I’d intended to write this post (actually, a series of posts) about maternity sewing for curvy women while I was still pregnant. However, early pregnancy discomfort, followed by a cross-country move, followed by maintenance issues with the townhome my husband and I are renting, followed by late pregnancy discomfort did not really allow for that! Couple all of that with an active toddler and getting to know a new city and…well, really there’s no excuse.
But I did want to share with you the maternity and maternity-friendly patterns that are available for plus size moms. These patterns can be as tricky to find as plus size maternity clothes in RTW sizing. However, I did manage to make 5 garments for myself while pregnant. I will talk about those first, in this post, and then move on to other available maternity or maternity-friendly patterns in future posts.
The garments I wound up making for myself were 2 cardigans, 1 skirt, 1 dress, and 1 pair of pants.
Oslo Cardigan, Peg Legs, and Boundless Dress
I’ve been wanting to make this cardigan since I first signed up to subscribe to Seamwork by Colette Patterns. I have a great brown sweater knit fabric that is packed somewhere among my boxes of fabric (yup, I’m still unpacking). This pattern comes in sizes XS-3XL. I made the 3XL, and it fit my pregnant body well. I actually wear this cardigan a lot, and it is great for nursing and baby wearing as well since it’s roomy and can help keep my little guy nice and toasty while we’re out. I made the sweater in a great sweater knit from Hancock Fabrics. I didn’t have to make any adjustments to it, though I did make it without the buttons and buttonholes. Had I made it with the buttons and buttonholes, there would have been plenty of room to still close the sweater. It’s roomy!
Patterns for Pirates Grandpa Cardi
Grandpa Cardi (Patterns for Pirates)
I made this pattern up as a pattern tester when I was 7 months pregnant. I did not do it with the buttons, as I knew it wouldn’t close, but as with the Oslo Cardigan, I don’t really intend to wear cardigans closed. I think I did once long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away because I’d spilled something on my shirt. I digress. The cardigan sewed up a lot faster than I thought it would! I fought with the elbow patches a little bit, but it’s definitely a good cardigan for wearing with jeans. I wound up never adding the buttons or buttonholes to the cardigan. I’ve worn it a lot more post-pregnancy than I did while I was pregnant, but it’s very accommodating due to its boxier shape. It’s a great piece for layering (as cardigans are) while pregnant.
Bella Sunshine Designs Kelly Twirly Skirt
Kelly’s Twirly Skirt (Bella Sunshine Designs)
I made this skirt, and finished it, the day before I learned I was pregnant. I wore it through my pregnancy just below my belly bump and I wore it postpartum for a date. It’s easy (I mean, you can’t get much easier than this skirt), yet elegant, and it was a great piece for feeling dressed up while being comfortable. The yoga waistband is a big plus for this skirt.
Patterns for Pirates Boundless Dress
Boundless Dress (Patterns for Pirates)
This dress is great for a curvy girl’s pregnancy. I made the empire waist option so that I had plenty of room with the gathers for baby to grow. It was super comfy, since I made it out of a thick t-shirt-like knit. That came in really handy for the last month and a half of pregnancy, let me tell you! I did add a couple of inches to the hem, so that it would still be about knee-length when accounting for my baby bump. The only thing I didn’t do that I really should have done was a full bust adjustment.
Peg Legs (Patterns for Pirates)
Okay, so I will admit, I was REALLY nervous about sewing up the Peg Legs leggings to wear while pregnant. I wasn’t sure that they would fit over my belly bump. I used a super stretchy 4-way stretch just to be sure that they would work. And guess what! They did. That was nice, because it gets cold in Wichita, and since I was due in December, they allowed me to extend the life of my dresses through the season.
So that’s it, that’s what I made while pregnant with my now 5-month old. I know. We wound up adding buying a house and caring for a little guy to the toddler and teenager mix. Life is very busy these days, but I’m definitely making time to sew! There are actually a lot of patterns out there that lend themselves well to maternity mods (and that go up into larger sizes).
I really struggled finding maternity sewing patterns as well – I’m at the top end of “Regular” sizes and even then the selection was poor. I ended up making several skirts from the Megan Nielson maternity skirt pattern (which I had to grade up). My absolute favourite, though,was Muse Pattern’s Gillian wrap dress – a bonus is that it’s great for breastfeeding as well!
My Colette Moneta dresses were fantastic as well.
When I was pregnant, I was given some hand-me-down pants with stretchy fabric all the way around, like several tutorials you’ll find around the web. I also bought some pants with a stretchy panel only in the front. Guess what? I only had a pregnancy bump in the front! The front-only ones actually stayed up. So if anyone is thinking of modifying existing pants for maternity wear, there’s my 2 cents…
I had a friend that gave birth to full sized twins so you can imagine how big she had gotten! One day at church she gave me a pair of her pants that she said she had worn while pregnant and thought I might be able to use them!!!!!!!!! Please understand I was already done having babies at that point — even to the point of having had a hysterectomy. She thought I guess, since I was a curvey lady that maternity pants might fit me. I took them home after being gracious to her and immediately donated them. Never even tried them on. Why would I want to know If I was routinely as big as a woman carrying twins? Who would? I had clothes that fit and didn’t need them. That woman is now, the last time I saw her, as big as me.
My maternity times were back in the late 70’s… and I lived in beautiful print caftans, short or long. Could not stand to have anything around my waist!
The cardigans are really nice as you can get some use for them afterwards. I know my favorite one is the biggest. I am a lot older so remember someone lent me their maternity and baby clothes as a gift. I can’t believe you even had time to sew! Good for you. Cherish your days as they go so fast. Now I’m a grandmother of two and am having trouble finding little guys clothing.
I’m so glad you wrote this post! It’s a market that could use a lot more development, but I’m glad to hear there are some solid options available already! 🙂 All your outfits look fab!
I sell sewing patterns and specialize as much as possible in having Plus sized sewing patterns from the main pattern makers and I try to track down every possible maternity pattern. I have been selling patterns for a good 10 years now and have found these two prinicipals, 1. pattern makers don’t make much in the way of plus size garments, although some are now making matterns up to misses size 26 including Vogue. and 2. it is extremely hard to find maternity patterns from the major brands. McCall’s has none, Kwik Sew has one for a top, Vogue has none, Simplicity has one up to size 24, Burda has three up to size 20, and Butterick wins the prize for the most maternity patterns for sale some going to size 24 – 26.
I remember making just about every single thing that I wore when pregnant back in the early 80’s. I would have to do laundry in my nightgown as I didn’t have a week’s worth of clothes. I’m not sure why these companies think it is a waste (or whatever their reasons) to not produce maternity clothing patterns in in both causual and work type attire. If someone makes most of their clothing off of Vogue patterns already, don’t they think they would also want Vogue patterns for making their maternity clothing for when they are a CEO of a company?
I can tell by how many plus size and maternity patterns I have shipped out over the years that this is a crucial need for women that sew for themselves. And they need higher sizes as well!
Awesome post! I so wanted to make clothes when I was pregnant, but remaining upright after working all day was impossible. Huge props to you for making some of your own clothes!!!!
Thank you for your post. Maternity wear is a challenge for every pregnant wonan and it is a bonus to look half decent when you crave something comfortable to wear. Enjoy your time with your family, they grow up so fast!
Take care.
Great post! Those cardigan patterns both look great, pregnant or not. Did you have a preference between them?