Maternity Dress made by Momma

Hello Out there. Got another wild hair. Decided to try my hand at Adult Size Clothing and not just Adult Size but Maternity!!! So I tackled 2 dresses this past holiday weekend. Why do you ask? Well we finished the nursery so there was more painting to be done ( the reveal in another post) so I had to keep myself occupied.

I have been getting my maternity inspirations from A LOT of talented women out there who are ever so BRAVE to sew their own clothes whilst pregnant. I started here...

First, I saw this simple little dress over at BeSweet. The dress was created by Danielle at D&G Stories. I hope she doesn't mind I ran with her idea. The best part about this DIY is the cost $6. I started with either a tank top $3 or a Tshirt $3 both and 1 each color Blue / Purple Mens Xlarge Tshirt $3 from Walmart. You cannot beat this price.

Start by cutting the sleeves off of your t-shirt.

Next, cut apart the top seam of the t shirt where the front and the back come together.

Cut the neck line off the back piece of the shirt.

Repeat to the front piece as well.

Next, angle the sides of the shirt, and cut into an a-line. I just eyeballed it...but you want to basically just cut straight from the top side to the bottom side.

The back piece should be a few inches longer on top than the front piece. Round off the sides of the back piece so that the sides are even with the top of the front piece, like in the picture below. This extra fabric on top will come in handy later! (This will be the length of the skirt on your dress, so take more off the top depending on how long you want your dress to be. I'm on the tall side and this hit me at the knee.)

Now you'll want to sew up each side. I used a straight stitch, but you could use a serger if you are lucky enough have one. :)

Next, take your 3/8" elastic, and sew into the top edge of the front and back pieces of the t-shirt. Stretch out the elastic as you sew, so that when you release it it scrunches up the fabric. (This will give you lots of lovely stretchy "give" in the belly.)

Since we are lazy awesome, we're keeping the original hem of the t-shirt as the hem of the bottom of the dress. So you now have the skirt to your dress finished! Almost there!!


Remember, the original BACK of the shirt is going to be the FRONT of your dress. This is because this side has the extra length in fabric that I mentioned earlier, leaving more room for that growing belly. :)

Turn your skirt inside out, and sew top facing down, right sides together onto your tank top. You probably want to try the tank on and mark with a pin or a marker where you'd like the skirt to start so you make sure it sits well on.

Trim the bottom of the tank off, turn right side out, and you're done!

The front panel of the dress has the extra room your belly needs, 

keeping the bottom hem of the dress straight and even.

To Add a Sash is up to you. I would recommend it. I do not have a tutorial for it. On the 4th of July Dress I used Red and  White Dot Grosgrain ribbon that I anchored to one side. The 2nd dress just has a scarf tied around the waste. I did not want to attach it as I LOVE scarfs to wear.

Adding the elastic belly part

See the intense concentration

The above were some "Action" shots BigGirlH wanted to take of me. She was my helper!!

And Ta Da!!!!

Dress #1 Festive for the 4th of July

Dress #2 ~ which is my FAV



 Thank you ladies for  your maternity know how. You gave me the inspiration I needed to take on this little project. It went much faster than I expected. My seam ripper and I became very close and personal on the 1st dress!! All the same I am very pleased with the outcome. Until Next time.

BTW..The fabric  for the nursery came today so I will be working hard on the crib bedding soon. First project -- Crib Skirt.