Maternity Fashion: Shirred Waist Tank Dress

This was my "really hopeful" dress, that didn't turn out well enough for me to really wear in public, but knowing what I learned from it, it might be useful for some adventurous soul out there!! For now, it's the last of the Maternity Fashion series (I can't believe I've got nearly 2 weeks of posts here!!) although there is one more dress I keep MEANING to try... so maybe I'll get to making it, photographing myself in it, and actually posting it before I'm not pregnant anymore! There's also the "hybrid pant" I should probably make myself too...

Anyway... this was a test run for a maxi-dress that never really happened. It started as a major experiment (that failed too miserably to share) and turned into a fabulous dress to beat around the house with and was SUPER cool this summer!!

Things to note that would have made this a success:
1) No matter how many rows of shirring you use... your fabric will only shrink by half.
2) Make the finished shirred measurement slightly SMALLER than you are around so it fits snugly where you want it to.

This top is almost the same as the top I used for the cowl-neck dress, except that it isn't cowled! It has a high neck in the back, and a scooped neck in the front, with 2 layers of knit for each, sewn together at the neck and arm-holes and turned inside out for finished neck and arm edges (use a stretch stitch for those). To form the shoulders, I turned the back inside out, and pulled the front through until the raw edges met, then sewed straight across with a straight stitch. then I pulled the back right-side-out again, lined up "right sides together" and straight-stitched the side seams of the bodice. You can use a well-fitting tee for the pattern if you have one.

For the skirt, I SHOULD have measured my rib-cage measurement (or the bodice measurement) and multiplied by 1.75, and then made a giant rectangle that width and the length I wanted the skirt (plus an inch for a finished edge, which I do like on this dress) and THEN shirred it. There are plenty of tutorials on-line for shirring fabric, but the basic run-down, is to hand-wind a bobbin with elastic thread, and sew straight lines across your fabric in a few rows (at least 4). When you're done shirring the skirt top, turn the bodice inside out, insert the skirt so all the raw edges are together, and using a stretch stitch, attach them.  It's a good idea here to "overlock" (with a serger, a stitch and cut foot, or just a zig-zag over the edge) that seam so that it lies nicely after washing ;).

Then hem the bottom! You can use a stretch stitch, a double needle, or just straight stitch it, since it's a wide-based skirt.

You can PROBABLY make this dress in cotton vs. a knit too! To make it so you can pull it over your head, add an extra 3"? to the back panel, and before sewing it to the skirt, shirr 6" in rows down the middle - you'll get a shirred detail on the back, and give yourself some "give" room to pull it over your shoulders!

This type of dress can be made for little ones too - and if you want a better pattern, find a tank made of about the same material as you plan on working with and use it to build a bodice!


-Betsy

Maternity Fashion: Cowl Neck Maxi Dress

I had a wedding to go to at 14 weeks pregnant. I had no idea how big I was going to be, and seeing as I popped at 12 weeks, I was concerned I might balloon!!  So I made this dress, which fit VERY differently at 14 weeks than it does at nearly 33 weeks! BUT, it does prove that this dress will take me all the way to the end of my pregnancy!

The best part? I've gotten multiple complements on it, my bra doesn't show AT ALL, and it was "fancy" enough to go to a wedding in!  I'm not normally a fan of "cowl necks" but making this one myself, and in the manner that I did it, I like this one. This is a "crud, I need to look presentable and FAST" dress... throw it on, and go!  Hopefully I'll be able to explain the process a little. There was MUCH experimentation in making the top here, and no photos taken 20 weeks ago, so we'll see!

I started with a regular tank. High neck in the back (x2 pieces) and a low neck in the front. The cowl is actually a large trapezoid.I determined the width of the top of the trapezoid by holding the fabric up to my shoulders to form the "drape" I wanted and added 3" to each side for the shoulder straps and seam allowances. The bottom of the trapezoid was matched to the width of the front tank piece so they would align correctly. The height was the distance from my ribcage to the top of my shoulder, which was 13" (I think).

Now, the trick for me being happy with the cowl, was to sew the raw edge of the top of the cowl, to the neckline of the front portion of the tank. That means that the raw edges of the fabric are tucked inside, and can't "pop out" and turn your cowl inside out, OR show more cleavage than intended. The shoulders were... finessed into being, involving a weird kind of fold. I should have taken pictures, and I'm not sure I'd be able to repeat the process!!

