DIY maternity

Megan Nielsen’s Ruched Maternity Skirt

Liz — Tue, 29 May 2012 15:08:38 +0000

This purple maternity pencil skirt was designed by the lovely Megan Nielsen, made by me. I was thinking it would be a casual knit skirt that I could throw on here and there, but after I made it and tried it on, it is quite a sexy little number! Well, for a prego women anyway. I’m loving all these maternity patterns!

I’m SO bummed that everyone has decided to leave me in Utah to go and further their education to provide for their family or something…pshhhh. What about me?! Just kidding, I know that one day this would happen, I just didn’t know it would happen all at once. I currently have 5 siblings and 3 in-laws and a niece here, but a few short months from now, 9 will become 3. My brother is leaving on his mission tomorrow morning (don’t even get me started about that one…it will make me cry), my other two brothers with fam are moving to Ohio for law school and medical school. And they ALL decided to leave around the same time.

So this little shindig was a last minute invite for Mike and Emily (and baby Rosie) knowing that in the next few days they will be packed up and headed out to Ogden for a little stint, then on to Ohio for bigger and better things. It was quite the party! I actually cooked chicken, and it was fully cooked mind you and I prepared a raspberry vinaigrette salad (what?! I never go past a pre packaged caesar salad from costco). Beck sucessfully, for the first time rode his tricycle and Emily snapped some awesome shots of baby Rosie’s Mad face and tried really hard to get a good angle on my extremely enormous belly in that cute maternity pencil skirt. Can you believe I’m that big already?! Anyway, I’m going to miss all the family, and I wish them good luck. Love you all.

Keep your belly in check and cute pants in rotation

Liz — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:27:35 +0000

First off….whether or not you can still fit into those pre-pregnancy pants you still need to keep that belly in check! Which means….when your zipper is fully unzipped to accommodate that growing waistband and hips, there NEEDS to be something that covers up that whole mess. Little do you guys know, in 99% of every outfit my pants are fully unzipped and on the verge of busting…but fashion is pain right? Even during pregnancy. So, as some of you have asked…how the heck do you keep that all covered up and in check…answer….a stretchy tube of knit fabric, whether that is a long tank top, or just a band. It needs to be tight, stretchy and comes in a variety of colors. And possibly something you want to use after words, because these things are amazing regardless you are pregnant or not.

My recommendations:

The tee shirt extender from Blush Accessories – which comes in a variety of colors, and can be for those non-prego ladies too (hence the picture above). It is made with a lighter fabric, making it more unnoticeable. Also, this is a local company and I’m all about supporting that.

The bella band – great for pregnancy because it is VERY stretchy, but it can be a little thick. But I didn’t always mind, but it wasn’t ideal when I wasn’t pregnant.

An extra long, tight tank top – can be used, especially when shirt are a little more see through. I will see this is the least favorite of all the options because the fabric tends to ride up and there is a lot of tugging and pulling going on. I love these ones from Nordstrom.

DIY: For those of you who have an extra stretchy tank top around that you don’t mind destroying, cut it off near the armpit area, in order to make sure it reaches past the bottom of you zipper. And because knit doesn’t fray, you don’t have to hem. If you are like me and you don’t want the end to roll, then hem end up 3/4 of an inch to an inch with a zig zag stitch or a long straight stitch (if you’re doing the straight stitch stretch it a lot as you go along). I’ve also wanted to make a shorter version too, which is nice when you stomach gets really itchy and you don’t want anything touching it.

Megan Nielsen’s button-up refashion swap maternity top

Liz — Mon, 21 May 2012 19:14:05 +0000

top: refashioned pants: thrifted/refashioned shoes: steve madden necklace: grandma’s

Now it is time that I show you guys how AMAZING Megan Nielsen’s refashion is! I feel like it came right out of a 60s department store, it is so flattering and vintage looking. I’m in LOVE. literally the best maternity top I own. And with the elastic in the back, it is so dang comfortable. The challenging watermelon sized belly hiding under my shirt was NO challenge at all for her. I was pleased to hear that she was doing my refashion because, well, she makes pregnancy patterns for a living and it is her passion! I’m pretty DANG lucky! She is also the author of DIY maternity blog, where you can get lots of pregnancy ideas, refashions, and sewing tutorials.

THANKS Megan!!

TUTORIAL HERE

the button up refashion swap!

Meg — Thu, 17 May 2012 23:21:05 +0000

You guys it’s Meg! Did you miss me? I bet you’ve been really enjoying all of Lizzie’s fantastic maternity tutorials! Just popping in today because I have such a fun project to share with you!

Two of my favourite crafty ladies, Miranda and Melissa came up with the fun idea a little while ago of doing a button up shirt refashion swap. The basic idea being that a group of bloggers get together, take a boring button up shirt, and remake it into something super cute for another lady. I was super excited when I was allocated Lizzie to create something for – she’s adorably pregnant, and our current guest contributor here on DIYM! With my line of maternity patterns and this blog, I obviously have a real passion for designing things for baby bumps – it was kind of a match made in heaven! I was also really excited to find out that Mim would be making something for me – we’ve worked together before on a tutorial for DIY Maternity (back when she was preggers) and she is a really talented seamstress. Honestly this whole thing was so fun – i just wish it hadn’t all fallen over my move, but such is life!!

Want to see what I made??

