Photo by Sincerely Media
Let’s just be honest, most maternity clothes are pretty sad and joyless (not to mention expensive). So when I found out I was pregnant last year, I decided I was going to make my pregnancy wardrobe on my own. One of the great things about sewing your own pregnancy wardrobe is being able to customize your maternity clothes to suit your own personal style with silhouettes, fabrics and colors you prefer.
A big secret in the sewing community is that most patterns are in fact maternity friendly with a few changes such as adding or removing length from a bodice, doing a full bust adjustment, adding ruching or by adding a gusset to the side seam of a garment. You might also be able ot make a sewing pattern maternity friendly by simply going up a size or two.
Here is my list of the me made clothes I wore most frequently while pregnant. Many of these patterns are also breast feeding friendly as well.
1. Cashmerette Concord T-Shirt
T-shirts are a real workhorse when you’re pregnant because they are made from knit fabric which stretches to fit your growing body. This t-shirt pattern from Cashmerette, a sewing pattern company known for sewing patterns which are suited for women with larger busts, fit my pregnant body like a dream. To make this pattern pregnancy friendly, I simply lengthened it by 3 inches and went up a cup size. You can also add some side ruching to this pattern if you prefer that style instead. Another bonus – this pattern comes drafted with three different necklines, I prefer the v-neck option, which means you can get three t-shirt looks in one pattern without having to do any pattern hacking.
2. Chalk and Notch Fringe Dress and Blouse (View A)
I think this pattern has reached “holy grail” status in online communities for pregnant and nursing women. This pattern offers two views – a half-length button placket in view A and button free option in view B. Both options come in two hem lengths, shirt and dress length, plus dolman style cuffed sleeves. The half-length button placket in view A of this pattern makes breastfeeding a BREEZE. This pattern is bump friendly as is, but I shortened the bodice length on this pattern to make it a bit more empire waisted, thereby making more room for my bump in the later months of my pregnancy.
3. Bella Sunshine Designs Reagan Raglan t-shirt
Our local hospital offered hospital pajamas for patients in labor, but I opted to make my own in order to make me feel more at home while giving birth. I extended the Bella Sunshine Designs Reagan Raglan t-shirt length slightly, then added a 1-inch wide button placket with snaps to make it labor friendly.
4. Cashmerette Belmont Leggings
I personally live in leggings year-round but when I got pregnant, I began to wear them several times a week since they easily grew with my bump. I tried a few other leggings patterns before the Belmont leggings from Cashmerette, but they never fit me right. These leggings come s in sizes 12-32 (!), are high waisted, come with two waistband styles and two leg lengths. There is also a gusset option too, which should help with movement. Highly recommended.
5. Seamwork Loretta blouse
As I was pregnant in the summer, I desperately needed summer wear to help keep me cool when the temperatures rose. I lengthened this peasant style blouse, then added a bit of fullness to the front piece before styling it with a belt just over my bump. I also opted to wear it off the shoulder for a bit of sassiness and drama. The dramatic flutter sleeves are very chic and made staying cool a breeze.
6. Seamwork Mojave dress
I made several versions of this dress to wear in the hospital instead of the hospital gowns we were given but could have easily made a few as summer dresses. The neckline is very wide (a little bit too wide for my taste, actually) but you can solve that problem by wearing a fun bralette underneath. I could also see this being a great pattern for a beach cover-up.
7. Helen’s Closet Suki robe
Every woman, pregnant or not, needs a few robes in her life. One for lounging alone, one for lounging with your partner and one to wear when company arrives. This is the only pattern I found which accomplishes all three.
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