Sewing for Me
2003 Projects
Baby Panel, December 2003
Pattern: ELD Nursing Classics #206
Fabric: Malden Mills Polarfleece
I finally made the panel to go with my jacket that I made at the beginning of 2003. I'm happy with how I matched the stripes across the zipper. I'm unhappy that the zipper had a missing tooth which I didn't notice until after I sewed it in. You have to be very careful zipping the panel to the jacket--if you stop where the missing tooth is, the whole zipper just pulls apart. Als,o, the baby keeps trying to wiggle out of the sling (in this pic she's just in my arms) and it's been so bone-chilling cold that I haven't used the panel or the jacket much--have to wear my down and don't take the baby outside except to run to the car. But at least I completed it!
Formal Nursing Dress, June/July 2003
Pattern: ELD Nursing Classics #204
Fabric: Green satin and organza (poly) from The Fabric Mill, Carle Place, NY
This was a great learning experience and I love how it turned out. I made 3 muslins before working with my "good" fabric, so I was confident of the fit. I altered the pattern by using an A-line skirt of my own draft instead of the six-gore skirt included in the pattern. I put in two slits for nursing and did not topstitch the overlay at all, not even from the inside, and I still had no problems with gaping or gapping. I also adjusted the bodice to be as fitted as possible and still fit over my head & shoulders. Looking at the back view, I am thinking that next time I should take the plunge and put in a zipper instead of ties--that way it could be a bit more fitted and not have those wrinkles in back. Still, I'm very happy with this dress. I even used a piece of leftover fabric to make a rosette for the hat I wore to the wedding, and I have fabric enough left that I'm making matching dresses for my daughters for the High Holidays. (Oh, and yes, I chopped off all my hair in mid-August, in case anyone was wondering!)
Nursing Nightgown, April 2003
Pattern: MotherNurture 105
Fabric: Ivory nylon tricot from ELD
Not a great picture, but I love this nightgown! It's very soft and comfy, and nursing openings, which are hidden in knife pleats on either side of the bust, are very easy to nurse in. I much prefer them to the typical openings in a center pleat. And the square neckline is very flattering. Only problems (faults of mine, not the pattern): in wrestling with 108" wide fabric, I cut it off-grain, so the side seams hang funny. And, ironically, I made the sleeves too short.
(Click on the picture for a larger view)
Nursing Dress - this is an oldie from ELD 204 but I want advice for next time. Also, I never posted a pic of me wearing it.
Nursing Jacket, January 2003 - This got its own page! Lots of pics!
Twinset Dress, April 2003
Pattern: Converted from RTW
Fabric: Coral/peach acrylic sweater knit
I feel almost silly posting these conversions as sewing pictures, since so little sewing is involved, but I'm so happy with these and I hope they will inspire others like me who can't always sew things from scratch. All I did was enlarge the armholes of the sleeveless dress so I could nurse in it. The openings are just serged, since it doesn't show anyway.
Mock Twinset, April 2003
Pattern: Converted from RTW
Fabric: Periwinkle sweater knit with crochet trim & ribbon embroidery
I've been wanting to convert this mock twinset for years, but was always afraid of "ruining" it somehow. Well, two slits and some serging later (I'm getting awfully good at serging around slits!), it's done and it's perfectly fine. I could even wear this after I stop nursing, since the openings would never show (and it's mock, so you wouldn't open the sweater anyway). I did slits instead of extended armholes because it was mock and I didn't want to mess around with the sleeves. Works great, so easy. Only precaution to anyone considering converting a twinset to nursing: the top button MUST be below the collarbone, as in this sweater, where the top button is a few inches above the bust point, but at least 4 inches below the neckline of the underlay. Clear as mud? Otherwise, the top button doesn't hold things closed enough near the bustline and the nursing openings show when you move around. At least, that was my experience.
Nursing Shirt, March 2003
Pattern: converted from RTW
Fabric: Teal striped rib knit
I converted two identical RTW shirts to nursing by cutting off the sleeves of one, making deep armholes, and attaching it to the shoulder seam of the other shirt. I did all this on the serger--no sewing machine at all. It's basically like a tank with deep armholes under a shirt, only the tank is attached to the shirt. It's very comfy and easy to nurse in. The only alterations to the overlay shirt were shortening the sleeves and bottom hem. I made the overlay about 1 inch shorter than the underlay, but I have decided I prefer to wear the underlay tucked in; then you can't tell it's nursing at all. Like the dress to the right, I used ELD #307 to get the approximate shape of the armholes.