FO: Cielo in Bleached Linen

Friends - I kind of can't believe I'm actually typing this sentence, but... I'VE BEEN SEWING MYSELF SOME CLOTHES! I've been wanting to get back into sewing clothing for SO LONG. My weight has been so up and down (and extreme) for the last few years, plus I've just been spread so thin with time that I couldn't make it happen even if I wanted to. This past July, I used my Sewing Studio trip as the kick in the pants to actually make myself some clothes. I bought a big cut of this lovely bleached linen and decided I would finally make the Cielo top as my first foray back into sewing for myself with entirely different measurements than I ever had before when I was sewing, so it's like starting completely fresh.

So this is the Cielo Top & Dress from Closet Core Patterns. Obviously I'm really late to the party on this one, but last Thanksgiving I bought the whole Rome pattern collection (Cielo Top, Pietra Pants, Fiore Skirt) and I was really excited to try them out even then. So when I decided I was officially going to make something for myself, this was an obvious first choice back. I combined it with a fabric I was also excited about: medium weight linen. I've become slightly obsessed with the idea of converting my wardrobe to natural fibers, especially linen. I hunt for it at thrift stores and buy fabric online. I made this up in a 5.3 oz bleached linen from Fabrics-Store.com that I got on their 38% off introductory deal when you give them your email. Just going by my shopping in a store at the beginning of July and then comparing online, their regular prices on their linen are fair, but when you add 38% off - I was all over it. It's weird - I'm still a very "cheap" person in terms of how much I'm willing to spend on fabric and clothing in general, but this past few months I've had a switch in my brain to being willing to pay for quality natural fibers that will last. I'm still cheap - still shop in thrift stores and all that - but I have been more mentally ok with spending the money on linen and merino and silk - all the things on the higher end of the price spectrum. Not sure what happened there. Anyway - this fabric is a lovely, medium weight that is not too sheer. I wear religious garments, so white shirts can be problematic when the fabric shows more than I want it to. This weight of linen is perfect for me, but I will confess their 3.7 oz is a little too sheer for my comfort (just in case you wanted to get some for yourself). 

The pattern is a boxy top with a few sleeve options (hint: this sleeve isn't one of them). The top itself just has some darts at the front and a back shoulder yoke - that's the only shaping. I do love the back yoke and it really helps for telling front from back when getting dressed. I'm not usually one to go for the boxy silhouette, but I had seen some versions made up in a drapey fabric and thought I could make it work for myself.

After looking through lots of Cielo tops on Instagram, I decided I wanted to hack this to have a puffed short sleeve. This was very easy to do - I just used the gathered long sleeve top piece for the volume, then I made a straight cuff for the hem and gathered the bottom into that at the length that I wanted. Easy peasy. 

The pattern certainly did come out very boxy. I'm fine with the looseness, but what I don't love is how far the armscye drops on me or how wide the shoulders were. As I've been getting used to sewing for my "new body", I've noticed that my shoulder area is usually a much smaller size than the rest of me - Example: this top was sewn to my size in the chart - 16 - but I took the shoulders in 5/8 inches on each side and then are still a bit too wide. That's several sizes smaller in the shoulder than the body. I made a different top shortly after this and laid my finished (i.e. shoulder narrowed) top on the original pattern and I went from a 16 body to an 8 shoulder. Crazy. Anyway, I couldn't do anything about the armscye at the time, but if I make this again I think I will have to make the same type of change and raise the arm hole up to a different size. 

Personally, I think the boxy shape looks good on people if the other areas fit perfectly, so next time I will make sure the shoulders and armscye are spot on and see how that effects how I feel about wearing it. I also need to make sure of the length before I cut next time. 

This was the shirt version, which is designed to be a bit cropped so I deliberately cut my pieces longer, but given my long torso it still came out very cropped indeed. I had to make bias binding with the scraps so that I could preserve as much length as possible. I don't love how this made the hem pull away from my body, but it's better than it being too short for sure. I just don't think I can tuck this version into any bottoms without it being lumpy. I do love the overall finish I achieved on this - my only gripe is that I failed to read through the pattern first, so I didn't even think about using bias for the neckline instead of a facing. It's been a few years, folks. Bias is my preferred neckline method and I can't believe I didn't think of it. Because I used a facing, I did make extra sure to finish it off nicely and top stitch it around the neck, so at least it doesn't flop around.

 

I do think this fabric worked beautifully for this pattern. Structured, but flowy. Nice drape. Not too see-through. Very soft. Really a beautiful fabric to work with in general. 

All in all, I'm really with how this came out considering it was my first time with this pattern. I think it looks fine while my arms are down, but when I lift my arms it turns into a very low arm-holed box on me. I don't even think it's the boxy shape that I don't like so much as the arm hole being so low that it looks sloppy. I don't see this happening with any other versions I've seen of this pattern, so I guess this is a me thing? But it's not an adjustment I've ever had to make before on anything else. Next time I would do a hollow chest adjustment, narrow the shoulders a bit more (maybe 3/4" each side), see about raising the armscye, and lengthen the hem. I was hoping this shirt would be a go-to woven t-shirt pattern, but I think I'm going to try a few others before I hack this one so much.

Have you made the Cielo top? I know it's been a popular one for the last few years and I'm glad I was finally able to try it out myself. It made for a good first step back into sewing after a several year hiatus.

Summary:

Fabric: 1.75 yard 5.3 oz Bleached Linen (IL109) from Fabrics-Store.com = $21.11

Pattern: Cielo Top & Dress by Closet Case Patterns = $12.00

Notions: Pellon SF101 fusible interfacing - $1.50, thread - $0.50

Time: 5 hours

Total Cost: $ 35.11