I purposely over-bought the black and while plaid I lined my most-recent Kelly Anorak, knowing I wanted to make (another) plaid, collared shirt. I had taken a break from my beloved Kalle and decided it was time to try the last pattern feature so I could officially declare it the best pattern ever (spoiler alert: it is.).

I almost chickened out last minute and cut the tunic version, but I stuck to my guns (and let myself be convinced by a few people) and went with the crop, mostly because that hem-facing looked too good. I added 2 inches as per us., but could easily have added another two.

This fabric is lighter and has a more open weave than most flannels, but it actually works better for this pattern. Because of the boxiness of this pattern, your fabric needs a good amount of drape, or it’s going to stick out funny. The drape did, however, also make the fabric shift a good amount which made the popover placket difficult. The fabric shifted when sewing the placket onto the shirt front, distorting the line of the plaid. I re-did it a couple of times, changing the direction of my stitching, but it still wasn’t perfect. If you are using a shifty stripe or plaid, you may want to interface the shirt front before cutting into it to stabilize in wash-away interfacing.

I also managed to screw up the seam allowances sewing the placket on and ended up having to make a pucker at the bottom to have the button bands line up. In addition, the underneath of the button placket got folded when I sewed the point at the bottom, but the top looked fine so I just left it. Finished is better than perfect, right?

I did have a couple of victories, though! I matched the inside collar stand perfectly, and one (but somehow only one?) cuff disappears into the sleeve.

All that said, this is probably my favourite shirt to wear right now. Black and white checks are one of my favourite patterns to wear and I pretty much live in collared shirts. It’s loose and comfy, but the cropped, high-low hem makes it fresh and I feel so cool wearing it. So yeah, the Kalle is officially my favourite pattern ever.