Black + magenta ikat print jersey faux-wrap dress

Hello! And surprise! I have been missing for a few months because pregnancy fatigue really got to me. Being pregnant at 36 and caring for 3 other kiddos at the same time is tiring. Thank goodness we are having a pretty mild summer so far with lots of rain. It won't last, I'm sure, but I'm enjoying the cooler temps while I can. I haven't been doing a whole heck of a lot of sewing - just haven't had any mojo to work with. In the evenings all I want to do is vegetate in front of the television or go to bed. I'm way better at squeezing in some time in front of my sewing machine in the afternoons. Also, making maternity clothes has never been a favorite thing for me, mostly because the pattern choices are so limited. This time around, though, I've actually found a few cute patterns that I like and want to make up.

I picked out this fun jersey border print from Mood Fabrics without anything specific in mind. It has a different border on each selvage and my plan was to utilize both into one dress. The larger border is the abstract squares I used for the sleeves and belt, and the small border is a black and white concentration of the main fabric that I planned to have showing at the hemline. Unfortunately this dress turned out to be matronly long, so I had to chop off the smaller border to get a length I was happy with.

The pattern I used is #132 from Burda Magazine's June 2010 issue. I cut my usual size 38 and the fit is just right, if a little tight in the sleeve area. Theirs has a skinny little tie belt, but I have a distaste for those types of belts being used on a garment with a horizontal bodice/skirt seam. They never stay where they're suppose to and always need adjusting. Instead I cut a thicker belt and sewed it in between the front wrapping bodice side and the skirt. It wraps around the back freely from the dress and ties in the front and never needs any fiddling.

This pattern has lots of room for a growing belly. It actually droops a little in the front right now, and I expect to wear it straight through to my third trimester. You can see at the side seams that I lined up the horizontal pattern starting at the hemline. With the side front gathers attaching to the ungathered back the pattern no longer lines up, but that can't be helped. The fronts I lined up with the back starting at the underarms. There is a vertical seam down the center back which I did not give much effort to matching up other then at the hemline. I was incredibly surprised when the pattern lined up so perfectly at the neckline and under the belt.

There's a 3/4 sleeve top version of this pattern included in the magazine that I may make as well. I'm due the first part of October, though, and it's usually just beginning to cool off around here at that time.

Oh, and it's a boy. We were really surprised by that news - had gotten it into our minds that it was sure to be a girl so Rachel could have a sister. Poor thing, now she'll have three brothers. ;)