Shirt Dress For A Bump

Here are a few more things I made for the growing belly this summer.  All of these were for back to work.  I've worn the shirt dresses a bunch of times already, but haven't worn the separate pieces at all.  The best part about all of these pieces is that they don't look like maternity clothes (I think?) and I definitely plan to wear them after baby is here.  The shirt dresses in particular will come in handy when I have to go back to work after giving birth.  Don't ask me why I seem so prepared for all of this baby business!  I'm really not.  At least I'm not prepared in any other aspect of life. But I guess my wardrobe is prepared.  Ha! I did get all summer to think about what to sew and then had the time to do it, so that helped.

Pattern Description: The pattern is one I've made before, McCalls 7314.  In fact, when I blogged about this particular dress before, I actually noted that it would be a great maternity pattern.  And it is!  It's a typical shirtwaist dress but with a raised, curved waist seam.  It's perfect for a growing bump. And I will absolutely be wearing my very first version when the weather gets a little cooler (it's below).  I left the elastic out of the back waist in that version but I like how it looks with tights and boots. The sleeves are from a different pattern.

Pattern Sizing: 6-22.  I made a 14.  

Fabric Used: I made the navy, shibori print dress first.  It's a rayon poplin that I bought from fabric.com a while back.  I've seen many other folks with the same fabric and for good reason.  It's really nice stuff.  I think rayon poplin might be my favorite dress fabric.  It's got great drape but is way sturdier than rayon challis and totally opaque.  I made the black and white gingham version next.  It is a rayon challis I've had for a while, too.  The top version is a plain white rayon challis that I bought yards of when Hancock closed down.  And the pants are made from the leftover rayon poplin from my very first version of the dress above.  I'm trying to sew through some of my stash as my fabric closet is going to be new baby's closet.  I've got to downsize!  I'll make some quick notes about the pants at the bottom of this post. 

Alterations/ Deviations: The navy shibori print dress has almost no alterations except my standard square shoulder adjustment. I played around with the shoulder fit more on the gingham version (and the armscye), but honestly, I think the shoulders look better on the navy version.  I also played around with button placement on the gingham version but I like it better per the pattern.  The gingham dress is longer, too.  About three inches, I think.  I spent forever matching up the checks on the gingham when I cut out pattern pieces.  The bodice looks decent but there is a little slant to the skirt. Oh well.  It was not fun to cut out.  I made the blouse last.  It's okay.   I put the elastic in the back waist of both dresses but did not like it in the top version.  So I left it loose and billowy.  The top version seems to fit so much larger for some reason.   Maybe fabric choice- cheap fabric, looser weave.

Likes/ Dislikes:  I love both dress versions. The curved waist seam is just perfect for a belly.  I plan to wear both dresses after baby, too.  I'm hoping the buttons will make it nursing friendly.  Like I said before, the blouse and pants haven't been worn at all.  I think I like both pieces separately, but not together.  It's too much fabric to wear at once.  I'll wear the blouse with a skinnier bottom but I'll probably just save the pants for later.  You can't tell in these photos, but the blouse has fun buttons.  They are clear with glitter.

And just some quick notes about the pants:  They are Butterick 5893.  I made view A, the straight leg version with side seam pockets.  I cropped mine.  I also shortened the rise a little bit.  They have an elastic waist.  They feel nice to wear in rayon poplin again, but I'm not sure what sort of top to wear them with.  I'll have to figure it out.

Conclusion:  Great shirt waist dress pattern. Perfect for summer and also happens to be perfect for early maternity wear!   I took these photos the same time I took the photos for my last post.  So this is just a 15 week little baby bump.  It's getting bigger now.  I think it's time to look at actual maternity patterns and for colder weather, too.

Well, Hello!

Well, hello there!  I didn't mean to be absent from this space for such a long time.  But it seems my posts are fewer and far in between as time goes on.  However, I have good reason for being silent for some time...

