My Final Maternity Dress- Simplicity 1360 Again

As I am now 39 weeks pregnant, this will be my final contribution to my maternity "wardrobe" of things I made. I really only ended up making five dresses and three skirts. I was feeling fairly peppy until January, when my favorite thing became taking a nap after work. So not a whole lot going on around here sewing-wise. 

Since it was my third attempt, the knot looks the best on this one. 

I made this from that same pattern, Simplicity 1360, as my other two (floral print here and green one here). This one is a knit from Jo-Ann and it is really static-clingy. I wore this over leggings and with a slip and it still spends all day trying to climb my legs, which you can see in some of the pictures. The floral wrinkles insanely when it is washed, but the print is busy enough to hide it. The green one doesn't have any major problems, maybe since that is the bamboo rayon I bought from fabrics.com?

My only tip for making these is to try it on after you sew the front to the back and really pull and tug on the knot. Most of the time, pulling will open up some kind of gap either above or below the knot that you then need to sew up. Otherwise you end up with a hole directly between the boobs... unless that's what you're going for ;)

 It is great for its expansion capabilities- I can still wear it at nine months and it still has some drape in the front. Less on the sides.

Static cling on the sides. 

 Look at my big baby!

 A little bit squishier from the back, but what do you expect? I have gained 35 lbs, which is still in my target range.

The last few weeks have been really busy and hectic. The baby decided to turn breech about 3 weeks ago and we were trying everything to get him to turn head-down again. Went to a chiropractor, did acupuncture, the moxibustion where you burn incense next to your little toe, laying in all the weird positions from the spinningbabies website, talking to him, flashlight on where you want his head to go, and so on.

 Finally we tried the external version on Tuesday, where the doctor pushes on your stomach to try and physically turn the baby head down. That was really painful, but unsuccessful. So unless he magically turns before his due date, we will be scheduling a cesarean soon. Not quite what I had in mind, but I am getting used to the idea.


I have one more week of work (or less, depending on the baby's agenda) and now I am moving on to sewing baby things finally.

I will post a few more things this week, hopefully, but then I might fall off the earth for awhile!! Wish us luck with our new baby!

Maternity Skirts- Simplicity 1359

I made these skirts in early December and have been wearing them fairly regularly with tights or with fleece-lined leggings. You make the pattern in your pre-pregnancy size and it came out perfectly fine. It is a simple pencil skirt with a belly pattern with no ruching, which I personally dislike. The waist is elastic, so you can adjust it to fit. 

I took all of these pictures with a self-timer after school one day before the light disappears at about 4pm.

 I made three from knits from Jo-Ann. I made simple black one because I was tired of how my maxi skirts would bunch up around my tights. These are all a size 8. 

So neutral...

 I am still wearing all regular tops, nothing specifically for maternity. This is an Ann Taylor Loft one that was always a little big, and all of my Target tops are super stretchy and still work.

Side view-32 weeks pregnant

 This one is a grey knit with small gold polka dots. The side picture was super blurry, but you get the idea.

 This one is my favorite- a very 90s inspired neon cheetah print knit.

 I still look mostly like old Molly from the back (and I really need a haircut!)

 I always wear my shirt over the skirt, but this is just for your amusement! I look like I'm stealing a bowling ball!

I got the pattern on sale for $1 and it also has shirts, pants and a long skirt. I would definitely recommend it for anyone who wants to sew some simple and easy maternity clothes!! It's only four pieces and I made all three assembly-line style in just a few hours. Plus, they are stretchy knits so you will get a decent amount of wear out of them.

Only five more weeks and it's baby time!!

A nice green dress for Xmas- Simplicity 1360

 I wanted to make another version of Simplicity 1360, which I made over Thanksgiving break. I wanted to make a green one, both for general wearing and to have a holiday dress that fits. Jo-Ann of course had no green knits that were nice or the right shade of green. I ended up buying this from fabrics.com with some baby fabric; it is a hunter green bamboo rayon.

 But they had my old credit card number saved, and I was forced to get a new number with the Home Depot data breach. Then I had to fix the number after getting an email like five days later and I didn't think I would get the fabric in time to make the dress. Luckily, I got the fabric on Wednesday and I was able to cut it out on Wednesday night and then sew it up on Thursday.

Sadly, I couldn't find my Santa hat, but I got to have a reasonably festive outfit for our class party on the last day before winter break!

I did a much better job on the knot the second time around!

 This is from mid-December and I am much bigger now.

 Nice and simple back.

 I always blink. I still have quite a few pairs of tights that fit and can be pulled up over my belly (these are from Forever 21) so that's good. This week has been super cold and I am LOVING my fleece lined leggings I bought from Charlotte Russe. How did I not own any last winter?!? They are so warm and comfy and they have no elastic in the waist, so I will be able to wear them until the baby is born.

I cut out the same dress in a purple knit when I cut out the green, so I will whip that up soon and then I will have three! Perfect! They are great dresses and I will be able to wear them post-birth as my stomach (hopefully) resumes its previous shape.

Primar[il]y Hideous- Simplicity 8133

I made this hideous creature using Simplicity 8133, a pattern from the 60s or 70s. Vintage pattern wiki says 1969.  I thought it would work because it was a somewhat shapeless jumper, with a sort of A-line shape. It is for a 34 bust. 

Horrifically low cut? check. Front panel curling out? check.

 The fabric is some vintage polyester I bought at an estate sale a few months ago. I don't know why I thought large, primary colors (and grey) diagonal swirls would be flattering? Yikes.

