So there are many days I opt for clothing that makes me look less like a light bulb, and more...let's see...streamlined. Some women THRIVE off their new curves while they are pregnant, and while there are some new, uh, assets I am more or less pleased about, I am not always thrilled about every pound lovingly gained and all the glorious new shapes they create. There, I said it. Although - it really is a short time that you have to feel this way - and then it's over! And there are so many other parts of being pregnant that I really do enjoy, so you take the good with the not so good.
But there are some days I do truly relish my baby bump. So much so that it makes me happy to show that sucker off with the clothes I wear. Kind of like a silent shout out to everyone passing by: "Hey everyone! Guess who's knocked u-up!"
There is a blog I follow called Cotton and Curls, mostly for sewing tutorials, and I was pleasantly surprised last summer to go back in the archives and see pictures and tutorials she had posted while pregnant with her second boy. I loved how she dressed her awesome baby bump, not keeping it completely concealed under baggy shirts, just wearing whatever she darn well felt like!
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| Ok, now I'm laughing because I used this exact fabric for my skirt, AND I'm pretty sure I'm wearing the same target tee, tied the same way as her. |
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| Love that pencil skirt! Not sure I could pull that one off - maybe in a darker fabric? Oh, and I am unable to get rid of the picture of her husband...I swear I'm not trying to be as creepy as I seem. |
I was having one of these weeks a little while ago, combined with the urge to sew something for myself. Finally I settled on a high-waisted elastic skirt - something super easy, but also really cute! I thought it deserved to be shared, especially because you would do the exact same steps for a non-maternity version. Ok, here we go!
Materials:
-1.5 yards of desired fabric. Mine is a quilting-weight cotton (Sarah Jane, Out to Sea)
-Coordinating thread
-Basic sewing supplies (tape measure, fabric scissors, etc.)
-1 package of elastic (mine was 3/4 inch, though up to 1.5 inches would be fine)
1. Measure around the smallest part of your waist (usually under your ribs). Pregnant ladies - measure right above your tummy. Mine was 29". Next, minus about 7" from that number. So I got 22". Add one inch to that for seam allowance, which made for a final number of 23". That's how wide I cut each panel (there will be two). Mark with a pin or disappearing fabric pen. Determine how long you would like your skirt to be. Measure from your waist to wherever you want your skirt to hit on your legs, then add four inches to that number for hemming and an elastic casing. I kind of had no choice but to do 25" in length, because I had 50" of fabric to work with. So, you're cutting two panels the same size, down the length of the fabric. Mine were each 23"x25".
2. Face the right sides of each panel together and pin on both sides. Next - sew each side at a 1/2" seam allowance. You may serge or zig zag the raw edges of the seam and press them to one side, or just press them open like I did.
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| Optional: Look over at the large pile of once-folded laundry in the middle of your bedroom/craft room and instead stop sewing to play hide and seek in said pile with one very cute two and a half year old. |
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| Also - be quick with your ironing, or you may somehow end up getting a mini marshmallow melted onto the bottom of your iron without noticing how it got there (above mentioned child may have had something to do with that). |
3. Time to make an elastic casing. While the skirt (which should be a tube right now) is still inside out, iron the very top of it down by 1/2". Turn it down again, and make it big enough to accomodate your elastic. Since my elastic was 3/4", I turned it down by just over an inch. I found out later that I should have done a little more. You should really turn it down by about a 1/2" more than the width of your elastic. Press the fabric again.
4. Sew this down at the inner edge of the casing. Don't sew it shut though - leave about a 2" gap unsewn so that you can feed your elastic through.
5. Measure the elastic by wrapping it around your waist snugly, then minus a few inches off of that number. Cut. Take your elastic and attach a safety pin (or in my case, jam a paper clip through) so you can easily feed the elastic through. This takes a bit of time and patience to get it through to the other side, especially when your casing is just barely bigger than your elastic (whoops!). Once it comes out the other end, overlap the ends of your elastic, and sew a few times with a zig zag stitch.
6. Tuck the elastic into the gap, but don't sew it shut yet. Try your skirt on and makes sure it's a snug (but not too constricting) fit. If it needs to be snipped a little more (mine did), then do so now, and then just zig zag it back up, and tuck it back in to your casing. Next sew the opening shut (sew along the bottom edge again, joining the gap between the the seam you just sewed).
7. Hem the bottom anywhere from 1-2" (using the same double turned method as for the elastic casing), and you're done!
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| 20 weeks |
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| 24 weeks. Skirt pic is at 25 weeks - see what I mean about streamlining? |
I'm not really a seamstress, but I might have to try this one! Looking in my closet at my heavy, dated skirts has been making me sad, but this could help spruce up the wardrobe!
ReplyDeleteAlso, the bump is simply adorable. :)
Do you have a sewing machine Jac? This is really a very easy project and soooo much fun fabric out there to use for it!
DeleteI don't have my own, but both Mom and JudyMom have one. I think it would take me a while to brush up, but I should make it a goal to at least try. :)
Deleteyou did a great job Stef! Such a cute outfit - and I love the picture of the boy :)
ReplyDelete