 Baby!  Yes, baby number 2 is on it's way.  I found out I was pregnant the second day of summer vacation (I'm a teacher) and have spent the whole summer taking it very easy.  It was fabulous.  I thought my timing with my daughter was great before.  I had her in April and got to stay out the rest of the school year. But I think this timing is even better as I got to spend my entire first trimester at home.  I'm back at work now but it's going well.  Baby is due early February.  I will have to go back to work the last month of school or so (womp, womp - American maternity leave).  But then I'll get all of next summer, too.  I've felt like my baby bump is enormous this time around, but looking at these photos I realize it's not.  Ha!  It's just a little bump.  I took these photos a couple of weeks ago so I think I was around 15 weeks at that time.  I am a little bigger now!  We still don't know it it's a boy or girl yet, but we'll find out in a few weeks.  Jane says she wants a little brother, believe it or not.

Since I was home all summer thinking about my school year and new arrival, I spent lots of time sewing for a bump.  I was actually making the orange dress in my photos when I found out I was preggo.  And I thought it would be a great dress for skimming over a little bump, with a few alterations.  So I made four versions!  I figured this would be a great dress/top for a growing bump but also would be nice for after pregnancy.  To the review...

Pattern Description:  The pattern is Simplicity 8333, a jumpsuit/dress pattern with a crossover bodice for knit fabrics.  I thought it looked like an easy pattern for summer when I first decided to make it.

Sizing: 4-20.  I made a 12.  I am typically a 14 but I usually size down when I make a knit pattern.

Fabric Used:  All knits, of course, but different knits behaved differently.  My favorites are the orange dress and the red/pink longer dress.  Those knits are a rayon blend and had strong recovery.  The black and white tie-dye top is a bamboo knit from fabric.com.  I works well for a top but would be too drape-y for a dress.  The green version is my least favorite.  It's a rayon jersey (Dakota jersey from fabric.com) and is too thin and wrinkly.  I think maybe it's a cotton/rayon blend?  Can't remember.  Anyway, I like well enough but I think it looks sloppier than the others.

Likes/Dislikes:  I love the bodice with the cut on sleeve.  It's the main reason I made these.  The skirt is modified from the get-go.  When I cut the pattern, I noticed that the skirt pattern piece was just a perfectly straight rectangle which does not work for someone with saddle-baggy hips like myself.  So I used the top of the rectangle as a guide and made it in to a-line shape to accommodate my hip measurement.   They all have pockets except for the top version.  I know people don't like pockets in jersey, but I love pockets no matter what.  

Alterations/Deviations:  In addition to the skirt modification I mentioned above, I also added elastic in to the neckline of all versions.  When I sewed on the neck binding, I threaded a long piece of 1/4" elastic through the binding like a casing.  I pulled the elastic slightly and sewed at the shoulder seams so the back neckline is nice and taut.  I just pulled the elastic ever so slightly at the front bodice to keep a little tension on the front neckline before sewing the bodice to the skirt.  It worked well on all versions except the green one (because the knit is so droopy).  I'm so pleased with the elastic in the neckline because that neckline is not going anywhere!  I also sewed one snap at the front where the bodice pieces crossover to hold in place.  My plan is to also wear these dresses after pregnancy while I'm nursing.  The elastic should keep everything from stretching out and I can undo the snap easily.  I cut all the back bodice pieces on the fold, too, except for the red/pink version due to amount of fabric. 

All the dresses have hem and sleeve length differences, too.  The orange dress is the shorter sleeve in the pattern and the skirt length is per the pattern plus one inch.  So it's a pretty short skirt as is, fyi.  The green dress I cut the longer sleeve and added several inches to the hem thinking I would wear this one to work.  I made the top version next.  And then the pink/red version is about ankle length because that was every bit of fabric I had.  That fabric is one I bought when Hancock was closing down.  I miss Hancock!

Conclusion:  Nice, easy knit dress pattern.  Perfect for a growing bump, but I stress growing.  The elastic waist does hit the top of my belly and I know once my mid-section gets a little bigger I won't want to wear any of these as is.  Maybe with a raised and curved waist it would work for an entire pregnancy.

Groovy Mama 3.0

Alrighty, friends.  This is the last of the maternity clothes around these parts, I swear.  I realize it was probably a little foolish to make two maternity dresses so close to the end of my pregnancy.  But I don't regret it.  I got a rush from being able to have my choice of two different dresses to wear to the baby showers I've had recently.   I get what some of you were saying about sewing things that make you feel good at this stage in pregnancy.  True.  So true.  And on a sidenote to any irl friends or family who read my blog: Thank you so much for the awesome baby showers you've put together and traveled long hours to attend for J and I.  We feel so loved and blessed.

