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Pattern Review: Closet Case Patterns Kalle Shirt and Shirtdress

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Kia ora fellow sewing mavens!

Being a gal “workin’ for the man” full time, I’m somewhat lacking in sewing time (and let’s be honest, patience), I want each pattern I purchase to work multiple ways, preferably straight out of the packet. I want those garments to work on a drizzly Auckland Monday in July, or a humid February Sunday brunch. Also, obviously, I want to look fabulous the whole time… *cough cough* can’t be that hard surely?

Actually I think I’ve found a wee pearler. The Kalle shirt and shirt dress from Closet Case Patterns started popping up on my radar a while back, although at first, it didn’t really grab me. The dress felt too short , the high low hem too dramatic… and I’m as likely to wear a cropped top as I am to give up cheese & Chardonnay…

BUT, I saw a really quite lovely dress version online I’ve since sadly managed to lose in the ether that is Pinterest. It was longer than the pics on the packet, and the seamstress talked about the VAST amount of ease in the pattern. Interest piqued!

Pattern name: Kalle Shirt & Shirtdress by Closet Case Patterns

Size range: 0-20 which is 31″/24″/33″ to 46″/39″/48″ (79/61/84 to 117/99/122 cm)

What size did you make? I made the 18 which is 44″/37″/46″. My measurements are actually 44″/40″/50″, and it fits a treat. Yep, that much ease!

What are your measurements, height, and body type? I’m 5’5″ (166 cm), and am all about the curves, full bust (16DD), a wee tum and generous hips and thighs (I’m less Apple, more Brie…?). I also have very generous biceps, so often require a full bicep adjustment.

What adjustments did you make and how long did they take? For the dress version in blue linen I added 5 cm in length front and back. It was the work of minutes, I just cut each piece at the lengthen/shorten line and measure out 5 cm. Next time I would probably add another cm to the front piece only as I like my knees covered. But best of all? No bicep adjustment!!!

What fabric did you use? The blue dress version is a lovely soft laundered linen, the red tunic is a crisper poplin.

What was the construction process like? Did the instructions make sense to you? Good instructions. Clear, logical, and I was particularly impressed with the instructions for the easy collar assembly, which I would use on other shirts/shirt-dresses in future. I was concerned the bias on the curved hem would drive me to drink but it’s actually really straight forward and gives a lovely finish. The only bit I found slightly tricky was the cuffs on the sleeves, although once I stepped back and stopped overthinking it, they were fine. However its one area I didn’t find the line drawings OR sewalong especially helpful.

How do you like the pattern’s fit? Do you think the design works well for your particular body shape? I love the fit, its generous without being ridiculously loose, skimming over my curves really nicely. The thing I was most concerned with was the sleeve fit: would they end too far up my arm? I think the point they hit means I would actually be comfortable wearing either of these versions without any additional coverage. But the ease means I can also wear the linen dress with a merino jersey underneath, with boots and tights this is a perfect work outfit for a chilly Auckland winter. The fullness in the tunic makes it perfect to wear with skinny jeans!

Will you make the pattern again? If so, what fit or design changes will you make? I will definitely make this one again, I’d like a silky version in pretty rayon for spring (but you won’t be seeing the cropped version in my wardrobe any time soon…).

Do you have any advice on this pattern for other curvy sewers? Are there any resources (blog posts, fitting books, tutorials) that helped you sew this piece up? I found the sewalong on the Closet Case Patterns website really helpful , it’s great indie designers are doing these, it does make a big difference for more visual learners like myself.

However, I think it would be great when doing sewalongs if designers thought a bit more about the contrast between the fabric and thread, particularly view on a smaller screen like a phone, rather than what looks the most visually pleasing. Sewing an example where it’s impossible to tell where the seam is on a dark coloured fabric rather defeats the purpose (which I found on the green cuff example, I couldn’t tell what was going on). I don’t want to sound super critical as often a lot of time had clearly gone into these, but I do think it would be something to consider going forward.

Pattern Rating (1 is the lowest score, 5 the highest)

Size Range:  size 20 isn’t great, but do bear in mind the amount of ease!

Instructions:  4 clear, concise and a helpful sew along.

Construction Process:  5 came together really logically, especially tricky things like collars and curved hems

Final Fit:  5 perfect as far as I’m concerned (while acknowledging I added length to the dress, it couldn’t have been easier, and that is personal choice, if you want to go shorter, go for it!)

