Aloha folks! How is your day going? I have finally reached the end of the five thousand social engagements that have taken up my every weekend for the past six weeks. I'm pretty tired, but only have a week and a half of work left so am looking forward to finally taking a moment off before Spud arrives!
This weekend my plan is to potter, finally make those dresses I needed for work.... so I can wear them in my last week (oops) and sit with my feet up for a bit. We had a baby shower over the weekend, and showed off the nursery to family and friends. I managed to stay up til 2.30am! Pretty chuffed with that as my last hoorah for a while ha ha.
Today I'm showing you my stretch denim pinafore, made from vintage pattern Style 1156, this is the first ever vintage pattern I have ever used! Can you believe it? People are always saying I have a vintage style, I like to think I like everything and that's why I have a bit of a vintage aesthetic.
Therefore I have completed my #vintagepledge for 2015, to actually sew an original vintage pattern! Im pretty sure that this is from the '70s.
For some reason I look a bit unimpressed in these pictures, but actually I'm pretty darn chuffed! I used the stretch denim that I bought for my simple stretch maternity skirts that are now a bit indecent (I didn't realise quite how high my bump would be... it pulls skirts up rather high! :-) ). You can't tell in these pics really but it's got a lovely flock pattern.
It looks in the pattern like there is a placket centre front, but in fact this is a small fold which is topstitched with buttons added. Once it was topstitched, and because I added the button tab detail I decided it looks better plain. I'm sure I'll make another one at some point, I might change this so it's a proper button placket for breastfeeding.
I went to a workshop about breastfeeding on Monday, and am feeling a little better about it all. My only worry is what I'm going to wear? I wear mostly dresses that don't open at the front, so the double layer vest and top thing would basically mean me getting naked? The two dresses I'm making at the moment I'm ensuring have front openings to try and limit this issue but if anyone has any suggestions (that don't involve me wearing solely jersey for the next six months) I'd very much appreciate it.
When looking at the cover art it appears to be a pinafore, but in fact this is a dress with a a full back. I didn't quite have enough fabric to pull this off so adapted the back to be more like a pinafore, with tabs coming from the back, at an angle so that they would sit well on my shoulders.I also used these straps as tabs, adding in the buttons to complete the pinafore look. It was nice to use up some buttons from the stash. I probably should have ironed this before taking pics, but what can I say? I'm lazy these days.
This picture must be about a month or so ago, so imagine this picture, but bigger and you get an idea of how big my belly is now he he.
The pockets are lined with a white muslin with little red flowers that I've used in lots of projects and now have lots less. After talking about trying to get through my stash, I started the process last week, going through my massive bag of excess fabric that is left over from other projects. I separated out all the cottons that I'm likely to make patchwork/ possible kids clothes from, set aside any pieces of material big enough to make big people clothes from, and put all the wools and heavier materials into a bag under the stairs. This is only one bag of the masses of stuff I've to get through, but I feel better now for having made the first inroads on this massive task. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts on my stash stress.
Hello! I'm a fellow dress lover and was also a bit worried about what to wear for breastfeeding. It's been much less of a problem than I thought it would be! As long as a dress is loose enough to lift up I wear leggings and a vest underneath and find feeding pretty easy. The dress also acts as a cover which is a bonus, especially when you're building confidence.
ReplyDeleteShirtdresses work for breastfeeding. They just need enough ease to manoeuvre. Burda 6760 is one that I think would look great on you. X
ReplyDeleteIt's a long time since I was breastfeeding but, as a mam of 4, in total I did do it for several years. I found that camisoles (jersey or patterned woven) worked really well with shirts, tunics & tops - and I varied which layer I pulled up or down. I had a few shirtdress type maternity dresses that were OK after the births as well with a cotton cami underneath to pull upwards when feeding. My main advice would be to not stress about it too much in advance. A few weeks in you will have worked out which items of clothing in your wardrobe work best. Your bust size, how hot you get (really!) and your baby's and your preferred feeding position can all have an impact on what works best. Remember that in the early weeks there may be a lot of washing before supply and demand are in sync. I found some of my OH's shirts and a couple of cotton vests very useful around the house. Once things are established at least the clothes you like start to fit better and aren't completely washed out.
ReplyDeleteLove the 70s style on this. Shirts were my mainstay for breastfeeding and shirt dresses. Enjoy your last bit of free time, try and treat yourself to thing you won't have time for with a newborn.
ReplyDeleteHi as someone who has done the whole jersey option and been desperate to get back into dresses etc i have since been introduced to nursing cover up/aprons which are quite handy, especially as you tend to get a bit hot when breastfeeding. there are loads of free sewing patterns for these and then you could always have co-ordinating options:)
ReplyDeletegreat dress, i love pinafores and pockets, so practical. best of luck with the birth. no real advice here on breast feeding, but friends of mine usually just went with front opening tops and cardigans for the first few months
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this, pinafores are the best and this is so lovely! Also 2.30am? Steady on! I can't do that and I'm not heavily pregnant! Give yourself a medal and enjoy being spoiled at your last week at work xxx
ReplyDeleteWow! What a wonderful community of people you all are, thanks so much for all of the advice, I think my favourite so far is don't stress beforehand! And you're quite right, though I may not have time to se,w I know I have a lot of clothes and I'll work it out as I go along. Thanks again for all the advice, and keep it coming :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is really cute, and looks lovely on you.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, I generally found dresses to be a no-no when breastfeeding, and I've done it twice now. Button front does work, but you still end up exposing quite a bit, and so have to cover up with a muslin or something (which never worked for me because it would always fall off). You need to bear in mind too that your bust size will change dramatically over the course of the period you feed. You'll be giant (literally) at first, while your supply works itself out, and then get to something a bit more "normal" (relatively speaking), before reducing again when you stop. This is kind of why jersey is good.
for my first, I did the whole vest under a top thing (normal cheap vest, which I just pulled down. Maternity vests cost a fortune and you end up with loads of bulk by the time you layer it over a maternity bra). for my second, I didn't bother with the vest, and just tended towards longer, looser tops. My fave was a Scout woven tee, which I added an inverted box pleat to. This meant it wasn't shapeless, but gave me a bit more fabric at the bottom for access and coverage.
Sorry - giant comment. You'll figure out what works for you as you go along. Don't make/buy too much stuff in advance, because you may well end up preferring something else. In general, that's a pretty good rule, as babies never do what you want them to!
Good luck!!!
Looking great, definitely a 70s pattern as my friends used to wear pinafores in that style to school with open necked shirts underneath and sometimes really full flared trousers and platform shoes in addition. Showing my age now lol.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the rest of your time until the baby comes.
Bev x