Burda 8/2009 #128 - the maternity version

Second week of my cold and I can't say I'm feeling any better at all.  My annoying dry cough is giving me major rib pain, but on the upside is driving my husband nuts which is payback for his snoring lately due to his hayfever which is driving me nuts! And I got to take another week off work, so there's always a silver lining to almost any situation.

But I did manage to squeeze in small spurts of sewing over the weekend, interspersed by longer bouts of laying on the lounge and I have completed the first of my maternity sewing.  Ironically it's not one of the projects I had lined up from the fabrics I posted about a few posts ago, but a spur of the moment dress based on my most worn and favourite Burda dress, no.128 from issue 8 of 2009.  It's the three quarter sleeved tulip dress which looks like this:

My first version I made exactly as per the pattern, even down to the grey herringbone wool fabric and the grosgrain ribbon belt:

To say I love this dress is an understatement - I wear it frequently and it always makes me feel great, and ladylike.  Then I made a summer version in a bright fuchsia coloured stretch cotton drill with cap sleeves:

So I thought a maternity version of this dress would be a great addition to my work wardrobe.  And I had purchased some dark grey ponti fabric from Spotlight a few months ago when they had a 40% off sale which was just perfect for re-creating the original version I made.  And here it is:

I'm very pleased with how it turned out.  It fits nicely now, but still has enough room and stretch for me to grow into it for the next few months at least. And it was so simple to modify for a maternity version: I simply raised the waistline seam to an empire line, made the front skirt piece wider by 10cm and made each of those pleats a little deeper.  I had previously modified the back pattern piece from a single dress panel to a skirt and bodice, so I raised the waistline seam on the back to an empire waist as well to match the front.  I even remembered to make the dress longer at the front so the hem line dips down right now, but with a bit more growth in the belly area it will even out.

When I made the fuchsia version of this dress, I lined the bodice which enclosed the underside of the cap sleeve nicely.  I chose not to line this dress because I want to be able to wear it during summer but I was also too lazy to draft some armhole facings, so all I did was turn under the edge and top stitch it down.  It's hardly noticeable, and I really doubt anyone will be staring at my underarms!

The only thing annoying me is the front neckline is gaping open, which is not something I experienced in the two previous versions I made.  I don't know if it's because this is a stretchy knit and not a woven, or because I didn't interface the neckline, or possibly even a combination of both.  Looking at the photo of the Burda model I see her dress slightly gaping at the centre front too, so maybe we're both hunchers with our shoulders slouched forward! But I don't plan to undo it to fix it though, it's just something I'll live with.

And now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to once again consume my body weight in vitamin C and annoy my husband some more with my coughing!