Overall Rating:  4.5, wish the sizing was more inclusive, but other than that, I’ve made two, and will make more, nuff said!

Comments

  3. Love it,! Brought the pattern today!
    You are a great inspiration to start sewing again. You are the same size as me and you look incredible in the dress . Thank you for blogging

  4. This is good to know on the pattern. I am getting back into sewing (its been 30+ years) and have been looking for easy patterns that won’t end up making me look like I am wearing a bag.
    The shirt/dress compliments you well, it looks very nice.

  5. Thanks so much for your review. I just cut one out but have been a bit apprehensive about how it will turn out. Your measurements are almost the same as mine so I think I should be very happy if it looks as nice as your versions. Although now I think I should have added more to the length. I can’t wait to get home from vacation to sew it!

    PS so agree about the visuals on tutorials. I mean, you shouldn’t even have to say it. The designers sew, and they have eyes, don’t they? Lol

    • Thanks Annie, I’m sure it will be fabulous! (and I’m so glad Im not the only one who thinks about sewing while on holiday!) 🙂

  6. I love your reviews and am so glad you share your sewing. I too overlooked this one as I didn’t really think it would work for me but after reading your review, it’s going straight onto my list of must makes. Unlike you braving our very cold winter this year (although I’m in Aus), I’ll plan mine for Spring.

    • Oh thanks so much, its a fab pattern, a Spring version will be perfect (she says, looking optimistcally out the window at more rain!)

  7. I am been sewing since I was young. I never mastered the button hole. I have moved on to quilts and bags. You did a great job with the dress and shirt. I wish I could as you do. Thanks for sharing it.
    Happy Creating
    Donna

    • Thanks Donna, to be honest I wasnt much good at buttonholes until I got a new Janome that does most of the work for me! Which made my Mum chuckle, in her day they learnt buttonholes by hand, can you even imagine!?

  8. I am so glad I stumbled on this post from Bloglovin! I am a quilter and bag sewist. PJ pants and simple girls sundresses are about the limit of my clothing sewing. Your opinion? Is this pattern doable for a beginner? I LOVE the whole look on you – especially love the arm coverage. Thanks for the post. Would love to know your thoughts on my giving it a go!

    • Thanks so much Barbara, now while I wouldnt have called this patterb beginner exactly, I’m loath to say dont give it a go as I do think with enough time and care any pattern can be achivable. In fact one of my early makes was a collared shirt for my husband, my sisters thought I was nuts trying something so complicated so early on, but although its not perfect (the placket on one sleeve has an “interesting” twist effect!:) he loves it & wears it often! I think if you really love a pattern you will be more inclined to keep going even if its gets tricky. The instructions are clear, AND the sewalong is a real bonus for a beginner, I would TOTALLY say give it a crack, I’d love to know how it turns out too!

  10. I really like how you varied the backs of the 2 garments, giving the blue dress an inverted pleat, while the red tunic got a box pleat. A great way to create subtle differences in multiple makes of the same pattern. Very clever.

    • Thanks Amy! My husband thinks its the accountant in me coming out, I want maxmium value from each pattern so I make the same thing multiple times, I much prefer to think Im being creative (and if Ive made it before I know it fits1) 🙂

  11. Beautiful makes, and you look beautiful in them. What I like is not just that the fit is great, but the proportions of the collar, cuffs, placket, etc., the various pieces in the construction, are all so well proportioned to one another and also to you. I think this proportion issue is not well addressed by a lot of pattern designers for curvy sewists.

    • Thank you so much Robin, I agree re the proportions, making something relatively complicated that fits comfortably while still looking elegant is quite a feat (hence I’ve made two versions & there will be more:)

  13. Thank you for the review on this pattern. I like the Closet Case designs, but I hesitate to buy Closet Case patterns because they are limited on the size and you never know how much ease is included in the design. Just how much ease is there in this pattern? It would be helpful to know. Thank you so much for taking your time to do this review for us!

    • Hi Mary, I made up a size 18, the difference in the Bust between the Size Chart & finished Measurements chart was 9 inches, the differnce between the hips was 7.5 inches, so a LOT of ease, hope that helps!

  14. Hi. I noticed the sleeve length on the finished product seems a little short. I perked up at your comment about full biceps and wonder if you considered bringing the length down, especially at the outside of the sleeve? It seems a little snug still along the back of the arm as well (as viewed from your back photo). As additional comments or recommendations for the full bicep girls?

