Okay, okay! The secret is out… We are expecting a baby to join our little family in September! My husband, Kevin, and I can’t wait. Every time I think about our child growing inside of me I want to burst with excitement (and a little bit of nerves and fear).
As much fun as this adventure has been so far, my first trimester has been exhausting! I know that is completely normal, but even though I expected it, I really had no clue what I was in for. I have been simply exhausted! I just want to sleep, nap or be lazy all of the time. And because of this, lots of things have suffered in the last few months: our house has been a mess, I’ve been slow at work, laundry has piled up and worst of all, I’ve fallen so terribly behind on my sewing and my blog! So, I apologize, but I also recognize that this is going to be a bit touch and go for a while. Have patience with me if you can!
Anyways, on to the topic I wanted to share! In preparation for growing out of all of my favorite clothes, I’ve started doing a bit of maternity shopping and browsing for maternity sewing patterns and tutorials online. In my search, I’ve found a bunch of really great ideas! Check out some of my favorites on my Pinterest board. In my ambitious moments, I am convinced that I will make all of them and have even bought fabric for several. When I am being realistic, I hope to sew a few items that I can comfortably wear throughout my pregnancy. Whatever I do get around to making, I hope to share with all of you!
So, we’ll start with quick reviews of two tutorials that I found online. I was able to accomplish these projects with the help of my wonderful mom who was here visiting last weekend.
Maternity Project #1: Super Comfy, Stretchy Maxi Skirt
My new long, grey Maxi skirt - perfect for pregnancy!
I love the design of this skirt form Elle Apparel. I actually ran across this tutorial after finding out that a similar maternity maxi skirt I was coveting from Old Navy was sold out in my size. I knew it couldn’t be complicated to make my own and started searching for tutorials. This skirt is just so comfortable and I love how it flows when I walk. I’m planning on making myself a second maxi skirt similar to this one in a pretty coral colored knit soon. And what’s great is that this would make a fantastic non-maternity skirt too!
A few alterations that I made:
- I made the skirt with a bit les flare than the design called for. I thought this might be more slimming on me since I am pretty short.
- I used a very stretchy knit fabric, so I had to make the waistband smaller than recommended so that it wouldn’t slip down on my hips.
- One of the things that I love about knit is that it doesn’t fray, so I didn’t bother hemming the bottom. Go ahead, call me lazy! It’s long enough that if I decide to hem it later, I can.
It also looks cute with a shirt tucked in!
Maternity Project #2: Long Knit Dress
I love this long, knit dress! It will be even cuter as my bump grows.
This dress looked simply darling on the ultra pregnant ladies, so I knew I just had to have one for myself. I found this simple, beautiful tutorial from the DIY Divas. Now, I don’t look very pregnant yet, but it was so comfortable and flattering when I put it on that I’m going to wear it now anyways. I used an older shirt that I had and a beautiful printed knit that I found on clearance at Joann Fabrics. I’m imagining wearing this for a Fourth of July party!
A few alterations that I made:
- The t-shirt that I had was a crewneck so I altered the neckline to be a bit more of a scoop neck.
- Again, I didn’t bother hemming the bottom of the dress. We’ll see if I get around to it or not!
My husband helped me with this little photo shoot. It was a beautiful and warm March day and Shiloh just couldn’t help but get in on the action! Isn’t he sweet?
Shiloh getting a little love mid-shoot and Kevin capturing it.
Look at that sweet face!
Let me know what you think of my new wardrobe additions! And for those of you who’ve been through pregnancy, what was your favorite maternity clothing item?
Activities
