The final stretch

I've clocked up 30 weeks of pregnancy this week, so in theory 10 weeks to go.  Since Anna was 2 weeks late (and even then required quite a lot of inducement to come out) I'm not holding my breath that this one will be on time.

Ironically this time I feel much heavier and have quite a lot of aches and pains but I haven't put on as much weight as last time. In fact I have a few maternity clothes I made last time that are still too big for me to wear - I wore a skirt to work during the week that I got sick of pulling it up so I accessorised with some bulldog clips to cinch it in!

But still I have grown out of a few clothes due to my expanding rear and hips, mostly my casual clothes which is what I need most now given that I only work part time this time around and spend quite a bit of time at the park, the library, the museum or other kid orientated places.  So even with only 10 weeks to go I'm still sewing maternity clothes  - I have the fabric and the will, so why not?

This latest dress is the ultimate in comfort but is not one of the best looking dresses I've made, but for once appearance isn't exactly at the forefront of my mind as I try to waddle around in our summer (which has been quite mild to date thankfully!).  So I have actually been wearing this quite a bit, although I feel a bit sloppy and blah.  The only review for this pattern on Pattern Review notes the same issue, so I guess it's not just me.





















I used Burda 4/2010 #122 which need very little modification to make it maternity friendly.  In fact after wearing this a few times I'd say it needed no alteration at all, but to be safe I added a bit extra width to the front dress panel but it's so roomy that I don't think I needed to do that at all.  I also stuffed up by sewing the front bodice and lining together at the neckline and the shoulders, plus the same with the back bodice so I couldn't join the front and back together at the shoulder! D'oh..... But I was too lazy to unpick since I sewed this dress mostly using my overlocker, so my dodgy solution was to just lay the front piece over the back, topstitch along the shoulder and then sew on four buttons to cover it up. Yes, I was even too lazy to make buttonholes!

The other changes I made was to leave off the front opening placket and instead I just sewed on a few buttons on the front where it should be have been - I just couldn't be bothered making the placket since I knew I wouldn't wear this unbuttoned.  The pattern also required a double layer of the fabric (recommended jersey) but I thought that was unnecessary and too hot for summer so I only made a single layer for the dress body and just a self lined bodice.  And I left off the rectangle square at the front that makes a channel for the tie, instead just leaving the tie loose so I could tie it above the baby bump wherever I wanted.

The fabric I bought from the Remnant Warehouse a few months back when I bought the swimsuit fabric.  I don't recall the fabric content label, but I just thought it was a cotton jersey in grey marle with fine black stripes.  After washing it and smelling that unmistakable wet dog smell I realise it's actually wool jersey which made the price I paid ($9.95/m at 145cm wide) an even bigger bargain.  I might remake this blah dress into a simple skirt post pregnancy to get some better use out of the fabric.

Speaking of the swimsuit fabric, yes Kyle it really does say Nookie Beach which is a bit funny given the connotations but it's actually a fashion label here in Australia and I guess this is remnant from their summer line a while back.  And thanks everyone for your flattering comments - we really are our worse critics but I am finding also that the older I get and the more lumpy and bumpy I get post child(ren) I am also getting less self obsessed about how I look.  Yes I am aware of my faults, and I try to minimise them through what I wear, but I've also realised that this is as a good as it gets - I'm sure when I'm 60, 70 or 80 I'll wish I look like I do now!