Chambray Kalle Shirt

I've had my beady eye on the Closet Case Files Kalle pattern ever since it was released. Despite being loose fitting, the body skimming silhouette really does seem to flatter all shapes so I convinced myself to step out of my usual fitted shirt comfort zone and give it a go. Two versions I've been particularly swooning over are Sallie's tencel denim shirtdress and Lauren's cute cropped shirt version.

The pattern comes in three lengths: cropped, tunic or shirtdress, with a multitude of options for the collar, placket and back pleat. I decided on a mixture of Views A and C - the faced hem and inverted pleat of view A and the traditional collar and button placket of view C.

I also thought long and hard about which size to cut as there's a lot of ease in this pattern. I was sorely tempted to size down, but after reading a few reviews I cut the correct size for my measurements (size 8) to ensure a good fit across the shoulders. I added 2.5" length to the back piece and 5" to the front piece and button band as the original cropped length of View A is very cropped. I'll lengthen the front piece even more next time as my bust makes the shirt ride up a bit higher than I'd like.

The only other adjustment I made was to overlap the back pleat 1" along the fold line - this reduces quite a bit of fullness in the back. If you do this, and you're making View A, don't forget to also adjust your back hem facing piece as it will be too wide if you don't. Ask me how I know...

The instructions are reasonably comprehensive and there's also a Kalle sewalong on the blog which goes through all the trickier steps in greater detail. I'll admit, I did need to refer to the sewalong for the yoke (my mind went blank, even though I've sewn 'burrito' yokes loads of times!) I also needed it for the sleeve cuffs - they're not particularly complicated to sew, but I think the instructions would have benefited from a few more diagrams. I had no problem with the collar however as the pattern uses my favourite Four Square Walls method for construction. There's even a separate smaller pattern piece for the under collar so you don't need to trim it down, hoorah!

I've now made several traditional shirts/shirtdresses with collars, but for some reason I still find the process quite daunting. This time I was determined to enjoy it, so I broke the construction down into five achievable chunks: button plackets, yoke, hem facing, collar and sleeve cuffs. It worked a treat - each chunk is substantial but not too overwhelming and you can see real progress at the end of each stage. I struggled most with the facing, probably because of the accuracy needed to get a clean, sharp finish around the curved hem. It's not my best work - mine isn't as clean and sharp as I'd like and there's still a bit of rippling along the hem, but I can live with it.

I also managed to avoid a whole construction step (buttons and buttonholes) by paying a quick visit to DM Buttons in Soho and getting them to add snaps for me! With hindsight I should have added one to the hem/facing area as well as it has a tendency to gape open. Never mind.

Eight snaps for a fiver, bargain!

For fabric I blatantly copied Sallie and made my Kalle shirt in a tencel chambray. As far as I can gather from a quick Google search, tencel (or lyocell as it's sometimes known) is a sustainable fabric made from wood cellulose, very similar in drape and feel to rayon. I'd agree with this as the chambray I used was not like chambray I've sewn with in the past. The depth of colour, the drape and the soft feel of the fabric are all noticeably different (in a good way) to a standard chambray.

I found it quite difficult to source tencel in the UK and eventually tracked some down at German based myfabrics.co.uk. I've had a long standing offer from the company to try out one of their fabrics and this seemed like the perfect time to take them up on it. The fabric arrived promptly and was even nicer than I'd envisaged. It washes and presses well and even though it has a similar drape to rayon I found it slightly easier to handle and sew as it doesn't shift around quite as much. It does, however, fray and shed fibres as soon as you look at it, so I was mightily relieved when all seams were concealed or finished. I should also point out that I had to lighten these photos (it was a dreary day when they were taken) so the blue colour of the fabric isn't as bright in real life.

Overall I like the finished Kalle shirt. The relaxed fit will take some getting used to, purely because it's so different to all the other shirts in my wardrobe. But on the flip side, it's really comfortable to wear so I think that's going to make it quite popular! x

Fabric was given to me free of charge by myfabrics for review. All views my own. 

Clara Bow Blouse (without bow!)

This week I've been mostly working on the Clara Bow Blouse from Til The Sun Goes Down. The pattern is inspired by 1930's designs and includes some nice design details such as a topstitched yoke, double bust darts and a buttoned side fastening. It doesn't require much fabric either, so I decided to try out the sleeveless version using some green vintage chambray from my stash. 

First off, you'll notice that there isn't actually a bow on my version! The bow is simply a rectangle of fabric (or you can use a handkerchief if you prefer) tied through a buttonhole at the centre front. I quite liked the neat look of the unadorned yoke, so didn't bother adding a buttonhole. I may add a bow later if I get a sudden yearning, but for now it's bow-less.

