DIY Maternity Maxi Dress

Sorry for my long absence! But I have a good excuse. Well, I think it's good. So back in August, I was  asked to be one of my college roommate's bridesmaids. Well well well, what a predicament. The other 7 or so bridesmaids and I did not have something in common that would make dress buying much, much more difficult because I would be 21 weeks pregnant at her wedding! Luckily, the bridesmaids got to choose their own dresses which meant I would make my own dress. I decided to go with a maxi dress thinking it would be both easy to make and accommodating to my growing baby belly. This was far more wayward than I thought but I learned from my mistakes!

What you'll need:
2-2 1/2 yds jersey knit (depending on your height)
Thin elastic
Matching thread

Instructions:
1. Measure from under your bust, over your shoulder to mid back (equal to where your under the bust measurement is on your back). Measure down lengthwise on the fabric. This is the length of A and B. Mine was 30 inches.

2. Hem one side of each A and B pieces. This will be the neckline. Overlap A and B 4 inches right side on top of right side. Pin and sew.

3. Next, sew C to A and B, D to the opposite side, wrong sides together.
4. Fold along mid line of A and B top panel. You may need to trim both sides depending on how loose and flowy you want it. Sew sides of dress (wrong sides together) from bottom to a couple inches above where C and D meet A and B.
5. Measure where you would like to put on the elastic. I measured under the bust to accommodate baby. Cut the elastic 2 inches less than your measurement. Overlap the ends of the elastic about 3/4". Sew forward and back a couple of times. You'll need to put 4 pins in your elastic 4 equally apart: one in the middle front, middle back, and sides. This is markers to match while sewing.

6. Pin your middle front marker of the elastic to the middle front (middle of where A and B overlap), the back marker to the middle back, and sides to where C and D meet on the sides. Your elastic should be smaller than the fabric, this is on purpose! (I added a few extra pins due to how wayward everything was turning out for me. But I pinned in the middle of where the fabric was between pins to the middle between markers and match to fabric. You must be very careful if you are adding extra pins!)

7. Now sew with a zig zag stitch on the elastic to the wrong side of the dress, stretching it to meet the length of the fabric between pins. This will create gathering in the dress.

8. Cut and hem skirt to desired length, hem sleeves at length you want.
9. Optional: I sewed a small piece of where A and B overlap (6 inches from edge of waistline) for added modesty.

And here's my wayward adventure:

I measured wrong both the fabric and elastic, twisted the elastic while sewing, had to unpick thread so many times, etc, etc, etc! .

And here's the finished look!

Note: these were taken at 29 weeks not 21!! Hello belly button!

Two-Tone Top

I made this shirt while pregnant but the basics can be applied to any shirt. I had a pink and melon colored shirts that had an odd neckline and the pink didn't look good against my skin. I tried taking a picture before and it was just so bad I'll leave it up to your imagination.

First I cut the shirts under the bottom edge of the sleeves. I tossed aside the green bottom and pink top.

I cut a more flattering neckline on the green top. I used the melon-colored bottom and traced where the neckline would be. Going about a half inch bigger I cut out the shape of the neckline. I cut about an inch wide section in the shape of the neckline. (see picture)

I sewed the extra piece onto the neckline and then flipped the fabric to the backside and sewed along the edge with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

I sewed the pink onto the melon-colored piece and I was done!

Do you have any shirts you want to make better?

Maternity Silhouette with a Point and Shoot

So have you seen this gorgeous picture on Pinterest?

Well there are tons of pictures very similar as well. The other day I had my personal photographer (my very patient husband :) ) to snap a few pictures before I had the baby. I remembered this picture and played around with the settings on the camera. Eventually it was super easy to recreate.

Here are the steps that I took:

1. Start with being back lit and diffused the light with sheers across the windows. These were taken around 2 PM in my bedroom
2. Wore form fitting clothing that showed off my belly
3. Stood on a step stool so my whole body was silhouetted. 
4. Used Av mode (aperture priority) and turned the F# to the lowest number. 

I did some super light editing to soften the edges and adjusting the contrast. 

I'm not a professional photographer (obviously since I don't even have an SLR) but this is what worked for me! I would love to see what worked for you. The best pictures of the whole series I think would be the ones of my husband modeling for me while I adjusted the settings on the camera but I think he would be very embarrassed if he saw I posted them :)

What I Wore: Maternity- Green, Maroon, and Gray

Remember how I mentioned here that I had bought a few pairs of pants in a couple sizes up to wear during pregnancy? This is one of the pairs that I bought. They were super stretchy and comfy. This infinity scarf is super soft and great for the fall. These flats are awesome. They have a fancy gold detail that I love to play up with other gold accessories and I love their funky color.

Skinny Corduroys: Old Navy they have some great colors for fall.
Ballet Flats: Elle (sold at Kohl's)
Scarf: Target similar
Shirt: Motherhood Maternity similar

I also wanted to wish Jasmine a very happy birthday!! 

What I Wore: Maternity- Pink and Black

Brooke's baby arrived Thursday night! We're so happy! Mother and baby are now doing well. Brooke thoughtfully scheduled all her posts for you, so let's celebrate!

In the South we have a strange transition period between summer and fall. It can be warm enough for short sleeves straight through October. Here is an outfit I wore for late summer/early fall to church.

Dress: Old Navy
Sweater: Target similar
Shoes: ShoeFab similar

During pregnancy I loved wearing a skinny belt to accentuate my waist (or where it used to be). It made my tummy not look quite so big :)

What I Wore: Maternity- Coral and Navy

Even though I've had the baby, I'm going to share with you a few outfits that I enjoyed while pregnant!

Navy and Coral are two colors I had never paired but I love seeing those outfits on Pinterest.

Like here

and here

and here

I got these cords at the beginning of the summer in a couple sizes up so I could wear them through the summer. I got them for $6! I paired them with a navy maternity shirt and some navy shoes.

This outfit would also be great paired with some gold jewelry or cheetah print like in the first example above.

Skinnies: Old Navy

Shirt: Motherhood similar

Shoes: Kmart

Look for the rest of the outfits coming up this week.

Are you looking for a costume to wear this year and you are pregnant? Look no further! On Jordan's personal blog she has a huge round up of maternity costumes. Go check them out!