2 nap times, 2 maternity dresses - part 2

In this second installment of the 2 nap times, 2 maternity dresses posts I am happy to show off the second version of my Megan Nielsen maternity pattern hack dress with this beautiful pale pink number.

Last week I showed you my stunning snow leopard version of the dress and talked more about the pattern and why I decided that it was still ok to sew maternity dresses into your 3rd trimester! Well this week we are going to talk all about the fabric.

Both of these dresses are made from Jersey fabric which I bought from Stoff & Stil. Stoff & Stil are actually a Danish fabric company who have a few other shops in the EU and ship to the UK. Their shipping costs are quiet pricey (I blame you Brexit!!) but the fabric isn't too dear and its such good quality I highly recommend. Plus their range of fabrics are stunning, for me much better than a lot of the stuff you can find in the UK, so if you do a bulk order it makes the shipping more reasonable.

I've talked before about my love for Danish fabric stores. One day I will make it back to Denmark to see friends and next time I'm saving up for months in advance and taking an entire empty suitcase!

The fabric for this dress is some gorgeous pale pink heart cotton jersey. As I mentioned above the quality of this stuff is amazing, it has great stretch recovery and its nice and thick, perfect for this type of project. I made a version of this dress in a cheap poly jersey from the market and you can really tell the difference with this. I think the great quality helped these two dresses come along so perfectly. They just behaved and the finished outcome really does speak louder than words.

The fabric I used for last weeks Snow leopard dress is this absolutely stunning cream leopard jersey which has a very subtle pale pink in the centre of some of the prints. This is probably the most amazing fabric I have ever purchased! I mean we all know I love a leopard print but again the quality is stunning, it was so easy to sew, the finished item looks amazing I really can't fault it.

I would say these jerseys are a medium weight though, they make perfect bodycon dresses, would be good for skater skirts/dresses and more fitted tops (like Tilly's Agnes top, in fact this is now on my to do list!), but they are definitely not lightweight so wouldnt suit something which needed more drape like a floaty, baggy top.

I purposefully picked light colours for these dresses for 2 reasons; a) summer is hopefully on its way and b) I have decided I have become too lazy to keep up with my hair dying and am considering growing out my natural colours. The lighter clothing much better complements my ever fading locks than darker ones do, so watch this space to see how this terrible hair saga goes (it will probably end in me crying from bad hair and dying it pink again!).

So I hope you liked these dresses, I finally managed to get a couple of outfits I am happy to show off my pregnant figure in and that give me some confidence, for me that is a massive thumbs up. I hope I have inspired you to do some selfish sewing just to cheer yourself up, its definitely worth it.

x

2 nap times, 2 maternity dresses - part 1

Its probably a little late to start sewing more maternity clothes in my 3rd trimester but I got so fed up of hating all my clothes and how I look in them I had had enough and decided I might as well just do something about it to cheer myself up.

I mean I probably only have about 12 weeks left, which when you think about home sewing doesn't really seem worth the effort. That being said I know I will get a lot of wear out of these in the coming weeks and as the title of the post implies these dresses really didn't take me very long at all (2 nap times in fact!).

The first one I am going to show to you in this post is this amazing white leopard print version which as you can see I appropriately wore for a recent trip to the zoo. Thankfully I wasn't attacked by a lion or adopted by the snow leopards.

The main reasons why these two dresses were so quick is firstly they are both the same pattern, meaning I could sew them simultaneously and secondly they are a dress I have made before so I already know it fits and the construction method - bonus.  The pattern is the Cara top and Erin skirt from the Megan Nielsen Maternity survival pack. I made another leopard version of this dress a month or so ago which I blogged about here. For this version I used the ruching placement for the top rather than the skirt which I think I did last time and its sitting a little higher this time giving a much better fit around the bump. I also made these versions ever so slightly longer as its getting warmer meaning I could wear them without tights if needed. The technique for this hack couldn't be simpler, just cut the two patterns out in your size and then overlay them following the contours. You will likely find the skirt is slimmer than the top. When cutting I decided to keep the bottom of the skirt the same size, graded up to the top size in the hips. because I am a very curvy figure, then follow the shape of the top up to the shoulder.

