Maternity Shirt
Shopping for maternity shirts has been tough! First of all, there aren't many maternity stores, and if there are, they charge a lot of $$$. Online shopping is also hard when you're someone who likes to be able to try things on first! So...I decided I would try to make my own!
I searched and searched (on Pinterest) for some good tutorials, and found a few good ones. The tutorial I followed wasn't actually for a maternity shirt, although it could be used for one. All I added was elastic for ruching (gathering). (By the way, ruching is a real word, Mom. I Googled it.) When adding the elastic, I used another tutorial specifically for a maternity shirt.
I started off cutting my fabric into a rectangle (about 21" by 32"), then added the neck. I used a lid to make sure I cut it right! I made it 9" long and about 2 1/2" deep. Then I tapered the shoulders a little bit. I made the sleeve openings 7" and then from there cut down the sides from the armpit to even it out.
I wanted to make sure that all the sides are lined up, so I folded the shirt in half. After that, I sewed up the two sides and the two shoulders.
Then I hemmed the bottoms, the sleeves, and the neck. I'm horrible at hemming, by the way. There are some pretty ugly spots! After that I ironed the hemmed edges.
Then it was time for the elastic! I cut two 10" strips of 1/4" elastic. I looked at one of my maternity shirts to determine where to start and end the elastic. I pinned each elastic 6 1/2" below the armpit, and put a pin in for stopping reference at 2" above the bottom hem. I stretched the elastic as I sewed it on.
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Don't mind the shorts...I was still in my pj's as I worked on this project! :)
I'm pretty darn proud of myself!!! It fits really well, and there is still plenty of room to grow! (Good thing, because I still have a little less than 4 months to go!)
Tutorial for shirt:
http://www.merricksart.com/2012/05/summer-tunic-tutorial.html
Tutorial for ruching:
http://www.throughcloudedglass.com/2013/03/diy-maternity-shirt-tutorial.html
