retrofitting RTW clothes into maternity

[luv-my-boys]

I was thinking about taking some items that I bought and turning them into maternity pants/capris for me. I have *hopefully* some time before I need them but honestly with each baby i need them sooner and sooner

I found a great deal on some capri pants but they didnt fit quite right and I was going to return them but for $3 a piece Im turning them into maternity capris. I seen a few tuturials on line but if you have any suggestions that would be great. I really dont see buying specific "maternity" clothes this time around and in all reality I got rid of all my old maternity stuff.

Im a pretty good sewer so I'll probably add a knit panel to things. Looking at a few crossover type shirts I've seen on clearance that are long sleeved that I could cut for short sleeve that I could buy 1 or 2 sizes larger (amt I usually gain)

Any suggestions for jeans? I have 2 pr that never quite fit me right but I think that if I cut them up front the problems wont be there (zipper issues) any suggestions

[momoftworedheads]

For jeans, you can cut the waitband off and add a thick knit waistband. Very comfy. You could even remove the zipper area and add a larger stretchy panel/band if you need to.

Tops - I'd say go for tops that are knit and go up 2 sizes, they look really nice when your belly gets bigger.

You can definitely take RTW clothes and make them for maternity use. So much of maternity wear is still kinda frumpy unless you spend a lot of $$.

Good luck!!

Jen

[iowaorganic]

When I was pg with DS1 I took a favorite pair of jeans and cut off the waist and made an underbelly panel. I bought the widest elastic I could find (which was like 2" I think (I would have prefered 3-4") and made a casing out of an old tshirt. They worked just as well as store boughten. I think the problem I run into with doing this is making sure that the rise in the butt is high enough so I don't constantly feel like they are falling down.

For summer tops- I took a length of fabric (I believe maybe 2/3 of a yarn and using the wof) made a casing at the top for some elastic and hemmed the bottom and made a casing for under the boobs, added straps and it was so comfy and cheap to make! Of course you might have to turn the fabric the other way if you need it wider.... Would make a perfect sundress as well.

[ms.shell]

For an awesome summer maternity top, you can use men's button downs. I scored several (size L)the other day at the thrift store and made a pretty, girly shirt for myself yesterday. After I sewed the top and straps, I had to take in the side seams a whole lot and still had plenty of room, and I keep thinking to myself how great this would be for maternity. I can't show you pics, but maybe i can explain:
I cut the top of the shirt off under the back yoke. I had a contrasting shirt that I used to make double fold bias to cover the armpits, then I measured my chest and back and made rectangle pieces for the top of the front and back. I did this like the bias above, but wider (I used a 4 and a 5" width, wider for the back). Gather the front and back to fit your measured front and back yoke and attach. Then once I had done the armpits and finished the top of the front and back, I measured and made my straps. After the straps were attached, I had to make new side seams, beginning by taking in the armpit. I sewed strsight down as I am not pg, but you could leave the bottom full size and put an a line seam if you need to adjust under the arms. The bottom of the shirt can stay with its original, shirttail hem. I sewed down the button placket at the bottom to keep it closed, but left the buttons down the front, as I am nursing. It looks really cute like it is, but I pinned out two different sleeve variations last night- so there are a total of 3 strap/ sleeve options:
1. plain strap
2. make a (narrow) ruffle and attach to the outside of the strap (so mine would have the strap from the contrasting fabric, and the ruffle from the main shirt fabric). This looks REALLY cute and girly.
3. you could gather the original (short)sleeve and reattach to your strap/ arm of top and then gather the sleeve end with elastic thread and then cover with a cuff in the contrasting fabric. With the button placket, pocket, and hem intact, it shows clearly what it was, but done this way becomes sweet and feminine...and comfy.
good luck!