Maternity Sewing Thoughts

In my last post I referred to the fact that I would like to sew as much of my maternity wardrobe as possible. Given that I actually don't usually want to replace my RTW wardrobe, I'm not sure what is driving this, other than... I can! I also haven't actually seen much in the way of exciting maternity RTW around.

I recently took my old maternity wardrobe down from the suitcase on top of the wardrobe, and I also took the opportunity to pack away some of my normal clothes that no longer fit (sniff… goodbye old friends), in a bid to make dressing in the morning a bit simpler. Instead I have been left with a giant hole in my wardrobe. When I was pregnant with Small Boy, I borrowed quite a lot of maternity clothes, so my true maternity wardrobe is somewhat limited, and only features a handful of dresses and a couple of tops. What I do have is 4 years old, and has been worn A LOT. There are now things I have gone off, and some things that are just looking a bit shabby. Plus, I seem to have lost some items.

So, I need dresses, tops, trousers and skirts to cover casual and work wear.

Some thoughts:

I can't make trousers or jeans so these are obvious candidates to buy.

For financial reasons, I don't want to buy a lot of maternity patterns, so I need to try to use patterns that have life beyond maternity, that I have already, or that are free.

I probably need a lot of cake, but will allow myself a bit of frosting.

Dresses

I have considered a few options, but the strongest candidates, I think, are the Made by Rae Washi dress and the Burda Anda dress. I already own the Anda, but have never made it. I'm not convinced I will actually wear the Washi once no longer pregnant, as I generally don't like empire line style, so I am breaking my own rule already but the style seems perfect, plus it already has a shirred back, allowing for comfort and rib cage expansion. Elastic is good when pregnant. 

Washi Dress

Anda Dress

Bottoms

Megan Nielsen Virginia leggings. I am not a huge wearer of leggings normally, but they are comfy. I am thinking possibly in a ponte.

Possibly a standard to maternity jeans refashion. There are a few tutorials on how to do this online.

Gathered elastic skirt a la Shivani. 

Virginia Leggings

Tops

My mum gave me the Megan Nielsen Ruched Maternity Tee pattern for my birthday, so i will definitely make a couple of these. Kathryn, of Kathryn's Busytown, has very kindly offered to lend me her Perfect Nursing Tee pattern. If she is happy to do that, I will be eternally grateful, and will also make a couple of these too. This style is very similar to one of the lost tops I had previously. 

There is one maternity top that I made last time around, which was extremely unflattering, but I made it in lovely Liberty Tana Lawn, so I am hoping to be able to do a bit of refashioning to try to make it more wearable for this time.

The Washi can also be made in tunic length, which would work with the leggings.

Scout tee. My burgundy colour one is still going strong, although is starting to get a little tight. I am considering just sizing up and making this in a drapier fabric. Actually, the Hemlock may work too.

Perfect Nursing Tee

Ruched Maternity Tee

I also have a Pinterest board dedicated to Maternity tutorials and inspiration, which may well deviate me away from some of the above.

One final thing I'd like to make myself, that doesn't fit into any of the above categories, is a dressing gown. A lightweight cotton one. I have a pattern in the Liberty Book of Home Sewing that is designed to be made up in Liberty silk. Gorgeous, but for practicality and cost reasons, I think a cotton lawn would suffice! Something pretty to wear in hospital and for wearing on the days when I don't quite manage to get dressed until 3pm!

If you've been following my blog for a wee while, you will know that now I have documented this, I am unlikely to stick to it. Remember my summer sewing plans for last year? But actually, as long as I keep in mind that I need a limited number of tops, bottoms and dresses, and that I make them in a combination that work together, that doesn't matter. The above are my thoughts just now. If I decide the Anda doesn't work, or I don't actually want to wear leggings, then I just need to come up with something else instead.