Today I’m sharing my hack of the Cielo top by Closet Core Patterns. Although, it feels like a bit of a cheat to even call it a hack since it’s so darn simple!

This is view B of the Cielo top, the one with the crazy lantern sleeve.

When this pattern was released, I was a little skeptical of this sleeve. I wasn’t sure if it looked a bit too much. Also when I checked out photos online, I thought that on some people the sleeve seemed a little bit shorter than full length whereas other times, it seemed long enough. So I was really undecided as to whether I should modify the sleeve length. In the end, I didn’t alter the sleeve because I didn’t have enough fabric to lengthen it. In the end, however, I really like it. The shape, in this fabric at least, is quite architectural and I like the way hangs.

I started this project with size 12 of the Cielo top as it’s what I had cut out from the first time I sewed this pattern. The Cielo top caters for a hip size of up to 160cm (63 inches).

The fabric is thick cosy cotton flannel. Flannel is basically all I want to wear in winter, so I thought why not branch out from shirts to an entire dress of the stuff. I’ve had this fabric in my stash for a few years and can’t quite remember where it came from. I didn’t have a whole lot of it, so I definitely had some limitations in terms of pattern matching and options.

So, I ended up very pleasantly surprised by how well this turned out.

I cut the bodice of the Cielo top at the waist line, but otherwise, this is the Cielo top as designed. I used the facing option on my version, which is a lot more manageable for such a thick cosy fabric. The only other small modification I made was to skip the back yoke and cut the back all as one piece. I do adore the back yoke detail, but I didn’t have any fabric the right weight to use as a contrast yoke. So it was easier to just skip it and therefore avoid having to pattern match at all.

For the skirt, I have just gathered rectangles, simply based on the amount of fabric I had available. The length of my skirt pieces are 67cm plus seam allowances. I added some slash pockets, but, as I used the only pieces of fabric I had left, they are actually way too small to be useful. Not to self, a pocket which goes only one inch below it’s opening is not practically useful – everything just falls out!

Lesson learned: when you have only a few tiny rectangles of fabric for pockets, just make patch pockets!

I’ve also lined the skirt too ensure that skirt doesn’t stick to tights in the winter.

This dress basically came out exactly as I wanted. The sleeve is better than I imagined. When I add a belt, I feel cosy but put together. When I lose the belt, it is a gorgeous roomy cosy sack of a dress. But in a wonderful way!

Basically, can I wear this all winter long?

If you want to see more of my sewing adventures, you can find me on Instagram here.