This pattern hack really is so easy to do and its super quick to sew, I really recommend it.

(It's actually snowing in this picture, I mean its April and its snowing!)

I have basically decided that this type of dress is the only type of thing I am comfortable wearing during pregnancy and its completely pointless trying to wear anything else. It fits easily, pulls on, grows with you and is not in any way restrictive so its just so comfortable. Its definitely the type of clothing I reach for every morning as long as I have a clean version so I am really happy to have two more in my rotation of clothing hence my decision that this was not going to be a waste of sewing.

I love this dress, i'm so pleased with it. I think its the fabric that really makes it so amazing and it brings my total count of leopard maternity dresses to 3!

Next week I will post the second version of this dress and talk about the fabric in more detail so I look forward to seeing you then.

How do you feel about sewing for the short term? Is it worth it? I suppose a lot of us sew for special occasions, items which might be quiet costly but only get a very small amount of wears? Is the value in the longevity of an item or the amount of pleasure you get from it? I've often previously thought it was about it only being worthwhile if it was going to get a lot of use, but maybe I have been looking at it all wrong?

Leopard Maternity Dress

Hello, finally as a little respite to all the baby sewing I am pleased to say this week I am here to show you some slightly more grown up sewing in this lovely leopard print maternity dress.

I love wearing dresses when pregnant, nice big stretchy ones! You see all these stunning pictures of pregnant ladies in their skinny jeans, but its not for me. I wish I could wear a pair of jeans but I just find them so uncomfortable. Hand me a nice stretchy dress instead and I'm so much happier. As you can see my bump is progressing very nicely (with a big help from chocolate!) so its nice to get another outfit to add to my currently very limited wardrobe of clothes that actually fit (and look good).

The dress is actually a mash up of two of the patterns from the Megan Nielsen Maternity survival pack set of sewing patterns. It is the Erin skirt and the Cara top. I cut out both patterns to my size and they overlay one over the other. The ruching is in slightly different places in both patterns so I had to wing it a bit but it came together really nicely. I think the ruching maybe could have been slightly higher but it works where it is perfectly fine.

These patterns really are so quick and easy to sew and this dress was no exception to that. The fit is lovely and its just so easy to pull on and can be worn with tights or without. I can definitely see me adding at least one more of these to my collection before baby is due.

The fabric is some very old jersey that I bought at a local market which I used to make my first lady skater dress (some time ago now). Its been sitting in a box in my craft room for at least 2 years maybe more. I hadn't managed to find a better project for it before now so its nice to see it finally getting some love and in turn making some more room for me to buy more lovely fabric in its place.

I hope you like the dress, and I hope it inspires you to have a go at making one if you haven't already. Its so nice to make maternity clothes, even if they aren't going to get the most wear ever.

Now i'm off to go consider whats next on my ever growing list of sewing projects, whats your next project going to be?

Gold Polka dot Erin Skirt

Its been a few months since my last post but as you can see that little baby bump is coming along nicely! This means I am now at that really awkward stage of my pregnancy where my bump is too big for my normal clothes but not yet big enough for maternity. Such an awkward time I really hate trying to find something to wear. One of the things I did do though was pull out my Megan Nielsen Maternity collection of sewing patterns in a hope I can bridge the gap and get myself some maternity wear which both fits my style better and tries to use up some of the fabric I have stashed about.

Here you can see I made the Erin skirt and I used the leftover gold flecked ponte roma which I bought for my Christmas party dress. I still love this fabric, but my machine still hates it! Using ponte roma on this skirt was a really good choice, its stretchy enough to fit over my growing shape but firm enough to add a little support to my bump. It will of course work in a thinner jersey or anything else with enough stretch but I would recommend something with a little bit more structure.

The pattern is very easy to sew and has very good instructions. You add a bit of stretched elastic to the side seams to ruche the area around the tummy to add more fabric to cover the bump. If you look at any shop bough maternity tops this is normally how they do it too. The skirt it meant to come up over the bump and comes in a knee and midi length. Because of the length I find this skirt really flattering and its really easy to wear. You could pair it with a short tshirt/jumper or an over the bump over the top, its very versatile.