 

Look!  The sun is out!  Come on spring...

I actually made this dress several weeks ago.  Before the wrap dress.  Or I should say I started it several weeks ago.  It's from a vintage Butterick maternity pattern.  I couldn't find a year anywhere on the pattern, but with that collar I'd say it was the early 70's.  I obviously didn't sew it up exactly as drafted.  I really liked the inset yoke, placket and gathering over the top of the belly.  I also liked that the pattern didn't call for jersey.  Everything I've made for maternity wear has been out of jersey.  I was craving using a drapey woven for something.  The recommended fabrics listed several different wovens and also double knit.  Double knit really doesn't behave like a stretchy knit, does it? 

 

I knew it was a risky make when I started out.  I figured it would be fantastic or be a giant, dated muumuu with the print I chose.   I had a weird burst of energy a few weekends ago and I made a muslin.  I managed the corners of the inset yoke just fine, but struggled with the bottom of the placket.  I decided life was too short and extended the placket to the end of the yoke.  Solved that issue and it was way easier to sew.  I tried out several different buttons and didn't like the look of any of them.  I left the placket without buttons.  It's tacked shut about halfway down.

 

I was very happy with the fit other than taking in the back princess seams quite a bit.  I predict that a swayback alteration will be a common one in my future now.  So I went ahead and cut out my fashion fabric.  I used a 100% percent polyester crepe that I found on the bargain table at my local fabric store.  Now before you go and judge me, answer me this:  If you can't use 100% polyester for a groovy 70's sewing pattern, when can you use polyester?   I really liked the print.  Every pattern piece is underlined with a super soft navy rayon challis (which you can see on the placket) so the poly never touches my skin anyway.  I think the combination worked well for this dress.  I actually sat down and basted my fashion fabric to the underlining by hand in the same weekend.  Like I said before, it was a weird burst of productiveness.

I sewed up the dress right away but I was stumped about the sleeves and collar.  The dress then sat for a while until I finished it right before one of my baby showers.  I knew I didn't want the giant 70's collar.  Even the collar stand piece looked large and exaggerated.  Instead, I cut a piece of bias and bound the neck edge.  I like the way the placket looks partially open.   The bound edge is simple and wasn't fussy.   I also knew the sleeves would be too slim for my liking.  I did a major slash and spread, cut them off at elbow length and then put in some elastic at the sleeve hem.   The actual dress hem is pretty bad.  I turned it up twice and machine stitched.  What is the proper way to hem something that has been underlined?  It was a little stressful getting an even edge.  I used my serger to finish all the seams inside.  Love that machine.

 

This photo cracks me up.  It's a classic sewing blogger pose-- touch hair and look down at feet.  Little do you know that I can't actually see my feet :)

Sewing has been a godsend during my pregnancy.  I'm so happy I was able to make somewhat stylish things to wear without spending an arm and a leg.  This was a situation where I was so thankful I can sew.  Click here if you'd like to scroll back through all my maternity wear posts.

 

And here is the 36 week belly from all angles.  These photos are from this past weekend.  I am only a little over three weeks away from my due date at this point.  I can't believe it.  I am so incredibly excited about what's to come yet so anxious about how much there is left to do.  Thank you all for all the well wishes and good vibes during my pregnancy.  I really appreciate all the support, advice and commiseration!  I'll probably be pretty quiet around here for a while, but I'll have some news at some point I'm sure ;)

Big and Bold

Ok, I'm going to pick on my mom here just a little.  I was in the middle of sewing this wrap dress (and another to-be-blogged floral dress) when she made the comment that maybe I shouldn't use a large floral print because it would make me appear bigger.

Bwahahaha!  Bigger!

Hehehe.  Snort, snort. Chuckle, chuckle.

She may be right.  But there is no hiding my size at this point.  May as well celebrate it, right?

