Miles Oliver

He's here!  

He was born on Wednesday the twenty eighth.  My labor was surprisingly quick, only about 7 hours.  He showed up weighing 8 lbs 10 oz, more than half a pound less than Clark.

 I had my husband take this photo the night before.  I love that he didn't bother suggesting that I pull my shirt down, not that it would have done much good, none of my maternity tops fit well during the last month.

He has long and slender fingers and toes, a decent amount of dark blonde hair (on his head, ears, and back), a sweet whimper, and bright eyes.

 We are so thrilled to have him here and part of our family.  Clark couldn't be a prouder big brother, and we couldn't feel more blessed.

Sewing for Momma: Stretch Lace Belt for Pregnancy (or anytime really)

You don't have to be very far along in a pregnancy before your pre-maternity waist disappears.  In the first and second trimesters I like to pretend that I still have a waist by wearing a belt above my belly. By the time the third trimester hits your rib cage has expanded , and the space between your belly and bust is practically non existent. It makes it rather uncomfortable to wear a belt, at least a traditional belt.

I was recently playing around with some of the stretch lace that I purchased for my maternity bands.  I found that I could cut one long strip, stitch the ends together, and create a rather comfortable maternity "belt".  It could easily be dressed up with a ribbon or brooch of some sort, and I also think that it would be fun to layer a normal belt over the top of the lace layer (once my abdomen isn't being inhabited by a growing babe).

Anyway, it's just a silly little project that I thought I'd share.  Have a great weekend!

For the Baby: No Hablo Onesie

I've made a couple of embellished onesies for the baking bun. I saw this idea several months ago, and had to replicate it for the little one (unfortunately I don't remember where I first saw it).  I freezer paper stenciled the saying onto the front.  Super simple. 

Sewing: Maternity Wear for Summer

I don't know why it's worked out this way, but with both of my pregnancies I've spent my third trimester in the hottest months of the year.  It is difficult to find maternity clothes that are attractive, but it's especially difficult to find maternity clothes that will keep you cool while covered.

I recently converted a pair of old Gap dress pants into these knee length maternity shorts.  I chopped them off, hemmed them up, and added a knit waistband following this tutorial from Grosgrain.

I also made a lightweight knit top that I love.  It has ruching on the sides, and has short sleeves.  I found the slub rayon knit at fabric.com, and only spent a couple of dollars on it.  The shirt is my own design, well actually a combination of a couple of different shirts that I own.  If I had more fabric, I'd sew up a few more to help me make it through the next eight weeks.

It is nice to have some lighter weight options for the summer heat.

The Pretty Blouse

A couple of weeks ago I made myself a new top from the free Pretty Blouse pattern.  It is a cute little peasant style top that I thought would accommodate my growing belly. It can be found on the Sew Mama Sew website, and is made available by Amanda of  The Modern Marigold.

I used a poplin fabric that I purchased from fabric.com.  The fabric itself has a vintage linen feel to it, but paired with the piping along the front yoke, and the trim around the neck, I feel like I'm wearing my mother's maternity top-which isn't all bad.

The top is light and airy, perfect for summer. I also added a keyhole opening with button closure to the back, but I failed to get a decent shot, so you can just use your imagination.

I apologize for the lack of quality photos.  I've put off writing this post because I've been hoping to have my husband help me with the photos, but unfortunately I'm still dealing with camera issues, and these will just have to do.

So whether you're pregnant or not, the pretty blouse is a great summer top to add to your wardrobe.

Thanks for reading.  I have lots of new projects to share with you....just trying to resolve my technical issues.

Shirr Thing For Spring: Day Four-Shirred Top with Elastic Casing

I picked up this piece lovely white fabric in the remnant section of Joann's about a year ago.  I've had it sitting in my stash waiting to be turned into something lovely.  When I decided to start this shirring series, I knew that it would be perfect for a lightweight tank dress for this summer.  

One thing that I love about these little shirred tops/sundresses is that anyone can wear them, thin girls, medium girls, and fuller girls as well. When I was pregnant with Clark one of my favorite tops was a shirred black and white tank.  I felt like it was very flattering on a pregnant belly. It didn't scream "maternity top", so I felt quite comfortable wearing it during the post part-um period as well. 

 As my thighs and backside have already started expanding, I chose to make this top in an extra long version (more like a short dress).  I have a pair of leggings that are feeling very comfortable about now, and I wanted the top to cover my rear when paired with the leggings.

The material of this top is rather sheer, and it will definitely be worn over a cap sleeve top, and worn with leggings.  This same technique could be made a bit longer to be converted into a sundress (much like day 1).