The pattern is well drafted and the instructions on the whole are precise and easy to follow. The diagrams were particularly helpful when trying to work out a couple of trickier areas such as the yoke and the button placket. The yoke construction is clever, it's basically sewing a facing in reverse. 

This is the outside view of the front bodice

The right side of the yoke is stitched to the wrong side of the blouse, then flipped round to the right side and top stitched down - easy! Just make sure you pay careful attention to your right sides and wrong sides at this point as it can get confusing. It's also worth noting that the shoulder seams are sewn wrong sides together for a clean finish on the inside (the raw edges are enclosed by the yoke). 

The button placket at the side seam was another new-to-me technique and despite not being a fan of any kind of side opening, I quite like how it looks. 

Very awkward side view, but you get the general idea

Unfortunately my buttonhole foot was being a complete pain in the arse when I made this top and I had to abandon the idea of buttons altogether. Instead, I used snaps, which was an idea given to me by Christina at Gussets and Godets when we met up for a coffee and sewing chat recently. Yes, snaps aren't particularly vintage looking and some nice old buttons would probably have looked better, but they're so quick and easy to apply. I have one of those wrench tool things for applying them and the entire placket took about ten minutes from start to finish, I'm a convert!  

With regards to fit I should definitely have made a muslin as there are several things I'd do differently next time round. Size-wise I went by the finished garment measurements and cut a size 10, which was a tad optimistic! There's much less ease in the finished blouse than I was expecting. It's wearable, but a tight in the bust area, so next time I'll cut a size 12 with a full bust adjustment. I'll also lower the bust darts and lengthen the whole blouse as it's pretty short, even on me! 

It looks ok with jeans….

and I like how it looks underneath a cardigan….

But I'll mostly wear it with my Simplicity 2451 skirt (see picture at beginning of this post) - the two garments seem to work well together with the blouse untucked. And you get a double chambray hit! x

Spring/summer sewing plans

Spring finally appears to have sprung - hoorah! I can walk round in a cardigan instead of a coat, sunglasses are required and socks have almost (but not quite) been discarded. Time to sew some summer clothes! So, in no particular order, here's what I'm planning:

A sundress, using this fabric... 

Vintage barkcloth

...and this pattern - New Look 6457 - although I'm undecided about the bodice shape, probably A or E.

A shirt dress, using this fabric, which is the same viscose print I used for my Pussy Bow Blouse, just in the black colourway. I bought the fabric a while ago from Fabric Godmother so it's not longer in stock, but there are lots of other gorgeous viscose prints in stock here.

I really like the idea of a shirt dress with princess seams and the new Butterick 6333 looks like a good match.

I'm also keen to use the two vintage chambrays I picked up at the Handmade Fair last year (they're under the yellow gingham in this picture). 

The green one would look good as a top (perhaps the Clara Bow blouse?) and the pink one a simple summer skirt, probably Simplicity 2451.  The yellow gingham will be turned into one of the vintage tops from this pattern. Currently I'm leaning towards the tie front top on the left, any preferences?

Realistically, this is all I'll have time to sew this summer, so I'm planning to take my time and really enjoy the process. Can't wait! What's on your summer sewing list? x 

Another blue skirt...

Ah, lovely Simplicity 2451! Gorgeous incarnations of this pattern have been popping up on my radar for years - here, here, here and here - the last one even uses leather rescued from one of my old skirts! Despite admiring the skirt greatly, I always disregarded it as a pattern to wear myself as I didn't think the tulip shape and front pleats were really me. Wrong! After making my Anna 6696 dress last year and having to add waist gathers out of necessity, I've since become a convert to a bit of extra room in the front! So when I was in need of a simple, easy-to-wear summer skirt, this pattern came calling.

For fabric I used some lovely Andover Chambray in Indigo from The Village Haberdashery. I can't link to it I'm afraid as I bought it as a bolt end. The piece was 115cms long and it was just enough for this skirt. The chambray is lightweight but still crisp enough to hold a pleat and was very nice to work with. It's also a great neutral colour and matches almost everything I own - which is handy!

The pattern includes some interesting design details such as a curved waistband, pleats to the front and slash side pockets.

These details add a bit of interest to the skirt but it's still relatively easy to sew together. The instructions  were perfectly clear and I sewed it up in an afternoon. The only two changes I made were to substitute a lapped zip for an invisible one and to eliminate the back vent. Based on feedback from other reviewers I went down a size from my actual measurements, cutting a size 12 of view C. This turned out to be a wise move and the fit is great - it sits lower on the waist than I'm used to which makes it super comfortable to wear.

I'm mightily impressed with this pattern, in fact this is the pattern I should have used when I made my herringbone skirt. Instead of faffing around like a halfwit, trying to convert the Kelly skirt into something it wasn't. Ah well, I'll know better next time. And there will definitely be a next time - I'm already thinking of a shorter wool version for autumn…. x