I actually bought this pattern pack when I was pregnant with Master Fox, but that was over 2 years ago now and my sewing must have vastly improved as I tried to make this skirt once and it went so horribly wrong I never actually ended up making anything from this pattern pack at all. Its such a shame as its such a lovely skirt. I think the problem I had was all down to the fabric which was a very thin poly jersey and it struggled so much to get the elastic to go in. I'm really pleased I didn't give up on it though I must have worn this skirt about twice a week since I made it I love it. My tip for the elastic is to tack each end in place before you put it under the machine, that way you can control the stretch as you go.

I'm actually finding that I am having a bit of trouble with body confidence this pregnancy. My bump is a funny B shape rather than that perfect D and I generally feel very big and I don't like how I look in most clothes. This is actually the 3rd time I took photos of this skirt as I couldn't get any I was happy to put on the internet. Its such a shame as I know I should just be enjoying my growing tummy but I think this is something that every pregnant woman must go through at at least one point in their pregnancy. I am doing my best to just ignore it and move on but it is taking conscious effort to do that at the moment. It doesn't help I am surrounded by lots of very slim pregnant people at the minute, who have remained slim with tiny little bumps, where as I just feel like I'm all squishy boob and belly.

I think I need to sew myself a few more outfits like this that flatter my style and shape and will help to give me a bit of confidence.

On the plus side though we found out that little baby Fox number 2 should be a little girl! I'm very excited to be able to experience one of each and obviously can't wait to sew up a few dresses. I will apologise in advance for the raft of baby clothing posts that will end up coming your way over the next few months, but they are cute so I am sure you won't mind.

x

Kitty Cat Donut Cushion

The pillow to end all pillows. I think this thing might be the answer to everything... plus it has kitty's, nuff said!

Before I go into a little more detail about the project though I just wanted to address the fact that there has been very little (no) garment sewing going on at all, and the fact you will notice it is mostly baby sewing/DIY at the moment. Honestly, the time it takes to make a garment, which will only fit me for the next few months, is not overly inspiring me at the moment. I don't think I can cope with drafting, making a toile, sewing up a final version etc at the moment i'm just too tired and there aren't enough hours in the day. Plus getting down onto the floor to cut out lots of pattern pieces just isn't the easiest of things right now! So apologies, but this won't be the end of the garment sewing, I just need to get this little man outta here first. There are a few sewing patterns I really have my eye on at the moment, and I mean, By Hand London made a bloody playsuit pattern! I have only been after one of these forever! 

Anywho, on to the pattern. It is from the Simple Sewing for Baby book I wrote about a few weeks back. I knew this would be one of the first things I made due to the fact that its so damn useful looking. The idea is that it will help keep me comfortable whilst pregnant, it will provide support for us both when we are trying to feed and it will support him once he is able to sit on his own. What more could you want from a cushion really?

The pattern was a doddle, it doesn't get much easier than this so I won't bore you with all the details, but it was super fast and I made it up in just a couple of hours (there was more time spent stuffing that actually sewing). I made it in cottons so it is easy to sponge clean as it would be a mare to clean this any other way. It should also make it comfy enough for us both and not irritate any of our delicate skin. I love this kitty fabric too, its from t

I think it might be time to get maternity sewing

For the first time today I decided to 'dress' the bump instead of hiding it. It really is true what they say, the media can make you so body concious, even when pregnant. All those perfectly rounded bumps you see on the dress models and in magazines. Well do you know what? my bump is not perfectly spherical, it does look a bit like a double belly and I have decided I don't care. Its a special time and I should celebrate it instead of hiding it.

I am also very concious that my wardrobe is shrinking (or I am growing) so its probably time to start looking at Maternity clothes, and what better way that to try and make a few myself. Megan Nielson does the most amazing independent sewing pattern pack for mums to be so I have purchased my very own copy and can't wait to get sewing some of these. I will start with the skirt which I just adore.

Image is the property of Megan Nielson

I have started off a little pinterest board to see the types of things I want to wear during the pregnancy. I am sure I will be adding to this as the seasons go on, especially as we will be into winter and dark nights before I really need to cover this thing up! 

So if any of you out there have any tips on dressing maternity through the seasons, or getting sewing for your bump I would love to hear all about it. 

Follow Helen Fox's board Maternity style on Pinterest.