I chose to make some long ties that could be tied in bows at the top of the shoulders.  I wanted the straps to be adjustable, because it seems that straps are always slipping off of my shoulders.

This top/dress is constructed in much the same way as the sundress from day one (proportions and all).  One small change that I made was in creating a casing at the top of the rows of shirring, for a piece of elastic.  Creating a casing, eliminates the ruffle that happens between the top hem, and the first row of shirring (see image below).    To create the casing I finished off the raw edge at the top of the tube, pressed it under 1/2", and stitched around the casing, 1/8" from the finished edge.  You will want to leave an opening about 1 1/2" long, it will be used to thread your elastic through the casing.  You will want to create the casing before shirring your rows for the bodice.

Now Shirr your little heart out.  My rows are about 1/2" apart.  I ended up shirring 15 rows, but the exact  number that you need will be determined by the size of your bust.  The larger the bust, the more rows you'll need.  I like the shirring to extend a few rows beneath my bust.

Once you have completed your shirring you can begin threading a piece of 1/4" elastic through your casing.  I left my elastic long, tried on the top, and then adjusted the elastic so that the casing was equally gathered as the worn shirred portions of the top.  You want to make sure that your elastic isn't pulled so tight that it is uncomfortable to wear.  Once you have determined the exact length of elastic, overlap it by about an inch.  Pin it in place, and stitch it together using a zig zag stitch.

Next you will want to pin the open section of the casing in place, and stitch it down, taking care not to catch the elastic in your stitching line.

Next attach any straps that you want to make.  I haven't included a tutorial here, but if you have any questions on making straps let me know.  These were created in much the same fashion as the straps used on the ruffled sundress from day one (minus the ruffle).

 Hem the bottom of your top/dress.  I used my serger to create a blind hem, but you could use a standard sewing machine for this step as well.

Shirr Thing for Spring: Day Three-Shirred Cap Sleeve Top

Lazy Saturday Shirt

 For day three of my shirring mini-series, I wanted to share a modified version of a previous top.  Last August I made my first attempt at shirring, by creating the Lazy Saturday T-shirt. I love that shirt, but it needed to be tweaked.  For one, I had to lower the shirring lines, they were a bit too high to be flattering.  I also wanted to crop the sleeves, after all it will be summer soon (I'm hoping), and sadly that trim that adds so much to the top did not stretch, making it a bit uncomfortable now that my arms are filling out a bit.

A cap sleeve is a great option for summer.  It provides needed coverage, but still keeps you cool.  I've had the fortune/misfortune of having the biggest months of my pregnancy  be in the late summer.  When I was pregnant with Clark it seemed impossible to keep cool during July, August, and September.  I'm hoping that this time around this cap sleeve top, along with a few other pieces, will allow me to keep cool while being covered.

For details on how to create the shirred rows below the bust you can see my original Lazy Saturday post.  I did lower the shirred lines to about 7 1/2" below the neckline. Each row is about 10 1/2" long prior to resulting gather.  I shirred four rows, each 1/2" apart.

 I created this shirt from scratch, but I think that adding some rows of shirring below the bust of a loose fitting t-shirt, and maybe some at the small of the back, would be a great way to add shape to a shapeless article of clothing.

To create the shirt I created my own pattern using an existing cap sleeve top.  I added about 1 1/2" to the center fold. Starting with the original measurements  at the center of the bust I tapered out to 1 1/2" at the  hem. I also added about the same measurement to the side seams, tapering out from about the same place.

 Sorry that I don't have any photos of the shirt being modeled, it has been ugly and gray outside, and I can't ever seem to get a decent modeled shot indoors.

Thanks for reading.  Does anyone know of any great sources of stretch trims?  I just ordered a few more decorative elastics, but I'm interested to know what is available out there.

All Tied Up Maternity Shirt

Last week my energy was spent creating this ultra marine maternity top.  I am quite pleased with the way it turned out, and I think that I'll like it even more once my belly is a bit rounder.  I'm still "don't dare to ask" stage of baby bump development.

I drafted the pattern for this top, by altering my basic cap sleeve top pattern.  I ended up adding about 3 1/2" to the length of the shirt.  I also made it so that the sides of the shirt gradually tapered out from the bust line to the hem; I ended up with about an inch and a half added to the sides at the base of the hem. 

To allow for a big round belly, I created an inverted pleat that runs down the center front of the top.  When drafting the pattern for the pleat, I added 3 1/2" to the center fold of the shirt.  This resulted in about seven extra inches for belly growth.  I also added some extra long ties that were attached under the bust.

  

 I wanted the ties to be extra long, because I wanted them to wrap entirely around my body.  Every pregnant woman still wants to feel like she has some sort of shape.  I also wanted the ties to tie in the front.  There is nothing more uncomfortable than a big knot or bow in your back.

