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. ;)
