Dress #1: Black Maxi. Sort of inspired by this, but not really. It’s just a super simple, super stretchy, go-to dress.

 I used a Shade top to make the pattern for the bodice, then used a Polo jersey dress to create the angle for the skirt. The ruched sides were all me:) I considered adding an embellishment of some sort…a bow or flower yadee-yadee. Then, I thought it might be more versatile plain, so I can add a sweater, cool necklace, belt, what-have-you…and I think I like it that way. 

 Shirt #1: Mistakes Happen! I underestimated the stretch in this cotton material, and went ahead and used the same shade top to cut the bodice, but I left the neckline high to make it boatneck. I quickly realized that there was no way I would fit into that shirt, pregnant or not! Luckily, I had a little extra fabric, and was able to add in panels on the sides to widen it. The ruched seams in front would have been the side-seams without this change…yep, obviously not happening!

 I made it extra long, ruched the front two seams, and added simple sleeves with an elastic hem in them. I love the fit of this shirt. I may have worn it four times since Tuesday…which might have been every other day!

 You can see that there is a lot of growing room in there…which is nice, because if I am one thing, it is growing.

 There’s a great shot, eh? I’m showing off the boat-neck with my bulging tendons, and showing off the length with my fully extended arms. Beautiful.

 Dress #2 Ruffled Wrap Wall. Yeah, the material looks a little like a brick wall. Somehow it got into my basket, and luckily, I think it takes on a sort of cool, aztec, modern art appeal in this wrap dress! My favorite part (other than the fact that it wearing it feels sort of like pjamas!) is the semi-sweetheart neckline. Look close. It lays really cool, unlike the typical V-neck of wrap dresses.

 Again, this one has a lot of room to grow. I used an old DKNY wrap dress as a pattern, and changed dimensions for the belly, added 3/4 length sleeves, and made the sweetheart neck. The ruffle idea came from this cool (and expensive) dress.

 I wore this to work on Wednesday, and one of my co-workers was floored that I was “daring enough” to sew with lycra. I actually love working with knits and stretchy material, but I think using a serger makes it a million times easier. In fact, this dress was made using the serger only! Easy, breezy. Moving on…

 Dress #3 For Getting Huge. I love love this fabric. As I browsed online for inspiration on how to use it well, I spotted this baby, and knew that was the direction I wanted to go. 

One nice thing about everything I’ve made is that they are all pull-over-the-head dresses. No buttons or zippers or (heaven forbid) velcro! This one maintains a fitted middle with about ten rows of elastic thread sewn along the waistband in the back…I spotted that in the back shot photo. It’s genius! That way I’ve got tons of stretch, but it sucks back in to a nice shape. 

 When my mom and sister saw this one last night on video-chat they said, “Wow, you can get huge in that!!” Perfect. Because I do get huge.

 Shirt #2 Military Tunic. Whatever, I couldn’t think of a better name, okay? This, again, is a super simple shirt. I used a long-sleeve shade to cut the bodice, but I added about 12 inches to the length and an inch on each side, so it’s nice and baggy. Oh, and my arm sort of covers that from the hip down it is open on the seam, real tunic style. 

 The material is a fun, stretchy, thermal texture, and after sewing it all together and ruching the sides and sleeves, I decided to add some design quality by hand-painting red stripes on the front with fabric paint. I love the finished look!

 Because of the red stripes, I went ahead and finished all of the edges with a red, rolled-hem. Voilá! Hang in there, we’re getting close to the end (for now:)

 Dress #4 Knot Typical (pause for laughter at my intended pun). For this baby, I used the pattern that I made months ago when remaking some shirts for Design Mom. I stayed true to the pattern in the front and on the sleeves. The ruching on this shirt made it a perfect fit for maternity. But I had enough fabric to turn it into a little dress…so I did!

 I cut the back as all one piece, then added the skirt to the front to match the back. This is the lucky dress that was chosen for this Sunday’s meeting. My maternity debut:)

 Oh, and again, we’ll be wearing this one for a while. I love that the lightweight material and the short sleeves will wear well into spring and summer, when I’ll be ready to pop.

 Last but not least, Shirt #3 Stolen Stripes. I was browsing one of my favorite shops (can it be my favorite if I don’t own a single thing that they make, yet??!) Madewell, and came across this fab sweater. I love it. It is perfection. I will not fit into it for over a year. So I decided to steal the vertical stripe idea and incorporate it into my own maternity shirt! Great thinking, huh?

 You guessed it! I used a shade for the bodice pattern. Lengthened it by a whole bunch (to the end of the fabric, however long that was) and created some extra long sleeves to keep me warm. Cute huh? I may have walked into the Madewell store this week while wearing this shirt and felt a little more in-style than I usually do;)

 This look says “Yeah, whatever, I’ve gained 15 lbs but still look hot in my skinny jeans with their random cuff-pocket and my new custom, Wellmade maternity shirt.” Of course, I’m speaking with those eyes to my dear husband behind the lens who needs no convincing of my cuteness, even as I grow before his eyes…

So, there you have it. Week one (of one…maybe two) of Makin’ Maternity. 

I’ve still got pink striped cotton, gray spandex, and white and green polka-dot jersey from my binge. I’ve also got a really cool blue cotton print that I was planning to use for my bridesmaid dress for Emmy’s Wedding, and ended up being too sick to pull together. I’m thinking rather than wait until Spring 2012, I should use it for a cool mama dress. Then again, I’m doing okay on dresses for the time being!