Kalle Shirt in Embroidered Poplin

I was in Spotlight in the depths of winter, looking for something different entirely, when I happened open a roll end of embroidered poplin that was marked down due to being stained.  It wasn't exactly cheap but I took a punt on it anyway because the fabric just spoke to me.  I didn't realise at the time that some of the embroidery was also beginning to come undone.

When I got home, I popped the fabric through the wash and lo and behold those pesky marks just washed out!  I put the fabric in the cupboard while I figured out what I wanted to do with it and while I waited for the weather to warm up. 

 By the beginning of spring I was pretty sure that it was destined to become a Kalle Shirt by Closet Case Patterns.  With a bit of careful cutting I figured I should be able to make it work.

With my pattern bought and printed, I set about cutting it out.  I had to lengthen the pattern by around 5cm to get it to be of a decent length, somewhere between cropped and tunic length.  I only just had enough fabric and certainly not enough to pattern match but the alignment gods were smiling on me that day because it turned out pretty well considering.  Because of fabric constraints I had to find a piece of fabric for the yoke lining.  The embroidered fabric would not have worked here anyway as the stripes would have shown through to the right side.  For this I used a piece of cotton poplin fabric that had started life as a valance and was in my scrap bin.  The other change I made and this was also due to fabric constraints, was to add a cut on front placket.  I added 5mm to the width of the button hole placket and used the same method as the Thread Theory shirt to create the placket which is created with a bit of strategically placed top stitching and clever folding.  After I finished the shirt, I had to do a small amount of embroidery repair but looking at it now, you would be hard pressed to tell.

I am really happy with the finished shirt.  It is quite boxy and certainly this alone puts it out of my usual comfort zone but it works well with jeans or fitted pants and skirts.  Will I make another?  I think I would but next time maybe out of something a little more drapey.