Needless to say, once I got the bodice the way I liked it, I attached it to an overly full skirt. Two pieces of fabric, the width of the bolt were sewn into a tube and gathered with a basting stitch to match the "around" of the bodice. With right sides facing together, a wide seam allowance was sewn, and then a narrow one to make a casing for elastic. I had to make this elastic MUCH shorter than anticipated, due to the weight of the skirt! (I was actually worried about the skirt being about 3" too short, but the weight of the fabric just HANGING grew it to just at my ankle! Such a happy accident!  As with most of my knit projects, the bottom of the skirt is unfinished, but it's OK, because knit is wonderful!

I do apologize for this being a very poor "how to" but take confidence in the fact that it was made out of a VERY flowy knit, and with all the folds and gathering bits, I was able to make it without ANY pre-made pattern!  I am by NO MEANS a seamstress - the only sewing instruction I've ever received was from my mom at age 7, a little tip here and there from Grandma... and 7th grade home-ec!  It might look a little "homemade" but it's still totally acceptable for public wear! It's been a church staple since that wedding, and I've even gotten compliments on it!

Don't be afraid of knit - just remember to use a stretch stitch where it needs to stretch!

-Betsy

Maternity Fashions: Kimono Tunic

Yesterday, I posted about turning a Kimono Tee Pattern from BurdaStyle into a ruched tee, and today, I'll explain how I turned that same pattern into this tunic! (This is NOT a pattern, or really a tutorial. You'll need your own set of sewing skills and experimentation gusto to make this top!)

(yes, I normally wear stretch pants with this top, 

but I was being lazy and "just getting the photos taken." 

That's as little "leg" as I could manage for you!)

This top is a little more complicated than yesterday's, but JUST as comfy!!  There's two ways to make this, and I'll explain the way I did it... and then the way I'd do it if I was to do it again. 

Using the same $2.00/yd knit from the value bin at Hancock Fabrics, it's actually THREE pieces of fabric... the bodice, the front of the body and the back of the body. You'll also need a length of 1/4" elastic that fits snugly around your bust line.

The bodice is made just like the Kimono Tee's, but it stops about 1" below the "arms."

The bodice has identical front and back pieces, that start at the same width as the bottom of the bodice, and move out in an a-line to your final wanted width. You'll want to make sure you have PLENTY of room for a growing belly and tushy (Ideally 1.5 times your widest measurement) The length is measured from your bust-line to where you'd like it to hit your legs, plus 1 inch.

Sew the a-line pieces into a tube, and turn it inside out. Then sew the tube to the bodice (right sides facing) with a 3/4" seam allowance all the way around, and then again at 1/4" seam allowance from the edge but NOT all the way around... leave about 2" unsewn. You've just sewn a casing for your elastic!!  

Now, when putting elastic in, make sure you "try on" the elastic so that it fits you snugly, but not uncomfortably, or too loose. Thread it through the "mini tube" of fabric and stitch the sides together, and then finish stitching the casing closed. Essentially, you are done now, but I did a few little "extras."  

The first, was to make sure the elastic gathered more fabric in the tummy area than in the back, so I tacked a few stitches through the casing so there was more fabric in the front than the back and the elastic wouldn't spin.

The second was probably more "important" - adding some fabric flowers to the front. Not only did this help me figure out which was front and back (since I tacked the fabric, it now HAD a front and back), but it makes it look "finished". One was a twisted flower - a thin strip of the knit fabric twisted and stitched as I went until it was about an inch and a half wide. And a "quarter fold" flower. The same knit cut with pinking shears in VERY not-circular circles. The wonkier, the better actually!  4 large circles, and 4 small circles were cut, and then folded in quarters so there were a bunch of layers, and then arranged in a circle and sewn together. To give it some dimension, when stitching it to the neck of the tunic, I put a stitch through the top layers of the smaller flowers. 

Play, have fun! Try your own version of flowers, or different fabrics!

