Ah, stripes. A timeless, style, but also so very on trend for S/S 2018. The classic shirt, another perennial favourite, seen across the UK high street over the past few months. It’s a style I normally couldn’t pull off in ready to wear. The gaping at the button hole puts paid to that. But sewing, fitting; the wonderful FBA. Now that I can pull off a button-down shirt, they just keep popping up on my to sew list…
I’ve waxed lyrical about the Kalle shirtdress pattern before. Despite having to buy the pattern, I believe that it is undoubtedly a gift to the sewing community. The options – length, collar, button placket / popover, hem finish, and pleat detail – mean endless options for totally different shirts. Endless shirts from one pattern. And I’ve figured out my perfect FBA on the pattern. That must be why I’m now onto my fifth, and have planned my sixth and seventh…
So, back to Kalle number three.
This striped poplin was earmarked years ago for some cropped PJs for the hubster, but the allure of the stripes was too much, and I was granted permission to create the mismatched shirt of dreams. On just 1.5M, there was some very careful pattern tetris, and although I managed to squeeze all of the pieces out of that tiny slither of fabric, the diligently planned contrasting yoke somehow turned out to be a perfectly matching yoke…
Squeezing it out of such a short length of fabric was all the more difficult as I’d also lengthened the cropped version by 4 inches to create a more wearable shirt.
In terms of finish, a propensity to making my garments last as long as possible, but a lack of functioning overlocker meant I opted for french seams. Although this worked out pretty well, there’s a little bit of weird drag lines around the curve of the armhole. But the pretty innards outrank this slight aesthetic imperfection.
The bust adjustment on my second Kalle worked well on this version, and although there are some drag lines around my bust, I’m confident that these are related to the stiffer nature of this fabric.
So, Kalle number 3. This one has a fully functioning button placket with buttons (unlike my previous cropped version). Sewn up in time for my trip to New York, I just had to add the buttons on the rooftop terrace of our Air Bnb. Would have been rude not to get some photos whilst up there too…
All in all, this is a great addition to my wardrobe – it featured heavily in Me Made May – narrowly avoiding becoming my Tuesday workwear staple. It’s also come in handy on two recent trips – New York and Greece. I’m looking forward to trying it out in even more outfit combinations.
sew slow Sarah 