hey everyone!  I hope you had a great weekend!  I was busy keeping the shipping orders for May tidy.  We have a shipment for mid-May that will include the Hummingbird Separates and the Cabarita RiFF.  In late May, we’ll be shipping the Bonny RiFF and the Second Edition Tiramisu Knit Dress.  We’re shipping from three distribution points in the US, the UK and Australia (not to mention the simultaneous electronic pdf releases!).  It’s my job to make sure everyone receives their pattern in the timeliest/most efficient way possible.  Good thing I love my spreadsheets! (And yes, we have some pretty colored envelopes for Hummingbird Sewalong House Sorting!)

Last week I introduced you to the RiFF range and told you a little about each pattern.  This week, I’ll go a little deeper so you can see the “re-make-ability” built into Cake patterns, even the lighter-weight RiFF Range.

Turn It Around!

While Cake Tops are proportioned so the back is narrower than the front, at the end of the day we’re working in the realm of knit tops, not couture evening gowns.  Reversability isn’t applicable to every Cake Patterns release, but it definitely works for the Cabarita Knit Top.  I showed you this sample last week with the half roll collar in the front, but what do you think of it in the back?  It works, even for a bustier figure like mine.

Part of the reason this works is because the back is cut on the bias.  Some time ago, we talked about knit bias, what it means, and whether it’s a “thing.”  It’s definitely a thing.   Basically, I find that knit fabrics cut on the bias behave more or less the same way we’d expect bias wovens to behave but more so.  For knit fabrics, the bias effect is exaggerated.  I like this, bias is a great way to use a simple cut that will flatter and accentuate curves.  It also works well for those who are less curvy, and it means we can have fun with chevrons!

worn here with denim hummingbird skirt

I like a knit top with a CF bias seam because it tends to mold to my figure more than a straight cut, while not revealing too much.  I find this is also true at the back- in my experience and observation bias backs are less likely to develop pooling and folds of fabric like a straight cut.

Last week, I mostly shared photos of me wandering around Cabarita Beach wearing my Cake Makes.  Cabarita is so pretty!  I wanted you to see the inspiration for the RiFF’s name.  We had called this design “Riviera” during production but at the last minute I changed my mind.  I’ve never been to the Riviera, and calling my favorite summer top by that name felt a little false.  Instead, I used the name of my favorite beach- the place I love to visit with my family to escape from the city in the summer.  I like to think of it as sharing a bit of my life with you.  Through the sewing.

This week, I thought I’d share a little of what my daily life looks like.  We took these photos when I went to pick up my tiny girl from school.

That’s Cake.  Cake is beaches and woods and buses and playgrounds and sidewalks and grocery stores and parties- I try to show you how I wear my clothes by sharing a little look at my life.  This walky-bridge-thing was harder to negotiate than it looked, I very nearly slipped off and landed on my bottom!  I suppose the cloud of tulle in my Pavlova skirt would soften the fall.  (Yep, I’m that lady who wears tulle in casual settings…)

Your Thoughts

What do you think about my reversed Cab?  What do you wear to pick up your kid(s) from school?  What about “authenticity” in blogging/fashion?  I try very hard to walk the tightrope between “reality” and “fantasy” with our photos, but I’m always wondering where to draw that line. (True story, for these photos I wore a touch more makeup than usual…)

PS

Speaking of context for clothes, have you SEEN Me Made May this year?  I’m sitting it out because almost everything I wear is Cake/Future Cake and I thought it would be weird.  But wow- this year looks so polished and there’s tons of people!  How wonderful!  Go look, go look!  I always love seeing a pattern I’ve made myself (Cake or otherwise) on another person.

click to view listing for paper pattern. pdf is a separate listing and will be released electronically when the paper pattern is shipped in late May.

Next up in our RiFF-troductions, we have the Bonny Knit Sailor Top.  She’s based on a “hack” I made last year- the Sailor Sweetheart on Sew Weekly:

I loved this top and wore her constantly until she died.  I had rather thought it would feel like “stunt-dressing” to wear such a heavily embellished top, but I loved the extra interest the styling brought to otherwise plain outfits.

I learned a thing or two while wearing this top- while elastic might be a stretch trim, it can make the top ride up one’s waist.  For the other, I really wanted a collar, and a slightly longer length than the original.

