Maternity Wear 10 - The Finale and a D'oh! Moment

So I took all these photos of these pants I was going to maternicize for y'all for the final Maternity Wear project, as well as detailed photos of steps along the way, then went to a friend's house with another friend and got what might have been some sweet photos there, got home, and went to put the memory card in the laptop...and it was already in there.  As in, not in the camera.  At all.  No "before" or "during" shots, no memories of friends today,  no nuthin.  Sigh.  But the show must go on...

 

So for anyone who's not familiar with commercially available maternity clothes, this is a typical pair of maternity capris (from Target).  You may say, "They look dumpy because they're low-end Target."  Check yourself.  They look dumpy because they're maternity clothes and clothing designers apparently think your butt is suddenly going to balloon to three times its normal size the moment your belly's too big for a fitted waistband.  It doesn't happen that fast. ;)

See? Dumpy butt.  I typically have to roll the waist down on these to get the Bozo vibe under control.  I certainly don't feel I can look put-together or (heaven forbid) dressy in these.  So I decided for the tenth Maternity Wear project I would make over a pair of non-maternity capris that actually fit me.

Oh my goodness!  Pants that fit comfortably AND look good!  These Gap capris were a $4 score at Goodwill, so I didn't feel too badly about chopping the waistband off. 

 Look! I have a butt again!

 You'd never believe they were so comfortable with this belly, but they are.

 

To make your own comfy pants, simply cut the zipper out of pants and top stitch the fly closed (you cut the zipper out so you don't accidentally break a needle later).  Then you take some stretchy fabric (double the thickness you want on your waistband), fold it over some wide elastic you've measured to your waist and sewn ends together, and sew the stretchy fabric to the edge of your pants where you just cut the waistline off, right sides together.  Again, I'm sorry I was so dumb and left the card out of the camera so you have no before/during photos to go by.

 See the seam where I sewed the new stretchy waistband with elastic inside to the pants?  I also top stitched a straight line just over the elastic through the stretchy waistband to keep the elastic in place.  Then I zig-zagged the edges so they won't fray in the wash.  I finished this before showering this morning. It really takes very little time.  But I couldn't stop at capris!

 I have no maternity shorts, and Tehas gets HOT in the summer.  So while I normally stick to skirts and capris for modesty's sake (and because I've been led to believe I have knobby knees), it's great to have a pair of shorts to turn to when the mercury bursts out the thermometer.  These were gifted to me by a dear friend.

 They were actually almost too small before I got pregnant, so this will help them fit better after I have the baby too.  I did the same thing as with the capris.  The fabric you use for the waistband just needs to be knit and stretchy.  I used some polyester blend knit I had from two belly bands I'd made for my first pregnancy (which happened to match the colors of the pants I needed to make over, thank heavens!) but you could even use the bottom of an old t-shirt that fit well.  I don't understand why ALL pants don't have elastic waistbands; they're so comfortable, and you don't even have to undo them after a meal! ;)

That's all for this week.  Come back Monday and I'll try to have some in-process photos of the next quilt I'm working on for ya.  Have a great weekend!

Maternity Wear 9

 Alright, friends, here's a men's size L t-shirt from Goodwill.  I'm not sure what kind of man wears periwinkle, but I'd imagine it's a very manly-man, who is very confident...and obedient when his wife tells him to throw the thing away.

 Looks like it's got enough room in the belly region for now.  Let's give this thing a facelift.

 Please pardon the crappy photo.  It was dark in here, had to use the flash.  I cut off the neckline and 2" of sleeves and scavenged the original neckline hem and sleeve hems to finish the neck and sleeves on the revamp.

 So here it is! I really like it with these navy jeggings ($5 at Walmart).

 I put about 9 pintucks in the back before realizing I just needed a ribbon to cinch it. 

 Very comfortable.

 Here's a closeup of the neckline, with more pintucks and gathering.

 I also gathered the sleeves.

I like it.  Alright, tomorrow is the last day of Maternity Wear! Stop by to see the grand finale (gee, I hope I can drum up something good!)

Maternity Wear 8

 So I realized I had 5 shirts all within the same color family that were not maternity-friendly and realized I don't need 5 purple shirts.  So I left the stained tank as-is and cut 4" wide strips out of the others.

 I gathered the strips and sewed them in a somewhat hap-hazard tiered fashion onto the front of the tank, starting just below the bust line.  Basically I was trying to copy a shirt my daughter has that I love.

 At first it seemed really odd to leave the back empty, but I didn't have enough strips of fabric to cover it too and it had a slimming effect (not like I need that now, but in a few months I might appreciate it).

 It's super comfortable, and should be wearable after I have the baby too.

Here's a closeup so you can see the little zigzags I used to attach the strips to the front.  I kinda like that they turned out a little wonky; it's less store-bought/perfect looking.  Come back tomorrow for another transformation!  Just 2 more before I hit my quota!

Maternity Wear 7

The rest of this week shall be called "Maternity Wear Extravaganza" or "Catchup Week" or something like that. I'm going to post a new clothing item each day through Friday that I've altered to make it maternity-friendly.  This one I totally messed-up on; I made it and didn't take pics of the before or during.  It used to be a short-sleeved periwinkle blue shirt (given to me by my aunt) and a turquoise tank my mom bought me after Autumn was born that had totally shrunk to belly-dancing fit.

 I added little round circles of fabric in both colors to the bodice that I hand-sewed on.  After I washed it they looked like this. I thought that detail might unify the two-toned shirt.

Sorry I didn't get a side-shot; all these look like I'm not pregnant.  Please trust me that I look appropriately belly-ful from the side in this tank.  It's a little "revealin" for me, but will no doubt come in handy in the TX heat.  So come back tomorrow for another fun transformation (this time with a somewhat before pic too)!