Maternity re-fitting?

I thought about that too, but it didn't seem to be long enough to reach the entire length of the existing zipper. I looked at the Penney's catalog online last night and they have the type of pants I am looking for, so I might just find some nice top patterns and make a couple of those. The really sad part is that it is cheaper to buy ready made clothes than to make them myself. Kind of scary isn't it?

Dannielle

The really sad part is that it is cheaper to buy ready made

When my dd was expecting, she looked at maternity clothes, then marched into the Big Girl dept of discount stores such as K-Mart and bought a few pairs of elastic waist stretch pants to wear for everyday. She just got the cheapest ones, as she figured she would be throwing them away four months later.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

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That sounds great! I have a couple pairs of pants that were going to be "recycled" because I had under-grown them anyway....

Dannielle

Did you find the rectangle shaped panels or the U shaped ones?

Dannielle

I think mine are all rectangle, but they can be made to u-shaped

The problem with wearing non-maternity sweat pants, I find (being highly pregnant myself at the moment) is that the waistband slips under my belly, and then the crotch of the pants is unflatteringly saggy. Or, if the waistband is higher, I get a straight line (in profile) going from my belly to my knees, which just plain looks odd. The tunic would have to be quite long to cover that. My mom wore a dashiki when she was pregnant with me... that would do the trick.

It's strange how often the same topic pops up in unrelated groups. The 18th-Century Woman mailing list just asked "What did they do for maternity clothing" -- the consensus was "For the most part, nothing -- they just re-arranged what they already had."

Which might have had something to do with calling pregnancy "confinement" and staying home most of the time!

But another reason that it worked is that the 18th-century petticoat was slit at the sides to give access to the pockets worn underneath, and tied on fore-and-aft. Think of two aprons sewn together at the sides. You step into the skirt, tie the back apron in front, then wrap the ties of the front apron all around so they can tie in front too. (This leaves the overlap pointing to the front so that you can get your hand in to use your pockets.)

It's natural to add ease for the baby in front, because that is where the baby is, but it's *also* possible to open a skirt or a pair of pants on both sides, and in some situations, it's a lot easier. A wing of fabric sewn to the back -- or broadfall pockets -- keeps your underwear out of sight -- or one can wear knee-length shirts over the modified pants.

Joy Beeson

Ok, my maternity panel pattern dimensions are: straight line at top: 20" wide. find the center (10") and draw a line down, 9.5" long. draw a line 2-3" at the bottom of this (so you have a lopsided letter "I"--top line is 20", bottom line is 2-3") from the 20" top line, square off 1.5" down on both sides, then start tapering/curving downwards to your bottom line. this should look sorta like a half moon chunk of cheese!

i used 1/4" serged seam allowances. i folded down 1.25" or so down at the top, stitched down, inserted 3/4"-1" wide elastic. then attached to the cut out pants. on the pants, i basically measured down (depending on the pants and the style) 7-8", drew a line 2-3" here. then at the pants waist, i started about 2" away from the front side seams and started curving like i did the pattern. i use a cotton knit w/ some Lycra in it. it was hard to find some colors here, so i found some new lycra tees on clearance and use those! :-)

these are the basics, i know i adjusted depending on whether my pants were a stretch fabric. i also used bigger seam allowances sometimes... if there was any of the zipper or zipper placket left after the cut out, i stitched down the placket, removed remaining zipper (if possible). i also did a pr of pants w/ front pleats and since my taper would mess up the pleats, i pinned my pleats before cutting and i stay stitched at the cut edge of the pleats to keep them. i was also able to keep pockets in some of pants, others i just stitched down the pocket opening.

i did this > That sounds great! I have a couple pairs of pants that were going to

All I found were the rectangle ones....the white nylon stuff that just looked uncomfortable. I was hoping for that blue knit that's soft and squishy! Hmmm...let's see what I can do this weekend...

Dannielle

Dashiki? What on earth is that?

Dannielle

Google is your friend:

Exactly. Hers was a bit like this:

more subdued. (Context: this was in Zambia.) She wore it as adress; I, much taller than her, later wore it as a shirt.

I had the opposite problem with weight gain not being enough. In the last couple of weeks I remember the obstetrician said he was concerned about it and I went straight to McDonalds and ordered the largest meal imaginable, with an extra humungous milk shake (calcium?) and apple pie. I felt really ill after that and figured that slow weight gain was better! I lost the pregnancy weight fairly easily afterward and although I weigh the same I think the weight has moved around (downwards!).

In answer to your original question, in Australia you can buy these panels that you just hook into your normal clothes - they work well if they weren't too snug before you got pregnant.

Good luck with the pregnancy and the diet after.

Thats ok, its only 9 months out of your life, not really long at all when you think about the end result! Do you know what you are having yet?

Michelle Giordano - mom of 3 girls, so if you have one I can send you lots of tutorials on sewing for little girls, I truly don't need patterns for them anymore I have done so much of it. Unless its really fancy of course!

Oh, I don't mind the 9 months at all, especially since 3 of them are already gone!!! It's too early to determine gender, but we aren't going to find out ( at least that's the choice at the moment). We didn't know what we were having last time until she came out. And I enjoy them even more once the baby starts moving! I think that's the absolute greatest feeling in the world - all the rolls and kicks and activity. Little gymnast - that's what I called my DD. Turns out she's very interesting in swimming so far!

I would love to do tons of sewing for my little girls, but I just don't seem to enjoy making clothes that I can buy cheaper at the store. Maybe once in awhile I'll do something, like the jumper I put together for my DD to wear for Christmas. Nothing spectacular though. I do mostly repair work or hemming when it comes to clothes, I prefer craft and quilt sewing!

I'll remember your offer for help, just in case I ever do get a bug to sew for the little angels!

Dannielle

Empire gowns were also pregnancy-friendly in that they could conceal an expanding belly several weeks beyond where a fitted waist would have given it away. This was a real bonus because once you started to show you were supposed to sequester yourself (socially).

Personally, I went into confinement at about 8 1/2 months with my first pregnancy, mainly because I was too sick and wretched to even think about going out, and I was so huge I had even outgrown most of my maternity wardrobe.

The second time was easier. I knew what to expect and how to take care of myself. For example, from the day the stick turned blue I embraced recreational napping whole-heartedly. And I gained less weight - 24 lbs, compared to 38 lbs the first time, which made it easier on my bones and muscles. I knew what foods would have dire consequences and what I could tolerate even when queasy.

Kathleen