More on Making Maternity Clothes - Using Maternity Patterns

I've recently written a number of posts about adapting non-maternity patterns to work for maternity clothing. These were all for tops. You can find the main link to them here.

I was more nervous about adapting trousers, so I did buy a couple of the very few patterns around. In fact, two of the patterns I bought are vintage ones.

So this post is more of a review of 'proper' maternity patterns, and what I've learned while making them up.

I really did find it very disappointing that the pattern manufacturers seem to have lost interest in making maternity patterns. In fact, they have far more patterns for fancy dress! And overall, they seem keener on making vast shapeless sacks than anything stylish. But if you really hunt around, you can find patterns that work. Below, I'll give you some ideas, and I'll also show you the results.

Adjustable Elastic for Maternity Trousers (or Growing Children!) - A tutorial

I recently made a couple of pairs of trousers for my pregnant daughter. For one pair, the pattern I was using required you to thread elastic in through the waist band. This was to be via the usual method of sewing up the waistband apart from leaving a couple of inches not sewn, through which you can thread the elastic with a safety pin, sewing the two ends of the elastic together, and finally sewing up the last bit of the band.

However, I was concerned that if the elastic was tight enough to hold the trousers up early in the pregnancy, it would be too tight later on.

To find out how I have solved this, read on.

How to Make Your Own Maternity Patterns

Well, the New Grandma who wants to sew is taking a temporary break from making things for the grand-children. And guess why? Well, one of their Mummies is set on expanding the brood! So it's time to think about clothes for the Mama-to-be.

In this post, I'll tell you how I've adapted non-maternity patterns into patterns for maternity clothes. But I will also tell you more about making maternity clothes with free or paid for maternity patterns in a later post. See here.

Having done a serious hunt for new patterns, it seems that most of the manufacturers are no longer interested in maternity clothes. In fact, one of the books had a huge section on dressing up clothes, and only one page of maternity patterns! Pah! I've had to get a couple of vintage patterns from our local fabric store that re-cycles patterns. However, all is not lost. There is a lot you can do to adapt non-maternity patterns, especially tops.

How to choose a suitable pattern?

What you need for a maternity top is a garment that will expand to allow for a waistline much bigger than normal, but which will also hang nicely before the bump is huge. So you are looking for something that is, or COULD BE, a more-or-less trapezoidal shape.

There are various non-maternity patterns that will lend themselves. I've given some examples below  of adaptations, and you can see the results on some of the other posts, for a tent-style top, an empire style top, a top with a yoke, and tops made from other non-maternity patterns. 

Converting a Non-maternity Dress or Top Pattern to Use as a Maternity Pattern

In this series of posts, I've been writing about maternity patterns, and especially, how to make any pattern for a top work as a maternity top. I showed how to convert a yoke-style pattern, an empire-line pattern, and how to make a tent-style top or dress. You can find more thoughts and ideas on this topic here. In this post, here's how to adapt a loose-fitting top pattern - and some ideas for using any just old top pattern as a base.

So before you buy maternity patterns, look through the patterns you already have. Almost any loose fitting top pattern can be used, and, depending on the style, it may need a little adaptation. So read on, for ideas on how to adapt it. 

Making a Tent-style Maternity Top

I've been making more maternity clothes than baby clothes lately - though hopefully that will change in a few weeks' time! Most of the clothes I've made haven't required the purchase of a specific maternity pattern - read about some of my ideas here.

 Here's another non-maternity pattern, which would probably not need any adapting to make it fit a growing midriff! You could probably make a top like this from an unwanted circular skirt. Hang it round your neck and have someone cut armholes!

But if you don't have a pattern like this but would like to make a maternity top in this sort of style, read on. 

Matching Watermelon Maternity Top and Toddler Top

No, the fruit doesn't refer the the girth! I had had this nice two way stretchy material printed with watermelon slices for a year or two, waiting for the right project, and then it came into its own as a sleeveless maternity top.

Front view:

Back view:

This top was made from a maternity pattern. I've commented elsewhere on how difficult it is to find good maternity patterns, and how easy to adapt non-maternity tops. However, trousers is a different matter, and having finally found a maternity pattern which included trousers, I thought I'd give the top a go as well. (However, if you don't want to spend money on a specific maternity top, I've given lots of ideas for how to adapt other patterns, here.

Adapting an Empire Line Pattern to Make a Maternity Top

Continuing my search through my existing patterns to find ones I could adapt for a maternity top, I found this one, which, indeed, I had used before to  fashion a maternity top for my older daughter. 

It isn't a true empire line dress, which is what I had been looking for, but my efforts to convert it would work for almost any pattern with a below the bust seam / empire line style.

Here, bellow, is what I mean by a true empire line. Some empire line tops or dresses already have the skirt part gathered into the below the bust line, others may be more fitted. As you can see, this is an example of a fitted style from a vintage pattern.

 And here's how you can adapt it to work for a maternity dress of top. 

Adaptation of a Yoke Top Pattern to Make a Maternity Top

When my daughter first announced her second pregnancy, I didn't have any patterns specifically designed as maternity wear, so I thought I would adapt patterns I already had.  (If you want to know more about different ways of adapting patterns, see here.)

This sleeveless top (sorry, not a great photo) was converted from a pattern with a yoke, which does make the conversion very easy. As you can see below, this was a New Look pattern 6871, but you could do it with any top pattern with a yoke. You can also make a dress by just making it longer.

Read on to find out how easy it is.