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Kalle Kalikimaka

Debbie Christensen Closet Case Patterns Fabric finished project floral Liberty of London Patterns sewing pattern

When winter gives me a bad case of the gray-sky glums, it helps me to just make something a little frivolous and fun. It also helps to get away.

 closet case kalle shirt liberty floral

I've been wanting to make a Kalle shirtdress since before it even had that name, back when Heather of Closet Case Patterns made it a year and a half ago. I could never find quite the right fabric or look that I wanted, so I just held off on it.

closet case kalle shirt liberty floral

I was at Porco, our local tiki bar, and everyone was wearing Hawaiian shirts, even the imbibers, and there I sat stewing with jealousy in my flannel shirt. The very next day I started this Kalle. It's very important to have the right outfit for occasions like these.

closet case kalle shirt liberty floral

This Liberty print is part of their new Spring / Summer collection, which we ordered in late fall and came at just the right time. Even though I am not a pink girl, I really love this hot coral color, which I would definitely describe as pink.

closet case kalle shirt liberty floral

This is View A of the Kalle, which is a cropped button-up shirt. The only change I made was to lengthen the front by 4" to make it roughly the same length as the back, but I think it ended up a little longer than the back. Oh, and I finished the hem with bias tape rather than a facing. A facing would have been too much structure for the hem, I think.

closet case kalle shirt liberty floral

In keeping with the tropical vibes, the buttons are coconut husk with blue resin. You can really splurge on buttons with this shirt -- I only needed four.

Making a muslin would have been a good idea. When I first tried this on, I wasn't too keen on the volume or the length or the dramatically curved hem. It is quite voluminous. But the more I wore it, the more the style started growing on me, and now I love it. It's a little out of my comfort zone, as it's definitely a statement shirt, but it's so fun to wear.

closet case kalle shirt liberty floral

One thing I have trouble with is wearing it in cold weather. This type of sleeve doesn't wear well under a cardigan, and since this print already straddles the line between tropical and old lady, I think this will have to be a summer shirt.

This is totally a Closet Case outfit. Based on how tight my pants are, you might think these are the skinny Ginger Jeans, but in fact they are the Morgan Jeans. I wrote about the here. I made them in a medium-weight linen that relaxes by the end of the day and I have to pull them up, but at first they're nice and tight and I surprisingly don't find them uncomfortable at all. And my shorts in the first photo are also the Morgan Jeans, but short, obviously.



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  • Heath on

    Such a nice job! Love it!


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