Gaping armholes? check.

 I absolutely did not have enough to match the fabric either, so the back looks awful. It was about 2 yards of 60 inch wide fabric, but one third of the way across there was a big snag that ran the ENTIRE length of the fabric. That made cutting difficult. The snag is featured on the front flap that buttons under.

LOL a facing is poking out, but could you even notice because you are blind from the print???

 It's shockingly unflattering. So gross.

This dress makes the babby sad.

Um, so that has never been worn and will be disposed of shortly. It deserves to be burned, but I don't want to smell its polyester fumes!

Simplicity 1360: A Stylish Maternity Dress?

I knew I wanted to get some sewing done over Thanksgiving break, as I had five days off! I used Simplicity 1360, which is a maternity dress pattern with a twist under the boobs, and gathers in the center front for expansion capabilities. I bought the knit at Jo-Ann previously, and the pattern when it was on sale for 1.00, so I was ready to sew.

 Don't worry, I don't actually wear heels! All of my black flats are in a closet in my classroom, because I walk to school in sneakers and then change.

 The only part of the pattern that gave me trouble (which actually made me rage-quit on Wednesday and pick it back up on Friday) was the bodice part that forms the center-bottom part of the twist. All of these girls on the envelope are wearing solid colors, the pattern never says anything different for a print, but the back of my fabric is a whitish grey color. So when you pull it through the holes, it actually flips backwards and the white backing was showing. So I had to take it apart, cut out a second bodice piece to make it reversible, and then re-sew it back together. That solved it, but it was an unnecessary frustration. In part because I had never made any top or dress with a twist like that.

 From the back, I still look the same!

 From the side, not so much!! I am due March 3rd, so exactly three months from today! Exciting!

It's pretty and flattering and I am really happy with this dress! I had originally been looking for Vogue 1027, a mock wrap dress, from Kat's recommendation a few months ago. Of course, my Jo-Ann was sold out, but I thought this pattern was similar and it is!

I have one hideous failure to show you later this week, and I am working on my winter coat, which is about half done! Just in time, as I am on my largest coat right now and it barely closes! While I have had it for three years (?!?) I hardly ever wear it because the fur feels really over-the-top, but now I have no choice!!

Soon, soon....

Maternity Maxi Skirt

I bought the fabric and cut out the pattern right on the heels of making this dress at the beginning of September. The pattern is a "See n Sew" Butterick 5837 and I cut it out in a size 12 like the other one. By not leaving any time in between, I did not get the time to realize how giant that would make the shoulders! 

 Terrible fitting, and the whole bodice is lined and turned through a tiny hole, so it's not like it wanted to re-do the whole thing.

 Gack! In the end, I kept the skirt part to make into a maxi skirt and threw the top portion away.

 I have been wearing this skirt a LOT for the past month or two. It is just a simple rectangle, but I did take the time to match up the stripes at the side seams. I left it unhemmed, as it won't unravel. The waist is two parallel rows of half inch elastic, which was meant to sort of copy some knit pants from Target with a shirred waist (minus how itchy the shirring is).

 I can wear it with a shirt untucked over it, which is how I usually do. The print is from Jo-Ann and is just a somewhat thin knit. I have been wearing leggings or tights underneath as it is already feeling like winter here in Chicago.

 Tucked in also works, but it does make me feel like I am wearing a circus tent a little bit.

 I am for sure looking much more pregnant and there's no disguising it anymore! I am just about 6.5 months in.

 Close-up of the waist: the two rows of elastic are pretty comfortable and they don't twist at all. I used to wear it around my waist, but as that is gone, I just wear it under my boobs. I am all about being comfy!

This was a good make- I have two other maxi skirts as well (from Target and Forever 21) and they are working well for being pregnant in the cold weather.

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving, it was so nice to have a five day weekend!!!

New Look 6391: A maternity dress!

I made this dress well over a month ago and then it took forever to find three minutes to take pictures of it. I just finished two online classes and I forgot how incredibly time consuming they are! Right now I get a break between these ending and the next two starting, so I plan on sewing a TON!

This is a New Look pattern (6391)I bought at Jo-Ann fabrics because it was cheap. When I made it about six weeks ago, I was just on the point where most of my old clothes did not fit anymore. I wanted to find some patterns with room to expand, so this mock wrap dress seemed like a good candidate. 

 The fabric is a black knit from Jo-Ann that has very thin neon stripes. It is in fact reversible, which is two very thin knits that are somehow magically fused together. The other side is mostly black with tiny pinpoint dots, so I didn't use that. The two layers makes it nicely heavy and have a good drape.

 I left the skirt a little longer than I normally do, so that as my stomach gets bigger and the front rises a little, it won't be too short.

 My expanding baby! We found a few weeks ago that we are having a boy! I am so excited!

 It has ties set in the side seams that you can tie in the front or the back. I've got enough going on in front, so I tie it in the back.

I usually wear an 8, but I made this in a 12 to account for my new boobs and stomach. However, that made the shoulders way too big. I wore it a few times like that, but I had to wear a tank top under it because it was too low-cut and it would slide off my collarbones and looked sloppy.

I decided to take a V shaped pinch out of the shoulder seams towards the neckline. That really tightened up the gaping neckline, but the it made the sleeves have weird points on the top. Then I rounded out the sleeve heads and trimmed it and it is SO MUCH better! Now I can wear it comfortably, without gaping open or slipping around, and without a tank top underneath!

It is a super easy pattern and cheap, so if you want a mock wrap dress, I would consider picking it up.