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.  

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