After all the gray and black and blue things I've sewn during this pregnancy, I was really itching to sew something bright and colorful.  I am so ready for spring.  I love this dress.  Love it.  But boy was it a pain to sew.  I never want to see any wiggly rayon jersey again.  Or at least for a while anyway.  This is the other Burda maternity pattern that the wonderful Tj of The Perfect Nose traced for me.  I still can't believe her kindness and all the effort she went to.  I feel totally guilty that I asked for probably the two most difficult patterns to trace; a jacket that had eight billion pieces and this gigantic wrap dress.  When I say gigantic, I mean gigantic.  I've never seen pattern pieces so large.  I know Tj was cursing me as she was taping multiple sheets of paper together to trace.   I have to say it again, Tj-- You rock!  Thank you so much. 

When I first got the pattern in the mail, I thought I would be swimming in fabric.  Turns out when you are eight and half months pregnant that is not the case.  It fits pretty well.  This is the pattern with no alterations except taking about two inches off the hem.  Although I do think I took much larger seam allowances than the pattern called for.  It's very hard to be perfectly precise when using rayon jersey.  I know I took it in a bit just from trying to make everything match.  I did my first ever rolled hem on my serger.  It turned out ok.  I should have used a decorative thread in the right needle spot but I just used the regular old serger thread I bought.  I sewed this dress with the sewing machine and the serger.  I basted the seams on the sewing machine first and then took it to the serger to run it through again.  It was just too much jersey to mess around with.  It was quite difficult to wrangle it all.  The pattern is relatively simple, but the amount of jersey made it a difficult sew.

 

The facings flipped out terribly.  There was no way I was going to under stitch all those wiggle rayon facings.  Not that I think it would have helped anyway.  So I just top stitched with a narrow zig zag.  I'm calling it a design feature.  And I think it will keep the neckline from stretching out too much.   The pleats at the top of the sleeve cap are from the imprecise nature in which I sewed everything together.  I pinned in the sleeves and whatever ease was left was pleated at the top.  I love the big blouse-y sleeves.

I almost didn't make this dress.  I actually ordered two other fabrics before I finally settled on this knit.  One was an ity knit that was so incredibly heavy and the other a crinkly poly jersey that was too sheer.  Word of advice: just say no to poly knits.  This rayon knit came later.  It was a tiny bit sheer in the pink and white flowers.  So I lined it with tricot.  How do you pronounce "tricot" by the way?  I'm sure it's not the way I say it in my head.

  Ignore those wrinkles.  It feels like a sleazy bathrobe inside.  Which is great for a pregnant person.  Tricot reminds me of Halloween costumes.  I'm not entirely sure I would line something with tricot again, but it worked really well for this dress.  It keeps the jersey from showing every lump and bump and it cuts down on the sheer factor.  It was like having a slip attached to the dress.  I wore this dress to a baby shower this weekend.  It was fantastically comfortable.  I'm planning on wearing it every other day until I deliver.  Just kidding.  But I do think I will wear it a lot in the next few weeks.  And maybe I can wear it post delivery for a little while anyway.

 

And here is the bump at 35 weeks.  Four and half more weeks to go, my friends!  

Assuming she's punctual, of course.

The Urge To Serge

 Hey online sewing community.  Y'all are awesome!  I was so encouraged by all the great information and links you passed along in the comments the other day.   I sat down the next night and sidled on up to Sergio.  He is quite the gentleman, by the way.  Not nearly as scary as I though he'd be. Thank you so much for all the great suggestions and advice.  I watched this awesome video and I have had no trouble threading.  I threaded it the first go no problem.  I'd say the 1034d is super user friendly.  I used a bunch of different partial spools of blue thread (not sure why I had so many) and I ended up re-threading the machine several times as a spool ran out.  I highly recommend doing the same at first because now I'm totally confident in my ability to thread my serger.  It really is not too difficult.

 

Yes, that's snow and no, I'm not cold.  My crazy pregnancy hormones keep me hot and flustered all the time now.  We had about a inch of wet snow yesterday.  The only snow of the season.  

