Wednesday, August 7, 2013

DIY Maternity Top and Skirt


My first maternity outfit this pregnancy!

(Don't worry, that bump's going to get a lot more impressive/whale-like)

Last time around I wore pretty cute stuff, but it was all super basic and I only made a few skirts, that's it. This time I want to buy as little as possible and alter/repurpose/diy myself a wardrobe that's a little closer to what I actually like to wear when I'm not knocked up. 

I dove right in and decided to turn my favorite chambray shirt into a maternity shirt. No tutorial, but it was super easy. I measured and marked a straight line across the front of my shirt a couple inches below my chest. I also marked the quarter, half and three-quarter points on the line and marked my elastic at the same points (to help make sure I stretched the elastic evenly). I cut my elastic to about 60% the size of the width of my shirt (if it were 10 inches, I'd use 6 inches of elastic). Then I just stretched and stitched away (I left a gap in the middle because I didn't want to bunch the button placket. I also sewed the button placket shut so it didn't gape). 

The skirt is also super easy. I bought a thrifted skirt in my favorite color, a couple sizes too big (so I could slip it on when I unzipped it to the right length). I ripped out the zipper, sewed the seam back up and cut the top of the waist off. I used 2 inch elastic, so I held the skirt up to my desired length and cut it off about an inch and a half from where I wanted the top of the elastic to sit (you need to leave that 1/2 inch for a seam allowance). I like a little bit of a dip in the front to go under the belly, cut accordingly. 

I happened to have a t-shirt in the exact same shade so I cut it to 5 inches, folded it around my elastic, pinned it to my skirt and sewed that bad boy it (be careful not to sew through the elastic). The only trick after that is to sew through the elastic at the side seams so that the elastic doesn't flip on you.
Sorry for the vague instructions, I have time for sewing, but I really don't have time for tutorials these days. Hopefully this gives you a little inspiration to make a maternity wardrobe that works for you. Happy crafting!