hippie mommy

I will admit that while the maternity pants refashion this weekend was highly practical and important, my true excitement lies in the next two refashions I have to share. Some relatives very generously passed along a bag of clothing (that's where the pants came from too!) when the pregnancy news began to spread. When I tried them on I quickly realized that there is a bit of a difference between "plus-sized" and "maternity". While the plus sized shirts draped nicely over my expanding stomach, they were loose and ill-fitting from the bust and up. But rather than feeling disappointed, I was excited. I suddenly had a host of brand new, beautiful, brand name blouses with a bunch of extra fabric to work with. So naturally I went straight to Google and found some free tutorials detailing how to turn big shirts into fancy maternity shirts.


Now, I wouldn't necesarrily describe myself as a person who has much (or any) fashion sense, but I do love me a flowy linen peasant shirt, especially one with embroidery! So this particular shirt was my absolute favorite in the bag. The tutorial I used came from my new favorite site, DIY Maternity by Megan Nielsen. I seriously feel like I hit the jack pot as far as a resource for my cost-effective maternity needs.

The re-fashioning process proceeded thus:

1. I put on the shirt (inside out), stood in front of a mirror and made Luke help me draw lines under my arms and along my bust where I wanted to re-sew the sleeves and bodice to fit me better. This worked well enough, though I used a different method for the same process on the next shirt that I will probably use more often (more on that to come!)

2. I added 3/8" to these lines for seam allowance then sewed along the lines, zigzagging the seams to secure them. I also turned under the sleeves by 1/4" and hemmed them to finish the top.

3. I measured my bra line, right under the bust and cut a piece of thin elastic that was about 1" shorter than my measurement (to create a gathered/elastic look). Then the shirt went back on (inside out) and I made Luke trace along my bra line with some sewing chalk so I knew exactly where to sew my strip of elastic.

4. I stretched the elastic to fit around the bra line and stitched it into place.



5. Then...ta da! A brand new, short-sleeved hippie shirt to wear throughout the pregnancy.