I watched a few other videos as well.  The dvd's that came with the machine wouldn't play on our old Mac laptop.  Someone else complained of the same issue, just fyi.  Then I rummaged around in the stash and came up with this blue ponte knit.  I measured the widest part of my hips, divided in two and cut two rectangles using that measurement.   I didn't add any seam allowance.  I figured the stretch would take care of some of that.  I also wanted the skirt to be snug so I can wear it post baby.  Then I cut two more rectangles for the band.  They were each twenty inches high so I have a ten inch fold over band in case you are interested.  Very slapdash methods, I daresay.  I tested the tension on a few scraps ( I did need to adjust the upper looper) and I was off.  Three seams later, I had a maxi maternity skirt.  This has to be the fastest garment I've ever made.  My only regret is that I didn't give myself some sweep at the hem.  It's a straight up-and-down column.  Which is okay.  But if I make another I'll add some width to the hem to make it more a-line.  In some of these photos I'm wearing it folded up a second time.

     

I attempted to use the blind hem foot on some scraps but it was a disaster.  I'll need some more practice before I master that.  So I just serged the bottom edge of my skirt and left it.  If I'm ever feeling more proper, I'll flip it up once and stitch on my regular machine.  I made another maternity tee next.  I used the same Burda long sleeve tee pattern as before and a rayon knit from the stash.  I did have to up the differential feed for this knit to prevent wavy seams.  Always test on a scrap first!  This time I added a bit of width as well as length for ruching.  I didn't bother matching any plaids.  Hope you're not too horrifed.  Pretty much every seam is either ruched or eased in anyway (all the bands are a tiny bit shorter than the edge they are attached to), so I'm not sure how I could have matched anything anyway.

Not much else to say.  These are definitely not the best executed garments in the world, but they were both perfect for learning to use my new machine.  I wanted to flip the inside out and take another photo, but I was too lazy.  You'll just have to trust that all my seams are nicely serged!  I'm so excited about all the options I have now and all the useful techniques I get to learn.  Again, thanks so much for all the suggestions.  I think I'm definitely going to take that Craftsy class eventually to make sure I take advantage of all the different functions my serger has.

  

This is the bump at 33 weeks.  Let me just say, it is getting harder to post pictures of my giant self these days ;)  I did my best to look cute and pregnant.  But I'll be honest, I feel like a sack of potatoes.  All lumps and bumps and bosoms.  Hehehe.  It's all worth it.  It's hard to believe I'm still going to get bigger.  Craziness!  We can hardly wait for this last seven weeks to pass by. 

Necessity is a Mother

Now is the time in pregnancy where I feel like it's important to have a sense of humor. 

 Otherwise I'd cry.

 

I feel like the Michelin man.  Or a stuffed sausage. Or Foghorn Leghorn (something about having all this weight up high on my body makes me feel like a rooster).  Baby went through a growth spurt last week, I believe.  The bump has all of a sudden expanded to basketball sized proportions.   It really is funny looking.  J and I giggle every night about this giant belly.  But we're so ready to meet the culprit.   I am 31 weeks now.  Only nine more weeks to go.  Holy cow.

Excuse the leaves in the photos.  Gutters were cleaned but I was too lazy to sweep aside the debris.  I'm back to feeling exhausted.  I think it's just from the physical side of carrying around so much extra weight.  I cut out fabric for the crib skirt yesterday, crawling around on my hands and knees on the hardwood floor and I felt the weight.  I had to put on some of J's knee pads.  

Anyway, I have run out of things to wear.  I don't have many things that fit anymore.  I have about five outfits that I can wear to work.  I just rotate the day I wear each item.  I've been looking longingly at the rest of my closet.  So I made a quick tee out of necessity.  I don't love it but it will have to do.  Pregnant girls can't be choosy.

 

I used my favorite Burda long sleeve tee pattern from the 2/2011 issue.  I decided to go slim fitting now that I have a big bump but I think it ended up a little too slim.  I cut my usual size and modified the front according to Zoe's maternity tutorial.  I didn't add any width, just length to ruche and I think that was a mistake.  That tutorial is a fantastic maternity tutorial for those lucky gals who only gain a bump and don't expand anywhere else.  I, on the other hand, have spread out all over.  I should have started with a size up.  If I make a maternity tee again (which I might soon) I'll add some width as well as length for the bump and I'll start my ruching down about an inch or so.

