30 Weeks

I'm 30 weeks along on Saturday. Today I tried on just about every clean shirt I had, but they were all too hot or too short. Even though I am doing laundry more (I only bought so many pairs of training pants) I don't have enough summery maternity clothes. So I went to Jo-Ann and spent $3 on some fabric and made a new shirt. I think I got the pattern down this time around, including short sleeves. It fits really well and is long enough - the problem the last maternity shirt I made had. Previous shirts.
This picture was taken exactly three months before Maggie was born, at about 29 weeks since she was so late. Yes, December, no coat. The good old days.

And Another Maternity Skirt

I think this one turned out better. I used the same tutorial as before, but I made a pattern this time. I also did a lining (this fabric is somewhat sheer), and put 2" wide elastic in the band instead of relying on the knit fabric. Not hemmed yet, as we don't have a full-length mirror and John isn't home.

Here is the pattern I used, cut on the fold. For the front, I added an inch along the diagonal line.
Here is a closer view of the pattern on the fabric. It's a darker red in real life. It is crepe, which means it shreds terribly - but not as bad as the lining. I have several more yards of this fabric (and the lining) so you will likely see another dress for Rachel someday.

Purple Shirt Pregnancy Remix

Take two on the shirt made out of a purple sheet from DI. For construction, I used the same tutorials as the previous shirt. I also used the same homemade pattern as before, but made alterations to the pattern I'd made to the previous shirt. And, obviously, I made it to fit the baby belly (19.5 weeks, by the way).Here is a helpful site for altering a t-shirt pattern for maternity.

Complaints: I didn't cut the back long enough, and you can see the stitches (of white thread) around the neckline. The 3/4 sleeves were a happy accident (previous shirt was long-sleeved, so I figured I'd just cut whatever and trim it when it was finished). When I tried it on before trimming, I thought it was cute! Since I didn't hem the bottom or the sleeves, I can just trim the sleeves when it gets hot.

The Maternity Sewing Begins

I had a difficult time finding something to wear to church on Sunday, so I came home and got started on my maternity sewing. The skirt is made out of a sheet I bought at a thrift store ages ago as practice material for Rachel's dress. I made up the pattern, but here is a tutorial from Sew Mommy Sew: Maternity Skirt Tutorial. This took about an hour. This was my practice skirt, I have some really nice material I'm going to try next. The top is some knit fabric I bought from JoAnn.
The shorts are a pair of slightly-too-big pants I already had, with holes in the knees. I used more of the knit fabric. I marked where I could zip them up too, then cut them at that mark, and removed the zipper. I sewed the fly shut. Then I made a band of knit fabric 5 inches wide, and the length stretched as tight as I could around my tummy. The band is folded in half lengthwise, and stretched to fit the waist of the jeans then sewed on. Took about half an hour. These were "practice" too. I'm going to make a pair of pants next, and I'm going to use a much wider band, maybe 10 inches, folded in half. These don't come up high enough.

Here are some helpful sites for maternity jeans:
Craftster: DIY Maternity Jeans with tutorial
SewChic: Tutorial: How to Convert Jeans into Maternity

ETA: I ended up picking open the seam of the knit fabric on the shorts and inserting 2" elastic after wearing them a few times. Easier and faster than redoing it with more knit fabric, and hopefully they will stay up better.