I honestly cannot wait to see how it looks on Lizzie! It took all of my self control to refrain from adding a peter pan collar hehehe. I wanted to make something comfortable and practical but still a bit tailored – and obviously i wanted something that would suit Liz. I included a lot of my favourite maternity details – and the great news is there is a tutorial at the end of this post so you can make one of your own!

There are some really amazing ladies involved in this!!

Jennifer of Grainline Studio (see the top Jen made!)
Krista of Lazy Saturdays (see the skirt Krista made!)
Liz of Cotton & Curls (See the top Lizzie made!)
Megan of Megan Nielsen Designs (that’s me!)
Melissa of I Still Love You (See the maternity top Melissa made!)
Miranda of One Little Minute (see the dress Miranda made)
Miriam of MadMim (see the top Mim made for me!)
Kate of See Kate Sew (see the jumper dress Kate made)
Sunni of A Fashionable Stitch (see the top Sunni made!)
Suzannah of Adventures in Dressmaking (see the dress Suzannah made!)

Today we are all sharing tutorials for how to make the item we made for another lady – and then next we’ll be having a “blog hop” to share the tops that were made for us! So don’t forget to follow the links above to see the tutorials for all the other tops that were made! So fun right?

Here is the blog hop schedule for next week:

Monday, May 21st: Lizzie of Cotton & Curls, Krista of Lazy Saturdays
Tuesday, May 22nd: Sunni of A Fashionable Stitch, Kate of See Kate Sew
Wednesday, May 23rd: Suzannah of Adventures in Dressmaking, Miranda of One Little
Minute
Thursday, May 24th:Miriam of MadMim, Melissa of I Still Love You
Friday, May 25th: Megan of Megan Nielsen Design, Jennifer of Grainline Studio

Okie dokie – that was a mouthful!! Ready to see how i made Lizzies maternity top? Instructions below!

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Very gathered A-line maternity skirt

Liz — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:34:13 +0000

top/sunglasses: f21 skirt: self-made shoes: steve madden

Sarah Jane, amazing illustrator, makes fabric patterns and prints and asked me to make a very gathered a-line skirt for her! And of course I couldn’t resist, especially when I saw her amazing anchor fabric she illustrated. This skirt is super easy and happens to be an amazing maternity skirt and non-maternity skirt (Sarah is not prego!) due to the elastic and the intense gathering. It has the illusion that there is a zipper from the front with the flat waistband. I really think this is my favorite way to make a waist band now.

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Maternity style (and comfort): leggings and pants

Liz — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:03:13 +0000

purple leggings: oasap

I’m loving all the fun colors and patterns that leggings and maternity pants come in this year! And let me say, leggings are a pregnant girl’s best friend. They are SO dang comfy! Be adventurous this Summer and buy some crazy pants or leggings….who says you can’t look trendy and fun too. Don’t let that big belly get in the way! Go for the tribal, animal, neon, floral, polka dot, rubbery, or just colored leggings look(make it a fun color). Did I mention you will be comfortable and stylin’?

And that goes for you non-prego women too of course :)

via asos

Megan Nielsen’s Rie top cropped in gingham

Liz — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:30:49 +0000

top: self-made with MN pattern pants: crane shoes: steve madden bow necklace: oasap

Oh how I miss crop tops, the don’t really hit the pregnant women in the right way. So this was my take on it and I LOVE how it turned out. I don’t even mind my belly sticking out a little. And I’m excited to wear it when I don’t have a belly. This was made from one of the lovely Megan Nielsen’s maternity patterns, the Rie dress or top. I just made it a little shorter and widened the neckline a bit. Thinking back to last pregnancy, I had given up by then. I would wear oversized tee shirts and black leggings or yoga pants everyday, looking like an old man with a quite the impressive gut. Man, was I attractive.

Turn an oversized sweater into a maternity top tutorial

Liz — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:14:52 +0000

I love how this turned out….just grab an oversized sweater from the thrift store (or your husband’s closet) and take a little out in the upper area, leaving the belly area oversized. Well, unless you have a REALLY big sweater, then downsize it down there too.

Thanks Meta for taking the pics…check her out, she is AMAZING! onemoremushroom on instagram.

Check out the before picture and instructions below.

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Maternity top with elastic waistband tutorial

Liz — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:02:35 +0000

I finally popped this top on, not sure if it would fit over my ever growing belly….and luckily it does! WAHOO! Another top I can wear and feel comfy in. Love when that happens. People still ask me how I made this top, and I realized today that I have made 2 almost exact tutorials for this top. And now you know this will work for when you are prego! Here is the from scratch tutorial (take out the peter pan collar and shorten it) and the refashion tutorial - I combined them to make it easier below. SO easy and flattering….pregnant or not!

If you want to check this out when I’m without child, here is the non maternity version.
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Made Megan Nielsen’s ruched shirt pattern with a floral touch

Liz — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:35:41 +0000

Hi gals! Lizzie here from cotton & curls….I’ve always had a hard time purchasing maternity clothes because of two things; the fit and the lack of creativity. That is why making maternity clothes is SO much better than purchasing them!! You can customize – make smaller or bigger, make lower or higher or what have you. For me….I wanted some floral flare and with Megan Nielsen’s ruched maternity pattern, I was set to have a darling top. It only required 3 pieces and a few instructions, easier than I thought! Hmmmm….wouldn’t it be cute as a dress too?

pants: thrifted top: self-made MN patterns shoes: toms