I did bands at all the hems to avoid battling the ripply hem.  I added a wide band at the neckline to look like a mock turtleneck.  I wanted a high neck to cover up my new bust line ;)   None of my stripes match because of the amount of fabric I had.  The stripe is really subtle on this knit so I think it's fine.

I can tell from wearing and from the photos that I need more width through the bust, shoulder and back.  My knit has super duper recovery, so a knit with less recovery may have fit better.  This knit has some spandex in it.  Anyway, it feels too slim for my tastes but that could also be personal preference.  It adds to my stuffed sausage feeling.  I'm wearing it anyway.  Like I said, it's a necessary tee.

 

We had our last ultrasound this past week.  We did one of those fun 3-d ultrasounds.  It was amazing.  We have confirmation that she is indeed a girl, so I can continue on with the pink.  And the ultrasound tech even spotted a little bit of hair on her head!  She kicks like crazy.   But then again, she hasn't stopped kicking like crazy since I first felt her.  It's a very surreal feeling.  I hope I don't sound too whiny when I talk about feeling super sized because I know how lucky I am to be able to experience this.  Every bit of it is worth it.  And it has all been fun- the good and the bad.   I can't wait to finally meet this little person who's been making such a fuss in my belly for last few months.

Winding Down

 

Quick and dirty.  Those are the two words I'm using to describe the making of this dress.  It was a fast make.  Super fast.   Which makes pregnant-me very happy.   I'm winding down my maternity sewing.  There are still a couple of things I'm planning to sew.  Only one definite.  But I think from this point forward it's smarter to focus on getting ready for baby.  We are busy working on the nursery.  I've started collecting various types of baby gear.  It kind of makes me panic when I think about how little time there is before she's here.  Three more months!  Ack!

 

I bought this particular pattern, Butterick 5679 and some double knit at a Hancock sale after seeing Carolyn's version a couple of weeks ago.  In fact, I even picked fabric close to what Carolyn used.  The highest form of flattery, right? ;)  It looked like a pretty easy pattern and I liked the raglan sleeve and cowl.  Like I said before,  I'm all about the quick and easy right now.   I've also never sewn a raglan sleeve before and I was curious.   With a little modification it made a great maternity dress (thanks for the tip, Carolyn!).  The double knit is not the best.  Some of those double knits they have at Hancock are really nice, and some not so much.  This one is extremely synthetic and has a slight smell after drying in the dryer.  But it's fine for winter time wear.  And pregnant girls can't be choosy when it comes to clothes that fit.

 

I made view B, but I did a quick and dirty full belly alteration (that's for you, Valerie!).  I'm not really sure if that's what it's called, but I like the description.  The lengthen/shorten line was just above the waistline on the front piece.  I cut straight across the lengthen/shorten line and stopped right before the side edge.   Then I pivoted out both pieces and added about two or so inches right where my belly would be.   I lengthened the entire piece by adding about four inches beyond that silly point on the original pattern piece and connected the side seams.  I ended up redrawing the side seam and smoothing it all out.  Actually, I didn't draw anything.  I made all these changes while cutting out my fabric on the fly.  Shame, shame.  But it worked.   I only altered the front piece.  I did not sew a center front seam.  I cut on the fold instead.  I cut the back on the fold as well and added length to accommodate for the alteration I made to the front.

 

I didn't have enough fabric for the full cowl piece.  The original cowl must be huuuuge.  I cut down the depth by half.  I think I'm happier with a smaller cowl anyway.   I matched my stripes but all the seams are still pretty obvious because it's impossible to match snowflakes, too.  I am not a perfectionist, if you can't already tell.  When I tried it on (after only about an hour and half of sewing!) I loved it but it was just a leetle bit too short for work.  So I added a hem band to add more length.  It took me about as long to add the hem band as it did to sew the whole dress.  I cut the band slightly smaller than the hem to pull it in a bit.  As a result, there is a little bit of misshapen-ness going on there at the side seam.  I can't make myself fix it.  I've worn the dress three times already.  I keep hoping it will work it's way out :)  Lazy, I tell you!