Staring at the point where the sky disappears into the sea…

The Bonny Sailor top uses grosgrain ribbon as the trim, rather than elastic.  I like the effect even though it doesn’t stretch.  Unusually, I interfaced the entire collar exterior.  Ok- I suppose that’s normal for most, but I tend not to interface if I can avoid it.  In this case, however, I thought the collar needed a lightweight fusible fabric interfacing with good drape.  I chose Armoweft because it ticks all those boxes and I know it washes well without bubbling.

If you’re planning to make this collar, do not use a stiff interfacing or your top will be unwearable.  Find an interfacing that is as much like actual fabric as possible, and slightly lighter weight than your shirt fabric.  Do not use non-woven fusibles made of poly or paper fibers pressed together and glued to the fabric, because after the first few washes your collar will look terrible.

Armoweft is easy to find and a really good choice for this application.

I’m really proud of the seam finish on the inner collar for Bonny, and I’m sure you will too.  It’s neat, light, strong, and simple.  Some time ago, I quit paying much attention to sewing manuals that demonstrate heavy/outdated sewing techniques.  I turned instead to RTW (ready-to-wear), constantly ripping apart old/thrifted garments and “sneaky shopping” in high-end retail clothing stores.  This is a finish I picked up studying the necklines on polo shirts.  In the Bonny pattern, it’s very simply spelled out for you- complete with a neck binding length guide.

I used a contrasting bias tape, but twill tape or ribbon or a matching bias tape would also work quite well.

The princess seaming on the front provides support for the buttons- take care about the placement!  Remember, the pattern is only a guide, it’s better to use your eyes and common sense than to walk around with button-nipples!

I’m especially fond of the Bonny Sailor with my yellow organic cotton twill Hummingbird Skirt!  You can see more photos of this style at the Bonny Galleries on sewingcake.com.

What kind of interfacing do you most often use?  Do you ever take apart RTW to learn from it? What did you discover? Ever heard of Anne Bonny, the 18th century female pirate?

Earlier this week, the Cabarita Knit Top began presaling on Etsy.  The Bonny Knit Sailor Top quickly followed her.  Now it’s time to introduce you properly to this new range from Cake Patterns!  We’ll start with Cabarita tonight, Bonny tomorrow, and then over the next few posts I’ll show you how I style these cuts for everyday wear and re-make-ability.  Let’s talk about patterns!

What’s a RiFF?

click to view Cabarita Sample Gallery & Specs Page

Long time readers will remember my habit of picking up a certain idea or cut or flavor and playing around with the inspiration in my sewing room.  That’s RiFFing. 

click to view Cabarita Gallery & Spec page

RiFFs are patterns that might not be suited to a “big” Cake release for various reasons. It takes a lot of time and care to create the illustrations, for example. Most people who sew eventually reach a point where they don’t need instructions so much because they’re confident in their sewing.

Click to view Cabarita Gallery & Specs Page

RiFFs have plainly written instructions, more or less like Burda but I write them in a concise technical manner. An adventurous beginner could try them out and have reasonable chance of success, and they’d be great for the int-adv crowd who want to throw together a quick basic piece. They have nice little individual design features, but are also suitable for re-makes. :)

Click to view gallery. Organic Cotton French Terry- should have trimmed down the collar seam allowance for the bulkier fabric!  Very comfy to wear.

The heavily illustrated Cake Patterns (Tiramisu, Pavlova, Hummingbird and the next one: Red Velvet) are aimed at a wider audience, and is especially geared towards “visual learners” and beginners.

Grid Guide for Custom Fit

I won’t show the whole pattern, but I did want to show you the Grid Guide to Custom Fit used on the Cabarita Knit Top. It’s similar to the Hummingbird Peplum Top, but applied to a different cut.   Just measure from your shoulder to where you’d like the hem to sit.  Choose the nearest Front Waist Measurement (2)- it includes the hem allowance. 

I like this system because it has very little do with “size” and more to do with sensibly using your own measurements to create a custom garment.  That’s why most of us sew- for great fit!  This method streamlines pattern fitting.

As a “challenge,” it’s possible to mark your waist point and circumference and your hem point and circumference.  Then connect the dots for waist shaping!  I prefer to use a waist measurement a little larger than my own, for a less dramatic side seam.

Preview!

Grocery Store Bonny

Sidewalk Bonny with Hummingbird Orange

Marooned Bonny

The Back of Bonny

Black and White Bonny

Playground Cabarita

From now until May 10, I’ll show you my samples and how they work in my wardrobe, highlighting design features and other fun stuff!  What do you think?  (Keep the RiFF requests coming, too, I have something special to show you next week, based on your RiFF requests!)