A Shirt and Some Skirts

I finally sorted through the photos I took the other day and am ready to show you the things I made a few weeks ago! For myself, a shirt and skirt:

  I created the shirt pattern from a maternity shirt I love but that has a very sad tear in it. Sadly, my version didn't come out as well as the original. Somehow my bodice pieces all came out about 3/4 of an inch shorter than the original, even though I traced carefully and added seam allowances after... not sure what happened there. And also, I couldn't find a fabric with enough drape for a good price in the amount of time I had to sew this shirt, so I used a quilting cotton... from the front and back it works fine, but I often get this going on from the side:

  I want to try this pattern again with a little length added to the upper front bodice pieces and in a nicer fabric... but I probably won't end up doing so until the next baby, whenever that will be. =)

  The original shirt had a collar and stand, but I left the collar off and like the look of it much better this way. There are a couple pleats under the bust, panels in the lower front section, and princess seams in the back with shirring:

 
  I wish the seaming showed up a little better, because it is a fun feature of this shirt. A solid-color fabric would work a lot better because of that. In spite of the bad fabric choice, I really like this shirt. I'm hugely pleased that I finished it in only 2 days, and that I have lots of pretty top-stitching with clean facings and a crisp collar.

The skirt is another super-simple half-circle with a maternity waistband/panel. This time, I took 8 inches of ease out before calculating my half-circle and measured along the curve of the panel before cutting it out to make sure it was close to my actual measurements. The knit I used for the panel doesn't have as much recovery as I was hoping for, so it does get a little loose and slides down a bit after a couple hours, but it works a lot better than my original version.

  This skirt was an incredibly quick sew, even though this denim was just a bit too thick for a rolled hem, so I had to pin and sew. For a slower seamstress like me, it's almost miraculous to see a completed adult garment in half a day.  =) It's really simple, but this skirt is a perfect basic addition to my wardrobe. I was going to add a few rows of machine embroidery around the hem, but started wearing it before I had fully decided on the colors and stitches, and it's been in regular rotation since then, with no time to sew on it. =) In case you want a peek of the maternity panel:

  I made one other thing for myself recently, but have no photos... it's a very basic long-sleeved white layering tee. I recently realized that all of mine didn't cover my belly enough, and the necklines didn't work well with the things I wanted to layer with. My new one has a slight boat-neck to it.

  Booper has been in need of some skirts too, so I used the leftover fabric from my skirt and made her one. I didn't have a whole piece that was long enough, so I cut a main piece and a lengthening piece, then sandwiched some pretty crochet trim between when sewing them together. This skirt has an elastic back and a flat front. Booper is wearing this with her Junebug tunic, which turned out to be one of her favorite shirts. =)

  And I have a couple more things to show you! First, Gaiw (aka Mischief) wearing a skirt I made when Booper was about 11 months old:

  It was cute on Booper too:

  Finally, this amazing quilt that our Tia Eva made for Gaiw:

  Isn't that just beautiful? Look at all of this perfect embroidery:

  I love this quilt! I hope that someday I will be able to do such beautiful embroidery, and bless other people with gifts like this. Booper has a quilt from Tia Eva too, but I can't find my photos of it. Thank you, Tia Eva! =)

  Now to see if I can finish that last maternity shirt and maybe some newborn clothes before Beckers arrives... 4 weeks and 2 days until the due date! =)

Thanks for stopping by,