Some new maternity clothes

I am moving next week, but before I started packing my sewing area (a daunting prospect), I wanted to get some more maternity sewing in.  Several months ago I bought some solid rayon spandex in the thickest weight from Stylish Fabric. It's still definitely not a heavyweight fabric, but is very stretchy and soft (and clingy, which I don't mind as much while pregnant). 

First, I made a Carey Top by Itch to Stitch. I first made this top last year and loved it, however I did slim down the sides to minimize the batwings. For my maternity version I widened the sides and made it a little longer, but probably could have added more of the original width back in.  Thankfully this is stretchy fabric, but I don't know if it will last me 11 more weeks. I also shortened the sleeves a little but could have shortened them more for really hot days. This fabric is a pretty olive green that doesn't really show up in my bathroom lighting.  Also, I don't have a great supply of bras these days that fit, so I pick comfort over lift.  It makes me wince seeing pictures, but my more supportive bra has visible seams under fabric this clingy.

Next I made a Bali Blouse from New Horizons Designs. As one of my favorite patterns, I've made several versions of this top, and one of my pre-pregnancy versions still fits. Here are my previous versions here, here, and here. I also made it just a little wider and an inch longer, and that was perfect.  This one seems like it will have enough room to last until delivery. Oh, and I made the back solid instead of split, which is what I've done in generally each version. (Sorry for the lousy quality photos. I haven't cleaned that mirror for awhile and I'm moving next week, so I'm just going to wait to clean it until then!)

Next I decided to use my embroidery machine to mix things up with all these solid fabrics.  This first top I ended up embroidering kind of off center and crooked! I wasn't too happy about that, but I'll wear it anyway.  It's the Boheme Sky pattern from Striped Swallow Designs.  I first made this in December.  The embroidery design is from Urban Threads. I wish I had done the embroidery stabilizer a little differently but oh well.  The only change I made to this was to not hem it as much as I did for the non-maternity version. I was planning on adding some width and pleats to the front, but forgot. I feel like this top makes me look a lot more pregnant, but my husband likes it the best.  I'm not sure it's got enough length to last long. I also included a picture showing some brown capris I made myself.  I used my own pattern again and feel like I nailed everything.  I doubled the width of the waistband and I can wear it up over my belly or doubled over.  The fabric is faux denim knit from Cali Fabrics and I really like it. I also have the fabric in blue and I plan on making some pants in the fall.

The final top is a simple t-shirt, the Sweet Tee from Patterns for Pirates.  I wanted to use a really fun peacock embroidery design. It's kind of a big design and since it doesn't stretch where the design is, the shirt sits a little funny at times.  But I really like the fit.  I added some width and length but definitely should have added ruching or something to make this shirt last to delivery.  One thing I maybe tried too hard at is making these tops all able to still fit after delivery.  I didn't alter patterns very much and am relying on the stretchiness of the fabric.  But since this is likely my last baby, I didn't want to spend lots of time or money on maternity clothes. I'll have to see how these stand up as my belly continues to expand.

So that was my weekend of sewing! I feel so much better with another pair of capris and several more tops.  Now I will be packing up my sewing area! I have three boxes packed so far and many, MANY more to go!

Since I can't sew anything new or finish my two sewing patterns that are almost complete until I have a working sewing area again, I plan on continuing my Flashback series about some of my favorite sewing projects.  And then hopefully I'll be able to finish those patterns and get in a little bit of baby sewing in before the baby comes!