Easy & Cute DIY Pumpkin Maternity Shirt

I had so many plans for Halloween projects this year.  I was going to have lots of posts and be all festive too.  Between an out-of-state craft show, kid birthdays, home renovation planning, complicated costume requests and an unexpected city-wide water issue, most of my ideas got sidelined for more pressing issues.  Halloween's less than a week away and I'm scrambling just to get the costumes done.  UGH.

There's also another new development that's made finding craft time a little trickier and the very reason for today's DIY Cute Pumpkin Maternity Shirt tutorial: 

A new Sew Can Do baby is on its way:)  And that means maternity & baby things are now at the top of my need-to-make list.

Maternity clothes are always a challenge for me since I'm petite and really short.  I tend to start showing pretty fast & very roundly in the bump area, so I can't get by with my regular clothes for very long.  This being baby #4, it's happened even sooner.



I also hate the baggy, blobby "can't tell if I'm really overweight or pregnant" look most maternity tops create on me and the price of a cute maternity top you're only going to wear a couple of months (or even less if it's seasonal/holiday) is almost criminal and nearly impossible to find.  So today I'm sharing how to make cute, bumptastic maternity tops on the cheap.

Materials:
- Stretchy solid t-shirt*
- Heat transfer material (mine is the glitter variety)
- Cutting machine or exact-o and patience.  
- Iron or heat press.  I used my new Cricut EasyPress.

*A basic, stretchy solid tee is the key base.  There are some maternity versions that aren't too pricey, but I've found the regular size ones at Target work best and are by far the cheapest.  Their old Merona brand or the new A New Day brand (which is the same thing) run about $9 for a long-sleeve, even less for short sleeve or tank style and are good quality. They are super stretchy & ultra soft. Most importantly, they are very long, which is ideal for the growing middle.  I buy them in a size larger than my usual and they're perfect - there's enough give and length to go the whole 9 months.



After pre-washing my shirt I got my design together.  I used a pumpkin silhouette image found online and opened it in Cricut Design Space then turned it into a cut file there.  

I added the Pumpkin Smuggler text in a fun font and then had the machine cut it out. Remembering to mirror it before cutting is key since the material is cut face down on the mat. If you don't have a cutting machine you could print out a paper copy to lay over the heat transfer materials and then use an exact-o to cut out the details, but a machine is way easier & faster. 

I tried my shirt on and noted the exact spot I wanted my design to be.  After a quick press to warm the fabric up, I placed my heat transfer on it and pressed away according to the directions.  

Once cool, I pressed it again on the wrong side with the shirt inside out and then peeled off the protective cover sheet when completely cool.  I'll be sharing my unbiased, bought with my own money opinions & experiences with the new Cricut EasyPress in a coming post.

The shirt turned out exactly as I'd hoped and the size of the design means it doesn't pull or distort over my round middle which is key.    The glitter finish adds a glitzy, festive feel too:



I've already worn it 3 times and can't wait to wear it again for several upcoming Halloween activities.  Not bad for a $13 top I made myself!  Now I can't wait to make some fun & thrifty looks for winter, Thanksgiving & Christmas!

It's a Winner!!

When I checked my email today I received a fabulous suprise - notice that I had won the Mother's Day Sewing Contest over at The Fabric Fairy! My entry is also featured on her blog: The Handmade Muse. I am so wowed & proud! The goal of the contest was to make something fabulous out of fabric from their Mamas Fabric selection & it had to be for yourself. Sounds easy, but as any sewing mom can attest, making stuff for everyone else is usually what you spend most time on - case point, I also ended up making this newborn set of the same tea dot flower fabric:



I really love the dress for me though - it's really comfortable and can be both casual & dressy. As mentioned in my previous post on the dress, the design, The Window Shopping Dress, is just one single cut piece and easily converts to a "non-pregnant" shape just by moving the belt down and then ta-da! A fun, mommy & baby matching ensemble. I really love all the great fabrics at The Fabric Fairy and am so excited to use my winnings on more lovely fabric. Now, deciding on which specific fabrics....that's the hard part!

Summer Styles for Moms In A Hurry

After viewing my summer wardrobe, it appeared plain I needed some summer dresses. My criteria was pretty specific though: had to be comfortable, flattering to my ever expanding waist/rest of pregnant body and had to be something I could wear again next summer when I'm back to a normal shape.  Not a tall order, right?  It's easy to say you'll just wear/find loose fitting stuff when you're in the 1st trimester, but now that I'm 6 mos in, it's obvious a lot of stuff just isn't cutting it (read: sausage casing) or looks like a tent (read: makes my middle look even larger than it is).


Enter these two dresses. These are from a fabulous book by Sheila Brennan: One Piece Wearables. This is THE book for quick, easy to make stuff that looks good. Like the name says everything in it is made from a single pattern piece (which is included), so there's a minimal amount of work involved - no pieces to match, fairly simple steps, most involve just 1 yard or less of fabric and the stuff is really cute. These are definitely projects that can be completed in a short sitting. I decided to use stretch knit instead of cotton to make these more belly-friendly and I like that with virtually no adjustment, they work for any body shape. For instance, the pattern for the leaf print dress was trapeze style and just called for using a ribbon as a belt, so instead of around the waist, I just tied it above the bump. Easy and effective!


My only issue is that for some weird reason the patterns come in S-M-L, but with no indication of what those are.  Way too vague - that could mean ANYTHING!  While I am considered petite in size, I am pretty round in the waist at the moment, so I was surprised to have to remove a full 6 inches from the back of the swirl one to make it fit properly, but maybe using a non-stretch fabric would have prevented that. Either way, I'm happy to have a few new items that look and feel great for summer!

Top Off This Spring

The warm weather is finally here and so is my visible baby bump. In keeping with my goal not to invest in maternity clothes, I decided to make a few tops with fabric I had in my stash. My main goal was have designs that can be worn when I'm back to my non-pregnant shape. What's the point of making or buying stuff that is only wearable for a couple of months?

The first is my own design. I just loved this tree print fabric, but bought only 1 yd with the intention of making a tote bag so to make sure there'd be enough length for a top I stitched satin blanket binding on the top and fed 1.75" wide elastic through to give length and a nice drape. I'm really looking forward to wearing this out and about.

The second is using McCalls 5050 which I've made before in the long sleeved style. I love how this turned out and was really happy to find a way to use this fabric. It's vintage from the 60s satin that I'd found in a fabric stash my grandmother had left me. Funny how in style this print still is. Comfy, $0 and practical!!

Something For Soon To Be Mama of 3

I'm proud to say this is my first attempt at my own design. I'd actually bought this fun & funky fabric to make some cute handbags, but decided I had just enough to make a cute dress. This being my 3rd pregnancy, it doesn't make sense to buy many maternity things and quite honestly there isn't much out there that fits, is inexpensive and, most of all, attractive. Most of my old stuff is the usual, hideous, shapeless stuff (which was all that was around a few years ago). With this design the satin ribbon under the chest and the seam at the top are both elasticized, so it should accommodate a growing waistline (I'm 4.5mos now, so I think Ive got a couple of months of wear available) and can always be shrunk down for post-baby wear. Now if the weather would just cooperate, I'll be able to start wearing it outside the house!