the last of my maternity clothes

Thursday 18 December 2008
Well with only a week or so to go before this baby makes it's way into the world, I guess it's time to stop sewing maternity clothes. But since I'm at home with plenty of time on my hands I decided to do some last minute maternity sewing. First up is a shirt which was my husband's but I pulled it apart a few months ago to refashion it into a shirt for me. It came close to becoming a maternity UFO, surely the worst kind because it would be years before I have need to finish it if I didn't do it now! Plus I had bought a maternity pattern earlier this year at a sale which I never used, so I wanted to use at least one of the patterns from it.

The pattern is Simplicity 4704, which is one of the few button front maternity shirt patterns offered up by the Big 4. I left off the ties at the back because that look is a bit naff but put some darts instead to give it some shaping (there is so much ease in the back of this shirt), and I also re-used the collar and cuffs of the original shirt to save some unpicking and sewing. I also kept the front placket, buttons and buttonholes of the original shirt so this was rather quick to sew up in the end. The original shirt itself was plenty big because my husband likes to wear his shirts loose, so it was quite easy to cut new pieces out of the existing pieces. It is a cotton waffle weave, and I made long sleeves although since it's so hot here at the moment I will probably wear them rolled up, which is a more casual look anyway since I'm no longer working in an office (yay!).

It's a very comfy fit, and being light weight cotton it should be cool enough to get through summer. Plus being button front it will come in handy for nursing, although I guess it has high embarrassment potential for leakage stains....

Last week I also did a quick but so small adjustment I can't call it a refashion to a blue graphic print polished cotton dress that used to be my grandma's - it fit nicely around the belly but was too big under the arms and across the bust, so I lifted up the facing and took in the side seams, and also put two darts in the back to give it more shape. This used to be a very bright colour, but is now quite faded from years of wear and washing. It's funny though, I don't remember my grandma being a large lady at all, I guess I remember her most as the frail, little lady she was for about 20 years before she passed away at 90. Anyway faded or not, I still like the print and the dress is a good fit and it certainly came in handy last weekend when it was extremely hot:

In other good news our lazy builders finally installed the windows today, check out the expanse of louvre windows in the living room, with fixed glass triangle panels above them:

This photo is taken from our living room to be, looking out into the back yard, with the garage at the back of the block. The garage is accessed from a rear lane, because as Vicki noticed our block is quite long, but rather narrow which is typical of the subdivision patterns of older inner city suburbs. Eventually that wasteland between the house and garage will become lawn and garden area, but for now it's likely to stay like that for a few more months given the building shutdown over Christmas paired with the extreme laziness of our builders! Laying the guilt on them hasn't worked so far, every time I talk to them I rub my belly and adopt a concerned look when they talk about scheduling but it hasn't made them work any faster - maybe I need to go all pregnant psycho hysterial woman on them!

And as for baby news, the baby has dropped quite a bit so I feel the need to pee about, oh every 5 minutes and I am having a lot of groin and pelvic pain which the doctor assures me is normal but isn't a sign the baby is imminent. Apart from that I'm healthy, just hot and getting a little impatient (as probably every pregnant woman does at the end). Nearly there though....

14 comments:

  1. Yes, you get very impatient and if you didn't, you probably wouldn't go through with it -natures way! You are looking good~ And that dress of your grandmothers has a great retro print.

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  2. You look great!

    I remember yelling "Get Out!!!"
    while I was pushing out my daughter. Hahaha!

    Do remember to slow down and rest as much as you can (and eat and drink fluids) when the contractions start. I didn't with my first child and I seriously wiped myself out. Labour can take a long time. You have to pace yourself.

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  3. I know it's kind of corny, but i just wanted to say you really do look blooming. Take care and I hope you will find the time to let us know when the baby has arrived!

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  4. Woah Mama! I can't believe you're still able to stand, you sure you don't have twins in there? :)

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  5. Hi Kristy. I'm a long time lurker from the UK and wanted to wish you well for your new arrival.

    I love your blog, and your enthusiasm is a joy to experience. I look forward to hearing how you get on with the little one.

    Chris

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  6. Looks like your doing great! Just pulled an allnighter working on a skirt for my DIL... gramma's dress is really cute! It doesn't look faded to me! Counting the days, hours, minutes I see! He/she will be here b/4 you know it!
    Hmmmm, tell your builder that you want an early Christmas present!!!
    You want them to be done!!! Just like they said that they would be!
    Yeah... I'm thinking it's time to pull the preggnant lady card! You could start crying and telling them that you just can't see that this project will ever get done and that jr. will have to grow up in a half done house!!! Bring on the tears!!!! LoL... maybe that would work!

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  7. You look so good for being at the end. And rest the best you can, like someone else said. You look like I do, bellywise, at the end, in front and low. I stay like that for several days. Good luck with the builders.

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  8. Yes, you are nearly there! Hold on...it's gonna happen!

    Like the new pieces and some new pieces always helped me at the end.

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  9. You are looking great, and being so productive during these last days! I'm especially fond of your grandmother's dress.

    I hope you gave your husband your Blogger login info so he can post an update after the big event :)

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  10. Every single person I saw told me I looked like I was having twins in my last month and I wanted to kick all of them. I stopped going outside in the last two weeks because I couldn't stand the commentary. I hope you're not as sensitive as I am, but it didn't make me feel nice to hear those "funny" comments.

    Anyway, I have that pattern, too, and I'm five months into pregnancy number two and planning to make that shirt. So I was glad to see you post it and mention you put darts in the back.

    I also want to say your whole pregnancy wardrobe has been such an inspiration to me, so thanks for sharing!

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  11. Love the shirt - it looks cool and comfortable. All the best for the impending birth!

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  12. I've been enjoying your blog over the past few months. I want to send you the best wishes for your upcoming birth! I'm so happy for you and your family on this happy occasion. And you are looking good! :) Rose

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  13. Five days since your last post... you know what we're all thinking now, don't you? Well?

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  14. Dresses are comfortable for pregnant women and those designs are perfect for causal or office meetings. Walking is a great exercise, so some expectant mommies are being advised to wear supportive belly bras to lessen back pains due to pregnancy.

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