The Kalle shirt is a popular pattern within the sewing community. In my quest to find the perfect shirt pattern I thought I’d give it a try.

My favourite version of the Kalle is the cropped style. It also comes in a tunic and a dress. I didn’t want the top to be too cropped on me so I lengthened the front pattern pieces by 2.5 inches and left the back as is. I like the pattern but I don’t love it.

It feels like a lot of pattern pieces for the size of the pattern and the design is a little too boxy for my liking. The design is quite unique I think people would notice if you had lots of Kalle’s in your wardrobe. Not that this is a bad thing!

I was inspired by Kirsten’s version so decided to use my Lady McElroy fabric. The Kalle seems to be a popular pattern for this fabric!

I even added the embroidered lips – like Kirsten’s – but placed my collar on incorrectly! The print is so busy it would have been hard to notice so it’s a nice little detail just for me.

I made a size 12. Unfortunately, my fabric came with a printing flaw in the repeat. The flaw isn’t noticeable now that it’s been constructed into a garment.

If I made this top again I’d do a swayback adjustment, shorten the back length and remove extra width from the centre back. I love the length of the back of Gabrielle’s version.

I prefer the top of the shirt slightly unbuttoned. I feel really top-heavy when it’s fully buttoned up. This shirt looks great with skinny pants and jeans or pencil skirts.

In contrast to the Kalle shirt, the Melilot blouse by Deer and Doe use to be my favourite blouse pattern. It is more fitted through the body and looks good styled with both skirts and pants.

I recently made a dress from the Sew Over It Libby Shirt  (pictured below). The instructions for sewing the collar are terrible! The shape of the neckline doesn’t suit me as well as I expected. Traditional collar stands suit my style better.

I want to make more shirts and am struggling to decide on my perfect shirt. I might hack together a Kalle Melilot in The future. Unless I try the Archer  hmm decisions!

Favourite features of the Kalle :

• Back yoke adds more structure to the pattern
• Pleat detail adds extra ease for movement and the pleat detail can be changed to be a design feature

Favourite features of the Melilot:

• Bust darts add shaping
• Drafted for a C-cup
• More shaping through the body which is better for my hourglass figure.
• I don’t like the curved hem. I prefer a straight hem as it’s more versatile. this is an easy adjustment to change
• I’d need to add a swayback adjustment to my pattern. When I first made shirts I didn’t know much about fitting.
• Go up a size and check fit through the biceps and back – I have strong arms.

Let me know if you have any favourite shirt patterns.

Happy sewing