The Crooked Hem

I was a tester for the Howerdel skirt, the latest pattern release from Elbe Textiles. Longtime followers will know that I have two wolves inside me: one wolf says I will only ever feel like myself when wearing jeans, the other wolf says maybe I just haven’t found the right skirt pattern yet. The second wolf convinced me to volunteer for the pattern test, and was she right? Read on to find out.

Design

Howerdel comes in two views, both are long, 3-tiered skirts but View A has asymmetric tiers. The top tier is lined and has an invisible side zipper to get the skirt on and off. Howerdel goes up to a 60.2-inch (153cm) hip and is aimed at an intermediate sewist.

A few design elements drew me into this skirt initially. Firstly, the waistline is smooth, there is no waistband or elastic here. The top tier is lined, so it’s a similar fit and feel to a waistband with just a facing.

The home sewing world has a million and one elastic waist skirt patterns, so it’s easy to overlook this detail on the Howerdel, but I think it’s key. When it comes to wearing skirts, I don’t like the feeling of gathered fabric or elastic around my middle. Call me crazy, it’s just not for me. I will tolerate it for a pair of pants, but something about all that fabric swishing around my torso just doesn’t feel good. So Howerdel solves that puzzle for me with a smooth, minimal top tier that skims the body.

Second, the asymmetrical view grabbed my attention immediately. I’ve seen very similar designs in luxury ready to wear lately, and I think they are a fun silhouette that I’ve been wanting to try (although not at luxury RTW price points, thankyouverymuch). I omitted the bottom tier on my Howerdel to be more in-line with these RTW designs. Here are a few that I’ve pinned recently:

The skirt on the top left (Lisa Says Gah) is almost a twin sister to the Howerdel skirt, except that the sigmoidal curve of the top tier is more pronounced in the LSG version, and if you look closely, the top tier is made of 5 vertical panels instead of Howerdel’s one.

These inspiration photos also point to some interesting hacks and other variations possible with the Howerdel: color blocking, enhancing the amplitude and/or period of the curves, ruffle placement, and varying the degree of gathering.

Fabric choice is also key. I made my tester version in a rayon/linen blend for maximum softness and drape. I also chose a stripe to play up the asymmetrical design lines of the top tier.

Fit

My measurements are waist 32″ and hip 42″, and I made side E. There is not a whole lot to say about the fit on a tiered skirt, but a couple things to note:

1. The waistline is designed with about 1 inch (2.5cm) of ease, so on my body, this skirt sits below my natural waist, approximately at belly button level.
2. Because the skirt has no elastic and no waistband, the waistline just kind of rests at the top of my hips. It’s a little “floaty”, meaning that it will shift around as I move and sometimes rest slightly askew on my torso. This shiftiness is normal for this type of design, but it does feel less stable or “secure” around my middle compared to a skirt with a waistband.
3. Not a fit issue, but there are no pockets! My thinking is that a skirt design like Howerdel won’t behave well if pockets are added, because the looser waistline could easily be distorted by the weight of a phone or similar. So add pockets at your own risk.

The Testing Process

For folks interested in the Elbe Textiles testing process, here’s how things went down for the Howerdel skirt:

• I applied and was notified that I was chosen within 2-3 days. Testing ran from Nov 2 – 16. Two weeks is my bare minimum for testing, but since this pattern is simple to put together, I felt this was a fair amount of time.
• I didn’t have visibility to other testers or their feedback during the process, so I don’t know what size ranges were tested.
• We were asked to test view A (the asymmetrical view) only, view B was added after testing.
• Lauren was very gracious and receptive to feedback. I think almost all of my suggestions about the pattern and the instructions were incorporated. I would happily test for Elbe Textiles again.
• In return for the test, I received the Howerdel pattern for free as well as any other Elbe pattern of my choosing.

Final thoughts

So, which wolf was victorious? I don’t think this pattern has converted me into a skirt person, but I don’t regret trying it. I do like the modern silhouette, and the asymmetry gives this skirt an edginess that takes it out of the cottage core aesthetic and into something much more wearable for me.

For my next version, I might try adding a waistband to the design so the waistline feels a little more “secure” around my middle, more like a pair of trousers. A waistband may also provide just enough stability to add side seam pockets as well, although I’m still not convinced that’s a good idea. Some things are better left as designed, and this might be one of them.