 

I actually made a muslin, can you believe it?  Well, sort of.   I made up view D (minus those silly hem points again- what is it with sewing pattern companies and pointy hems?!) to take a break from my jacket sewing over the holiday break.   I had high hopes that it would turn out wearable.  Meh.  It did, but I had to majorly modify the back piece.  The neckline was so incredibly wide at first that it slipped off my shoulders completely.  I pinched three or so inches out of the center back piece and re-cut the side and sleeve edges.  Then I resewed the sleeve on to the narrower back to fix it.  It's not the most flattering top ever, but it is comfy.  It sort of reminds me of a nightgown.  I'm planning on re-purposing the knit after baby comes.  I used a nice drapey rayon knit from my stash.  It's so large that I'm hoping I can cut another regular knit top from it later on.   Or possibly a baby onesie ;)

 

And this is the belly at 28 weeks.  Seven months!  I still feel really good. I was never thankful for my long torso until now (I could never find shirts long enough when I was younger).  I have plenty of room through the middle.  I don't feel too squished yet.  Yet being the operative word here....

*****

I think I'm going to write a separate blog post about this one day (maybe not), but I'm getting to the point where  I'd like for my sewn knits to be a little more polished.  I love knits.  I sew a lot of knits, but I do it on my regular machine and use a narrow zig zag.  I don't have patience for the stretch stitch.  My finish is lacking.  I leave most seams raw.  I overlock occasionally-- if it's an edge that will be seen.  My hemming sucks most of the time.  My machine hates twin needles.  What are my other options?  Are there other techniques out there I don't know about?  Is it time to look in to a serger?  And are there sergers out there that are affordable for a poor teacher with a brand new baby?  I'd love a Babylock, as recommended by a coworker, but I don't buy cars that expensive!  Anyway.  Just wondering if you guys are pro-serger or not.  Is it really worth it?  And if you are- what do you recommend?  Any advice is appreciated.

Happy sewing!

Baby, It's Cold Outside

 

Oh boy, oh boy, am I in love with this make.  Or should I say oh girl, oh girl ;)

 

Yes, I made a maternity jacket.  With a little help from a friend.  Actually, a lot of help.

See, I am convinced that pregnancy totally skews your view of what is socially acceptable for one person to do for another.  When you are pregnant, you think that everyone should drop everything they are doing and assist in meeting your needs.  It starts out innocently enough.  First, people start opening doors for you, picking things up that you drop, offering you their seat, offering to carry your heavy load....  Then something happens.  Maybe it's hormones.  I've started believing that people should wait on me hand and foot.  All the time.  Poor J.  He has no idea what he's in for the next three months. 

Haha! Ok, not really.  But I do feel like I totally took advantage of the lovely Tj of The Perfect Nose.  On one of my first maternity posts a while back, The Perfect Nose very kindly offered to trace some maternity patterns for me.  She linked to a couple of Burda and Patrones issues that she had.  My first reaction was that the offer was super nice.  But I wasn't going to actually request that she spend her precious sewing time tracing patterns for me.  But then those crazy hormones kicked in.... mwahahaha...

 

I went to check out all the awesome maternity patterns she had on hand and was smitten with this jacket.   So I happily sent an email back and asked her if she would mind tracing off the pattern for me.  Um, there were only about eight billion pieces involved.  (Man,  I'm sorry Tj.  I think I picked the most involved pattern available.  Along with the gigantic wrap dress-  which I will be making up later, don't you worry.)

There's no telling how much time was spent tracing patterns for me.  She even added seam allowances.  Seam allowances!  It was such a treat to not have to trace off a Burda pattern.  Nor add seam allowances, which I always seem to forget.  I don't think I can gush enough and tell Tj how grateful I am.  I am so tickled with how this turned out.  I have worn it everyday this week and I'm sure I'll wear it nonstop until I deliver.  And maybe even after.

