Maternity Sewing Plan

So, my "maternity sewing plan". (Subject to change, as usual, of course). Since I didn't start sewing until late in my pregnancy with my daughter, this is an exciting endeavor for me. And, surprise, surprise there seems to be more & more "maternity sewing" tutorials & patterns cropping up every day (thank you, Pinterest!)

So, here's what I'll need.

Stick with knit tops. Wovens hang funny & ALWAYS include a bow or sash of some kind. For my first pregnancy, I kind of liked the bows. But now, well...I am NOT a present. Also, knit tops tend to flatter all the way through pregnancy. So, here's my plan.

Vogue 8581

Already in my stash, rated "very easy" and has a number of positive reviews!! Bonus--my FAVORITE maternity top from my last pregnancy was very, very similar in design. There's a good chance I won't need to do any maternity alterations on this one.

Wrapped Maternity Top by Megan Nielson

Images courtesy of Megan Nielsen

I swear, the first time I saw this pattern my heart went pitter-patter. I LOVE the design! It is by Megan Nielson, an independant designer who ALSO designs & sells non-maternity wear. Her blog diymaternity.com has INVALUABLE tutorials & tips. You MUST check it out if you ever find yourself needing some maternity sewing inspiration.

The only downside to this design is the fact that it requires 4 yards (FOUR) of fabric. But no matter. I love it anyway. Also, the pattern is $15 which is expensive when you're used to buying the Big 4 for .99, but honestly I'm MORE than happy to support her business :)

Ruched Maternity Tshirt by Megan Nielsen

Also by Miss Megan, the Ruched top. With a variety of sleeve length options. This design can be a staple in any wardrobe--with or without baby bump :) Megan offers a slew of other maternity patterns, but for now I'm sticking with just these 2 with the option of going back for more, of course. :)

As for pants-well, I'm hoping to thrift any new jeans that I'll need & I have plenty of comfy pants that never see beyond the 4 walls of our home :) I also have a few pairs of adorable shorts for this summer. Which brings me to...

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Skirts. Ah, maternity skirts. They are SO HARD to find RTW. Can you believe that?? Also, a frightening new trend is MINI maternity skirts. Like, MID THIGH. Uhm....no. Honestly, how does one chase after not one, but TWO toddlers WITH giant belly in a mini skirt...better yet...who would want to?!?

So, no. No thank you to mini maternity skirts. Also, just barely skimming the knee is not quite long enough. Again, thanks to Pinterest, I have a variety of other options. There's a ton of tutorials on adding knit belly panels to existing skirts & also, I'm pretty comfortable drafting my own basic skirt. Typically, I prefer everything to "under the belly" so that should make it a bit easier. Again, I'll likely be sticking to knit fabrics for their ease of wear & stretchability...which means no zippers necessary! :)

So, in short, I'll be sticking to 4-5 basic patterns in various solid colored fabrics. Maybe in a future post, I'll go over some of my favorite places to find knit fabrics.

Just for fun, I'll leave you with my most loyal maternity top. It lasted me through 2 pregnancies & is still going strong. I have yet to put it on, but it will be great for when I'm...huge.

The first was taken on my due date with my son...he didn't arrive for another FOUR days (and I happened to wear this top on the way to the hospital) and the second was about 6 weeks before my due date with Laila.

Different Kinds of Sewing

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Baby number 3 is on it's way! He (or she--and we won't find out until delivery!) will be making his/her appearance in early August!

So, you know what that means. Maternity & baby sewing!! I have a couple maternity patterns all picked out & I'm excited to share. I'm also planning on making the baby's coming home outfit. More on that soon!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes....

Hello again! It's been a long, long time. For those of you who have "followed' the Seamstress in Training for awhile now, you'll notice some changes around here. :) A new blog design, complete with a new name & URL. If you type in the old address, seamstressintraining.blogspot.com, you'll be redirected to www.blog.sophisticatedseams.com

I mentioned a (long) while ago that I was utilizing my sewing to go "into business". I named my business "Sophisticated Seams" and had every intention of using this as my "business blog".

However. It didn't take too long (well, long enough to completely make-over my blog I guess) to realize that sewing for others has a way of...well...sucking the sewing inspiration right out of me. Filling orders to priority over personal sewing & when there was a lull in orders I just didn't feel like sewing. So for right now, my business is on break (mainly due to the fact that my sewing machine needed to go in for servicing), and I hope to resume sewing ala the Selfish Seamstress real, real soon. :)

Stay tuned, though. I do have a couple finished projects & some exciting news to share! :)