All the faces Kalle Shirt – Pattern by Closetcase Patterns

When I first saw this fabric I was in love and had to have it. I was very lucky to win one sewing challenge on Instagram at the same time meaning I got a voucher from Material Girl Laura. So you know what this girl did. She went online, redeemed the voucher, added a bit extra to get decent yardage and waited for the delivery. I loved the fabric so much I never felt like I had the right project for it. I knew I wanted a shirt but just could not decide on a pattern.

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With time I decided to make it into a Kalle shirt by ClosetCase Patterns. Having done one recently (blogged here) and seeing many versions of it on Instagram I was confident this would be a good match. In fact, I dare to say this is one of the most popular fabric and pattern combos out there. When I posted about it on Instagram stories I got several replies from people saying they made a Kalle out of it. And even if you scroll down the hashtag you will see several of them made in this fabric. It was a sign!

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I decided on a standard button placket and a popover collar. I prefer a popover collar over mandarin collar, just feels better suiting for a shirt.
As for the buttons, I knew I wanted white ones but had several options in my stash. I did not have enough of the ones I decided to use so I went with a seethrough one on the collar stand (on the right in the photo below).

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Deciding on button options

Like last time, construction and instructions were clear and straightforward. I decided to add sleeves to this one and did so with a bit of hacking and pattern frankensteining. I did not use sleeve cuff pieces that come with the pattern and attached the sleeve directly to the bodice. I used the Zadie jumpsuit long sleeve pattern piece. I already used this sleeve for two different pattern hacks but I am yet to use it for Zadie (one day). I first measured the sleeve opening on Kalle bodice and the Zadie sleeve top opening to see if they would fit. And measurements were almost perfect – the Zadie sleeve opening was bigger by about 1 cm so I just chopped that extra bit off while cutting.

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I cut the sleeves as per pattern on top and went wider towards the bottom (kind of a bell shape) to get more volume. I did not have enough fabric left at that point to make them wider but they turned out good like this as well. I lengthened them also by about 5 cm and finished them at the hem with elastic – easy and quick.

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I used the cropped version to cut it out but lengthened it so I could tuck it in high waisted pants. I wish I had cut it longer because it does ride up on the sides occasionally, but I will survive. I skipped the hem facing and finished it off with a satin bias binding that just looks a bit more luxurious.

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I think this might be my new favorite shirt!
For anyone interested in the white pants and cardigan in the photos, you can click here and here to read more about them.

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Thank you for reading!

Ana

Kalle shirt – pattern by Closet Case Patterns

I love wearing shirts more than I love sewing them, but I definitely do not like ironing them. But that is the irony of life, ey? I love a crisp collar, buttons (yet buttonholes being probably one of the reasons why shirts are not my favorite from the garment sewing realm) and also how a shirt lifts up an outfit. I feel more “ready” when wearing one, isn’t that interesting? I just look down and think to myself – sh** I a wearing a shirt, I can do this!

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I was looking at all the Kalle’s on Instagram and wanted to do my own version for a while. I finally decided to make it and use up this remnant I had from an earlier project I still have not blogged about (there seems to be more of these sneaky bastards by now, I should flex my fingers on the keyboard more). It is a viscose fabric I got a while ago in a local shop. It irons very well, let me tell you. If only all the shirts were like this (please?).

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The pattern comes in three variations and I decided to make the cropped shirt. Other variations are tunic and dress. I made a dress before and love, love, love it (and wrote about it on Minerva Crafts blog). From back then I knew I needed a swayback adjustment so had this already adjusted on the pattern. This adjustment is a saver for me – you do not know how many bad fitting tops I made over the years before I found out about this little gem.

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The hem is finished with a facing. This little piece of fabric gave me so much headache during construction. The problem was probably in the fact that I cut out the pattern sometime in April and had it lying on the table until October so this pattern piece stretched out. My bad, but boy did I lose my mind a few times. Sewed it two times with no luck and too many puckers so left it for a week. Then I came back to it and just figured I should lay the bodice piece over the facing and just cut the excess fabric from the facing that stretched out. This worked a treat and I could sew the two together with no problem. Victory. But this part is a bit tricky to sew, especially for any fabric that has a mind of its own (read: slippery).

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This was my first time sewing a hidden button placket. This also boggled my mind for a while until I realized I was holding it the other way around than it is instructed. I have bright moments like this from time to time, don’t be jealous. Don’t use your head and you can have them, too. Easy peasy. Ok, back to the construction. The other parts of shirt construction are easy and straightforward. The instructions are great and there is also extra help on the CCP blog to hold your hand.

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I realized that the collar stands really high on this pattern. I had not really noticed it from looking at the pictures but when I made it, it felt higher than I would like. At first, it felt strange. But after wearing it, it felt good and not constraining in any way. And there is always the option to wear it open and I like to have both options at hand.

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The front bodice is really cropped so good thing I have several high waisted pants in my wardrobe by now so I have something to wear it with. I think they look really good together, don’t you think? I am interested to see if I can also combine it with a skirt, not sure I have seen a combo like that on the old gram so far.

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I now have only the tunic variation of this pattern left untouched. I do have a fabric I want to make it in, I only need time. From my experience, it will take a long time to get it out and then a few months more to get it on the blog. But patience will bring me far, right?

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Thank you for reading,

Ana