 

Now to the pattern nitty gritty.  I made a muslin.  A straight up, real deal muslin.  I rarely do that.  I usually make up a pseudo-muslin out of some fabric that I really intend to wear.  Or I do a lot of basting and fitting while I sew.  But this time I made a muslin to check fit.  And I'm glad I did because I made several changes.  I lowered and widened the neckline, drafted a new collar, added an inch to the hem, nipped in the midriff and made substantial changes to the upper sleeve.  The sleeves were slim and I tend to need more width for my bodacious biceps.  I wanted the sleeves to be extra big so I could wear bulky things under this jacket.  I added about an inch of width, possibly more.  I did it on the muslin so I'm not sure of the exact amount.   There are some fit issues with the sleeve and armscye.  No doubt due to my alterations.   But I have plenty of room to slip on this jacket over a sweater, which is nice.

 

Because I changed the neckline so much (and it was a yoke piece- not a traditional front and back bodice) I decided to draft a new collar.  I was stymied trying to figure out how to alter the original collar to fit.  I've also never sewn a collar that looked like this one before (see paper pieces above).  I am, once again, so thankful I own Winifred Aldrich's Metric Pattern Cutting for Women's Wear.  There is so much invaluable drafting info in this book.  I whipped it out and had a new collar in no time.  Although I included original seam allowances out of pure laziness.  Sue me.  I figured it's basically just a rectangle anyway.  It worked just fine except it probably would have benefited from bit of slashing and spreading.

The sleeve vents are another story.  I'm not ready to talk about them right now.  Yes, my experience was that bad.  I almost left them off during muslin stage, but decided they looked too cool not to include.  I read many, many explanations and tutorials on the interwebs before sewing them.  I am still confused.  Sleeve vents are one of those things I'll attempt later on when my skills are better.  For now, I'm avoiding them at all costs. 

I'll even show you a picture of how sorry they look close up.  I sewed them up the only logical way I could think off.  I didn't mitre any corners.  My brain couldn't handle it.  I just turned up the hem and  machine stitched it.  Then I slip stitched the lining hem to the jacket sleeve by hand.  Ick.  It's not the way it should be done and it looks pretty sloppy.  Luckily I don't ever see them while I'm wearing the jacket :)  And can anyone tell me which way is the proper way a sleeve vent is supposed to go?  Is it upper sleeve over lower sleeve, or vice versa?  It's possible I did it backwards.  I did upper sleeve vent over lower. 

You can also see the fabric well in the above photo.  I have no idea what it is.  Some sort of suiting.  I swore it had some wool in it when I bought it.  But now I'm pretty sure it's all acrylic.   It came from the stash so I won't complain too much.  It drapes really well and is heavy.  It's almost a cross between a woven and knit.  The outside is the twill or corded weave you see in the photo.  The inside reminds me of double knit.  Yet it frayed like crazy.  I top stitched all my seams to keep the fabric from fraying apart inside.  It frays that bad.  I top stitched the yoke piece in yellow just because.  I like how it highlights the curved seam at the back.  The fabric is also fuzzy.  After wearing it for a week I've noticed little fur balls under my arms where the fabric rubs together.  And I couldn't iron it without a press cloth.  Shiny marks all over the place.

 The original pattern called for the jacket to made from suede. Many of the instructions were specific to working with leather.   So I scratched the instructions and made it up the way I thought it should be made up.  I lined the jacket with flannel for warmth.  But I used a slippery polyester lining fabric for the sleeves.  It slips on and off so nicely.  And I did the midriff band in the lining fabric, too, to reduce any extra bulk there.  Below are the guts in all their glory.  It's pretty wrinkly from all the wear in the photo.   I left all the length on the sleeve lining.  I probably should have shortened it but I wanted enough ease.   I bound the hem in bias, turned it up once and hand stitched it.  I stitched on all those snaps, too.  I did tons of hand stitching.  I searched high and low for the perfect yellow buttons and never found them.  Instead I was drawn to the pale minty green ones I used for some reason. 

 

All in all I really, truly love my new jacket.  It fills a major void in my maternity wardrobe (ha! I have five outfits that I rotate) since my fleece jackets don't zip over my belly anymore.  I know I will wear this everyday.  I can't tell you how pleased I am that it buttons over my belly.  Tj, I cannot thank you enough for your pattern tracing magic!!!

 

And just for fun-- The belly at 27 weeks.   I feel good.  She kicks me constantly now and I love it.   But I'm expanding everywhere.  Every part of my body.  It's all worth it, of course.  Can't believe she'll be here in three more months.