Now, if you haven't already tried making something out of your fabric, and are not piecing this together from what you have left... when you cut out your bodice, just extend it as long as you'd like it to be +1" and put a HEAVY a-line in below the arms. Then fold so that "right sides face" at the bust line, and sew at 1/2" seam allowance to make a pocket for your elastic, leaving a 2" gap. Then thread your elastic and finish sewing up your casing. Ta-da!! Much easier. :)

-Betsy

Maternity Fashions: "Ruched" Shirt

This shirt is actually a mistake. A SUPER COMFORTABLE mistake, but a mistake never the less!  I found this pattern for a "Kimono Tee" on BurdaStyle.com and decided to try and make a tunic out of it by lengthening it. Well, I didn't account for the belly or hips when I did, so I ended up with this super-tight, really long shirt. Not ideal. SO, I figured I'd try "ruching" the front to make it fit over the upcoming belly. I used a basting stitch on the front half of the fabric starting 4" from the edge of the sleeves to the edge, and gathered it up, well... until it looked nice and hit a good spot on my hips really. Then I pinned it to the back side and sewed the two together (with the back remaining flat). I then trimmed off the back in a nice curve (to help cover the bum). Since it was made of knit, I didn't finish ANY of the edges. And this fabulously draping green fabric was in the Value Bin at $2.00/yard!! So the shirt cost me about... $3.00. I've gotten compliments on this shirt out in town too! And surprised a few people saying that I MADE it!. Tomorrow I'll tell you about successfully modifying the Kimono pattern into a tunic!

Just remember: when you go to sew clothes, or anything really... don't be afraid!! You never know what you'll end up with, and there's USUALLY a way you can fix it - and make a statement while doing so!

-Betsy

Maternity Fashions: Refashioning Pants for Baby Belly: NO panel?!? But a draw-string!

After trying "Full Panel Jeans" and "Partial Panel Capri's" I was still looking for the "perfect waistband" for this cranky pregnant belly, and decided to make a pair of Bermuda shorts that felt like my PJ's.

The key? A draw-string. The thing is... if you just throw a draw string on your pants when your pregnant... you end up with... a pouch. That... isn't attractive. SO, as with the other types of maternity pants: we're cutting out where the belly goes here too. BUT, this time... when you make your cut, make it 1/2"-1" SMALLER than where you THINK it should be, because we're going to turn the front edge of those pants into a casing for that drawstring. If that means you can't cut out the whole zipper - then cut the zipper itself out, and sew up what's remaining of the fly.

With these pants, you shouldn't use pants that are too-small in any way. A little bigger than you need is best. These pants came from the thrift shop, and have been worn a BUNCH - they are my "go-to" pant. Although, if I was going to make another pair at this point, I'd make a hybrid of this and the partial-panel-pant... which I'll explain at the end (since I haven't actually made one yet).

So after we've cut our belly-section out, we simply fold over the edge semi-circle hole as much as you allowed for before. Make sure that it's 1/4" MORE than the width of your elastic. I used 1/4" elastic, so I had a 1/2" casing. You won't go all the way around the pant, just around the belly opening. Now's where we hit the "gritty" portion of my maternity refashions. The little details I DIDN'T worry about, since no one was supposed to see it anyway!

With a pair of scissors, cut two small holes in the outside of the casing in the front - very tiny... just enough to fit a safety pin in. You'll be using those holes for your drawstring (and to thread your elastic). First: the elastic. With a piece of elastic that fits snugly around your body and under your belly without being uncomfortable thread the elastic through the front casing, into the waistband around the back, and back through to the same hole you started in. (I tend to cut it longer than needed, tack it with a safety pin, and wear the pants for a day, to adjust to make sure it's the right length.)  In these pants, I had to snip a little holes on the INSIDE of either side to bypass the side seam. No worries if you need to do this... who's really looking at the inside of your waistband anyway?!?

Once you've got your elastic threaded through and the right length, you'll tack the two ends together and tuck them inside that little hole you started with. Then, you'll take a shoelace (I used a ribbon, but it would have worked better with a bias tape or something with a little flex to it.) and thread it around so you can "tighten it up" as needed - just like your PJ's.  And ta-da! You have a pair of pants that you can tie up against the un-sensitive parts! The only downside? You don't get that "bare skin protection" of a panel - so this is a good style for long tee shirts, tunics, or days you REALLY don't care. As your belly gets bigger, you'll have to be more careful. Fortunately? I needed a brace for the 2nd half of the pregnancy, and it "covered" me - but the brace was visible. This is why if I made these again, I'd make a 'hybrid' version.

To make a hybrid version, I would follow basically all the same instructions as shown here, but also sew ina panel when I sew the casing in the front: purely as a "skin cover-up". In that case, you'd pin back your casing edge, and lay a piece of knit large enough to cover the opening (and folded for a nice edge around the waist) underneath before sewing it. You could totally cut the "extra" off around the seam allowance after sewing too, so feel free to use a rectangle. If I make another pair of pants, it'll definitely be that way!


-Betsy