dressing the belly

So, after that last heavy post, I'm just going to jump ahead and say this weekend Karl and I are celebrating our 8th anniversary *dreamy sigh*, and I'm not sure if I've really said anything about it in this space, but we are expecting our 4th baby. I've totally lost track of how far along I am at this point. All I know is that I'm due in May and already as big as a house. You can call me Gianormica from here on out. Pleased to meet you. 

Anywhooooo, I knew I'd need something to cover my belly for our date so that diners aren't offended by my inappropriately and hugely exposed baby space. Enter: husband's old button down and a pair of jeans that I busted the zipper on way back when I tried to shove myself back into them too soon after birthing 9lb, 6oz baby Milo two years ago.

Before: husbands old shirt and stretchy busted zipper jeans.
After: button back, pin-tucked blouse with maternity rocker jeans.

I totally didn't take any pictures of the process of making this top. I was highly inspired by some of the tutorials over at DIY Maternity, but then just went and did my own thing. I can kind of describe it though, if anyone's interested. If you're not, then just skip to the bottom to see me rocking ridiculous heels, considering my lack of balance--but hey, at least I wasn't trying to chase kids in them!

For the top: I cut the sleeves off, removed the pocket, and unpicked the yoke seem. I did some very sloppy pintucks in the front (the back of the shirt is now the front) so that I wouldn't lose too much fabric when I resized the sleeve holes, and then reattached the yoke. I cut the collar off the shirt and then resized the neck opening to fit before folding it over twice and topstitching. I traced the sleeves of a button up shirt I have that fits nicely and resized the old sleeves accordingly, cutting them to elbow length. I cut the side seams of the shirt and hemmed the new front to match the back (this allowed me to drop the neckline down a little and reset the top shoulder seams to the front, then I sewed the side seams back up, closing in the arm holes a little to match my new sleeves. Lastly, I put the sleeves back on and BAM! Now I have a shirt that covers my bump.

The pants were way easy. I cut an old tee that fit snugly over my belly straight across just under the armpits, then folded the band of fabric in half and sewed it around the top of the jeans under the waist band. IMPORTANT: be sure the zipper is up before sewing, and make sure the pockets are tucked down. Or just always wear with a very long shirt. Ahem.

Now I'm wishing I had taken a better photo to show the pin-tucking at the yoke and the button down back. Whoops.