Maternity shirts

I always feel like I get in such a rut with my maternity clothes. I like having lots of choices, but I don't want to buy a lot of maternity clothes since a) I will only wear them for a few months, b) I will most likely stain them, and c) they are so darn expensive. If I can make my own for little money, then I don't have to feel bad about any of these things. Here are a couple of things that I made in the last week to help augment my wardrobe a bit.


I found the pattern for this shirt here. I got it as a free download when the designer first released the pattern, but now it has to be purchased. It is basically a cropped shirt with 3 yard long tails on each side. The tails are wrapped around and around to finish the shirt. I love this shirt (although I feel a little neurotic when I wear it, always making sure that the tails haven't shifted and are where they should be). I love that it can be worn at any stage of pregnancy. I always have the problem of my shirts getting to short before my pregnancy is over. I think this shirt will be a solution to that problem. Sadly, I didn't get very good fabric, so it is running all over the place (like nylons run, not running away). As soon as I get some better fabric I will make a new one and wear it and love it. The pattern sews up really fast, especially with a serger. I think my total cost for this shirt was around $3.00.


I made these shirts using the same technique as I used on the top of my nightgown, but this time adding elastic so they would stay in place. I have some shirts and dresses that need shirts under them, but it is too hot to want to wear lots of layers. Plus, my prego belly is getting bigger by the second, so I wanted something that I could wear through the end of my pregnancy and after. Once again I used some huge tank tops that I scored for $1 each at Walmart. For the bottom of the black one I sewed on 1/4 inch elastic. (I made it a little too tight. Oops!) I finished the white one with some 5/8 inch fold over elastic (I get mine here). The white one is perfect. I think I am going to buy some black FOE and redo the bottom of the black shirt.

Here is a close-up of the FOE on the bottom of the white shirt. It is basically just elastic that is made to crease in the middle. FOE is a great invention!

I have been wearing these shirts over the last couple of days and they are perfect for what I need them for.