 I used a rolled hem on all of the raw edges of the shirt.  I decided to use black thread for contrast, and I am quite pleased with the results.  I still have some things to learn about serging a rolled hem, but all in all I am fairly pleased.

To secure the inverted pleat I stitched the pleat in place along the bust line.  I ended up making about ten rows of stitching, each row was about 3/8" apart (see top photo).  I also added six black covered buttons along the stitched pleat.  I thought that it brought the whole shirt together. The tricky thing about sewing shank buttons onto a stretch fabric like this, especially along the bust line, is that your buttons tend to shift a bit as they conform to the shape of your body.  If you look at the photos with the shirt on the hanger, the buttons look like they are attached straight, but if you look at the modeled photos, the buttons  get further apart as the bust gets fuller.

For this top I used an interlock knit that I picked up at Joann's.  It should be a great top to carry me through the next six months, and help me beat the summer heat.

Thanks for reading.

Lace Trimmed Maternity Belly Bands: A Half Hearted Tutorial

My Sister-in-law's adorable pregnant belly.

When I was pregnant with Clark I really wanted to buy a maternity belly band.  The idea behind the product is that it is a comfortable and stretchy band that bridges the gap between pre-pregnancy and maternity clothes.  When your pants start getting so tight that you can't button them up, you leave them open, and wear a belly band over your pants.  It keeps your pants up, and also adds a bit of length to shirts that may become too short with a growing belly.  You are supposed to be able to wear the maternity bands through out pregnancy, and they should come in handy when your belly becomes too large for even your maternity clothes.  Commercial belly bands sell for more than I would like to pay for them.   

With this pregnancy I decided to make my own.  I've started sewing since my last pregnancy, and I realized just how easy these would be to make.

Do you want to make one?


Here's what you'll need:

-Stretch Lace (distance around your hips, plus one inch). My lace is about 3" wide.  I bought it here.
-Stretchy Knit fabric (I bought mine at Joann's, it isn't the interlock knit, it has a good four way stretch, and will really stretch with an expanding belly). You will want enough for the width of your band times two. I'd recommend anywhere from 14-18" of fabric.
-Coordinating thread
-Sewing machine with ball point needle
-Serger with ball point needle(s) *optional

Getting Started:

The first thing that you are going to want to do is determine the width and length of your maternity band. You want your band to fit snuggly around your hips, this will allow it to do it's job in holding up your pants.  You will also want it to stay up on your waist.  I chose to measure the smallest part of my waist, and cut my fabric 1 inch longer than the distance around my waist.  The cut measurements of my material were 14"x30". The finished dimensions of my band (not including the added width from the lace) are: 6 1/2 "x29".


NOTE: This method of determining the size of your band is assuming that you are using early pregnancy measurements.  The fabric should accommodate for great stretch.  If you are already quite round, you may want to cut your band so that it is about 2-3" smaller than the size of your belly.


Next cut your lace to the same length as your knit material (30 inches, or determined length).

If you have access to a serger I recommend finishing off the long sides of the belly band.

We are now going to attach the lace to the belly band.  You can do this a couple of different ways.  One option is to sew the lace to the top of the material.  The wrong side of the lace would be on the right side of the fabric.  I'd overlap the fabric by at least 1".  Use a three step zig zag stitch to stitch along the top edge of the lace, and also the bottom edge of the fabric.  Your lace should be attached at two points.

Another option is to place two top edge of the right side of the lace on the bottom edge of the right side of the fabric.  Pin in place as shown.  Use a triple stretch straight stitch (not zig zag) to attach the lace.  Stitch about 3/8" away from the edge of the lace and the fabric.  

Photo shows both methods of attaching lace.  The top band show the top stitching that allows seam allowance to lie flat.

Fold the lace down, and the seam allowance up so that your band lies flat.  Top stitch about 1/4 inch away from where the lace and fabric meet. (see photo above)

Next you will want to pin the short ends of your band together.  Make sure that right sides of the band are facing each other.

Stitch along the pinned edges.  Serge or overcast raw edges. Your band should now form a tube.

Now fold your material in half hot dog style.  You will want to meet up the edges of your knit material, with wrong sides together.  Pin together along the entire tube.  Use a triple stretch stitch to sew in place.

You're done.  That was easy wasn't it.  As you can see the top edge of the band is the folded edge of the material. I attempted a belly band with only one layer of the material, but it wasn't nearly as successful.  The top edge was always curling up, and wouldn't lay nicely.  The two layers of fabric were much more successful.

Sorry that I didn't have photos for every step.  I've been a half hearted documenter of my projects lately.  Please let me know if you have any questions, or need clarification.