I have once again made a pattern that has been on my make list for a very long time now! And, since this is apparently The Year of the Buttons for me, the Kalle Shirt was high up on my list. This is another Closet Case Files pattern, just like my Carolyn Pajama Top from last month.
The pattern has a high-low hem with very drastic curves at the sides, and while I think the hem is beautiful, if I left it how it is in the pattern, it would make me less likely to wear it. I decided to make the tunic version (view B) with the full button placket, and I redrafted the hem myself. For those interested, the front bottom curve is 2.5″ shorter in front, and 3.5″ shorter in the back, and I just adjusted both curves so they weren’t as drastic.
I added 1″ of length at the lengthen/shorten line and made a size 12, graded out to a 14 at the hips, although I didn’t really need to grade it, because it’s plenty roomy enough for me to have just made a straight 12. I followed the directions exactly most of the way though, although there were a couple of hiccups at the end (I was probably just tired and wanted to get it done).
When I was finishing the hem, I noticed that I had completely forgotten to top stitch the collar, so I just got as close to the seam as I could and top stitched. I also noticed that the finishing method for the sleeve cuffs were the same as the Carolyn Top (for those of you who have made either pattern), but I opted to just serge the raw edges and top stitch the seam in place. I asked Heather to do a Tute Tuesday on how to finish the sleeve cuffs, because I’m not sure I fully understand what the instructions suggest.
My favorite thing I learned from this pattern that I hadn’t ever done before was binding the hem. I liked that I didn’t have to worry about the shirt getting shorter, because I wasn’t folding the fabric up, and sewing the curves was much easier. I also liked how clean it made the hem look. I am a fan, and I hope to be able to do this with more shirts in the future.
Closet Case Files has really great patterns and instructions. They are designed well and are really easy to understand and follow. I love that they have the downloadable PDF for this pattern, because I personally hate taping patterns together. I print all of my pattern though PDF Plotting, and they have seriously saved me so much time and money. If you are in the U.S. you need to check them out! (All of the thumbs up!)
I have been wanting to make a white button up shirt for a while now, but I was really nervous about the fabric being too sheer. I emailed Michelle with Style Maker Fabrics and she suggested this linen blend shirting because it was the most opaque fabric she had, and she thought it would work really well. She was right! I have a mauve-ish colored bra on under this shirt, and you can’t even see it! The fabric feels great and it the perfect weight. I have worn it a couple of times already because the the rayon/linen keeps me cool all day, plus it’s a really loose silhouette, which is great when I don’t want anything touching me in the heat. The fabric also comes in blush and taupe.
I absolutely LOVE this shirt. The pattern and the fabric are honestly SO good. The one bummer is that white shirts and messy toddlers don’t mix very well. I will probably still wear it because I seriously feel awesome in it, but I’m just going to embrace that 10 minutes into wearing it, it’s going to be dirty, and that’s just life. I’ve already learned that OxiClean gets avocado out! Haha. I had a bunch of people comment on my last Instagram post about how to get stains out of white shirts, so I have a feeling a few of those might get used on this shirt in it’s lifetime. 😉
Happy sewing!
Love your Kalle shirt! I made up one last year but when I did an fba it just didn’t work. I should have followed Heather Lou’s tutorial but I didn’t discover it until after and the result was such a disaster I tossed the whole business including the pattern (I had done a no-no and chopped up a printed pattern 🙂 ) I have the Melilot by Deer & Doe which has a similar shape but includes a bust dart making an fba much easier to accomplish (I hope!) 🙂
Thank you Kathleen! That sounds so frustrating! I have seen the Melilot and it is SO pretty! I hope making that one goes much smoother for you. 🙂
I love your redrafted hem! The hem is kind of what’s been keeping me from making anything but the cropped version. I agree with you that the curves are a little too severe for my personal style! This looks awesome on you!! You’re inspiring me to get with the program and redraft the hem myself too.
Thank you, Whitney!! The hem was pretty easy to fix. When cut the pieces out of my tracing paper, I just laid the pieces on top of each other (meeting at the side seam, since I didn’t move that) to see if I liked the way they looked on top of each other. I had a shirt from Pinterest that showed the shirt just laying flat, so I tried going for the same look. I did use my french curve tool to make sure the curves were nice, but I have no idea how to use that thing, so there was no science to it. Haha! I hope that helps, and that you make one soon! I honestly love this shirt so much!
Your Kalle looks so great, Tori! I am a HUGE fan of white button up shirts and I’m planning a white Kalle eventually. I like your modified hemline a lot and I may try something similar. My best trick for getting stains out of clothes of any color is to dab some dish soap on the stain and let it sit overnight or until you do your next load of laundry. It’s never failed me! Between me and my 3 kids we are always getting stuff on our clothes.
Thank you, Teri!! This fabric is seriously perfect, and I want to order more for a casual Key Largo or something. I will definitely keep this trick in mind if I get a stain that won’t come out. Thankfully there are so many ways to get stains out! That gives me a little more peace of mind for when I wear this shirt.
So fresh and pretty! I love a white shirt in summertime. I read somewhere that red bras are invisible under white shirts on light skin (Emerald Erin maybe?), but I’ve never tested the theory.
Thank you, Lia! I haven’t heard that before, but that is interesting!
This shirt looks terrific! I’m making my first Kalle this week and also had a ton of trouble with the sleeve cuffs. The way they’re applied just doesn’t make a ton of sense to me, especially having just done a Cielo top from Closet Case. The sleeve cuffs on that were really easy to do. Maybe for the next Kalle I’ll use a different method.
Anyway, good job!
I got confused at that step too! I might do a different construction method for the cuffs on my next one too. Nothing wrong with doing that. 😉 Thank you, Fiona!