    • Hi Victoria, I did think about a wee bit of additional length with the poplin version, but I wanted to see how it made up first (the linen was a bit more forgiving), I think perhaps the pics are slightly deceiving , there is actually plenty of room in the sleeve (anything remotely tight around my upper arm drive me nuts so I would definitely notice!), I actually wore a merino long sleeve jersey under the linen dress & still had room to wave:) My bicep is 16.5 if that is any help. I think if you wanted to add length to the sleeve you could add some additional length to the main pieces and also make a wider cuff which would give you more coverage while still keeping the proportions accurate?

  16. Absolutely fabulous. I enjoyed the detail of your post and I love your writing style. I feel like we are gabbing over a cup of tea!!

    • Thanks Janet, I really enjoy writing, I’m so glad you enjoyed reading it 🙂 (and mines with milk & one sugar thanks!)

  17. Yessssss! I’ve been waffling over this pattern, wondering whether I could really pull it off. But you look fantastic! So now I’m going to have to give it a go. 😀

  18. you said
    “However, I think it would be great when doing sewalongs if designers thought a bit more about the contrast between the fabric and thread, particularly view on a smaller screen like a phone, rather than what looks the most visually pleasing.”

    I agree 100%. I thought maybe I was too critical, but honestly for sew a longs, pattern designers shouldn’t pick the most attractive fabric to sew, pick a fabric that easily shows contrast and thread!!! Like a muslin. In the end post show the dress in the lovely fabric!

    You look amazing! So stylish! Love it! Thank you for sharing!

    • Ok thanks for that feedback, yes I didn’t want to sound super critical as its great designers take the time to do sewalongs, but my laptop blew up recently so for a while I was having to watch everything on my phone, so hard to see what was going on! Thanks for the lovely comments 🙂

  19. Yay! I’ve been thinking about this pattern a lot but I wasn’t sure if the line of the dress or the bicep area was generous enough for me. You look fantastic! Thanks for the review!

  20. Love your Kalle in that blue linen! I made a Kalle and sadly it was a total FAIL. I fiddled with the pattern however (FBA & forward should adjustment) and although I followed Heather Lou’s sew-a-long for the FBA, it ended up a disaster 🙂 I don’t think it’s a pattern meant to be fiddled with as you’ve demonstrated. Just pick your size and go for it! Because I’d made the adjustments on the original (I know silly lazy girl for not copying the pattern first!) I ended up tossing the works into the bin never to be seen again I’m afraid. I learned some lessons however – whenever I see a similar pattern where the sleeves are part of the bodice it won’t be easy to do the adjustments I usually need to do so best leave it alone 🙂

    • Oh how disappointing for you, I must admit I’ve had a few patterns like that, its frustrating to say the least! To be honest I wasn’t sure I had the skills to do any major adjustments (I’ve never done an FBA, although I don’t have a big difference between my high & full bust which I think helps) so it was possibly more good luck than good management on my part ! 🙂

    • Interesting….I’m curious if we had the same issue. I muslined an dartless FBA as per the tutorial on my high bust size. Looked good in the bust, but created a weird, giant diagonal bunch of fabric in the shoulder and caused a weird sleeve fit issue. (I’ve noticed this on a number of photos of Kalle on IG…?) The back shoulders and yoke were too small. I think I’d try again with my full bust size and just try as it drafted. OR Fba with a dart.

      Kristina- your versions look completely FAB though, and give me hope that I can find the right fit.

      • Thanks so much, I really hope you give it another crack ( maybe just go with the full bust size as drafted?) and get a great fit, it’s so disappointing to go to all that effort for not a great result!!

  22. Looks fabulous. I might have to try it as we appear to be body doubles..same height, bra size and measurements and I too have big biceps. It looks great on you and yes a rayon version would be perfect for Spring here is Canberra as well as Auckland.

    • Thanks Jo, one of things I love about pattern reviews/FB groups is getting an idea of what a pattern will look like on an actual fabulous real life body ( as opposed to an actual fabulous 18 year old model body or a line drawing!), so much more helpful! Good luck with the rayon version 🙂

  23. Brilliant. Love the placket especially on the linen version where it’s more obvious. I also really love the pic with the umbrella! (I’m sure it was probably just a practical thing to keep off the rain but it really works visually 🙂 )

    • Thanks Jenny, my husband (& photographer) wasn’t convinced at first, but I loved the pop of orange, and it really was raining, in fact it still is!!

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