Maternity wear

18 years ago

I've been searching online for maternity patterns and am wondering if I can sew them. I'm a quilter and have recently started sewing. I'm in a sewing class now and am making an easy Butterick B3888 dress (children).

We are not covering stretch fabrics in this class, but the teacher might be willing to go over it with me.

I want a basic wardrobe for work. I already have some things, but I need to replace tops and add several dressy pants for work. I work at a casual place, but I can't wear jeans everyday...

Pattern suggestions for a newbie?

Also, how easy are kwik sew patterns? Any pattern companies I should avoid?

I'm thinking of:

Vogue 2818 (It's a knit, but I love this..This is my Fav pattern)

http://www.voguepatterns.com/item/V2818.htm

Kwik Sew 3486

http://www.kwiksew.com/Catalog/cat_detail.cfm?pid=3486

Kwik Sew 3326

http://www.kwiksew.com/Catalog/cat_detail.cfm?pid=3326

Butterick B4201

http://www.butterick.com/item/B4201.htm

Butterick B3403

http://www.butterick.com/item/B3403.htm

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

kathi_mdgd
18 years ago
That vogue pattern looks easy enough-------but it does have a zipper,can you manage one of those??

When you work with knits,Remember,the stretch always goes around your body!!

Watch Joanns fabric store,as their patterns are almost always on sale for 1/2 price and sometimes .99 cents.I think wal mart if yours still carries patterns are also 1/2 off.

In my area it's not easy to find good knit fabrics,so you need to check that out for your area as well.

Now if i were you just starting out,i'd choose the Butterick 4201,as it looks very simple,no zippers,has several different necklines,and several lengths of pants.I'd then look for mix and match fabrics so i could have several mix and match outfits or matchy,matchy ones.I would also make the Vogue dress,there again you could make the same dress in a couple different colors.

Remember you're only gonna be pregnant for a short time,so you may not want to invest a lot of money into something you're only gonna wear for a short while.

HTH
Kathi
clt3
18 years ago
None of those look particularly difficult. Remember patterns do not run the same as ready to wear. Use you pre-pregnancy measurements and choose the pattern accordingly. Have you seen Butterick 5196? It's really darling and described as easy.
Related Professionals
Augusta Furniture & Accessories · Fort Wayne Furniture & Accessories · Lafayette Furniture & Accessories · Hudson Furniture & Accessories · Jackson Furniture & Accessories · Ottawa Furniture & Accessories · Indianapolis Interior Designers & Decorators · Jackson Interior Designers & Decorators · Waco Interior Designers & Decorators · Bangor Interior Designers & Decorators · Bennington Interior Designers & Decorators · Yuba City Interior Designers & Decorators · Spanish Fork Interior Designers & Decorators · Valdosta Furniture & Accessories · Kalispell Furniture & Accessories
ms_metis
Original Author
18 years ago
Clt3, how did you find that one... I didn't see it under maternity. I didn't see Butterick 5196... Thanks for that find. I might have to play around and lengthen the sleeves. I don't like my arms out.

In the class we are doing a zipper. The dress I'm making doesn't have a zipper, but several others being made by the class does have a zipper.

I work in Philly and they have a great garment district. I've used them in the past when I made drapes, quilts, and pillows.

Thanks for the advice about mix-n-match. I should plan out the wardrobe colors so things work together. That way 5 items can turn into 10 outfits.

Again thanks...and please post any patterns you find.
donnar57
18 years ago
Remember that when you're done being pregnant, hang onto one outfit OR one pattern if you're not planning to get pregnant again. It's your insurance! (big grin)

It's been a long, long time since I was pregnant (my youngest will be 21 in April), but I still have a maternity pattern.

I would go for the mix and match - a few pants and a few tops, maybe a jumper or similar if you wear dresses, all color coordinated. Another thing I did was to make a dress or two with a tie belt - so that "after pregnancy", if I wasn't quite ready to get back in my regular pre-PG clothes, I could look stylish and still be comfortable without still looking pregnant.

DonnaR/CA