Megan Nielsen Perfect Nursing and Maternity Top - Pattern Review

Find it here

I bought this pattern along with the Nursing Lingerie set also by Megan, a little while ago, however, my lack of expertise in sewing stretch fabrics had me leave this one on the shelf until I could find some stretch fabric cheap enough to make it worth my while giving it a go. Jersey fabric in Australia is not all that cheap and I didn't really want to spend $40 only to make a huge mess.

I'm glad that I made that choice and waited until I found some clearance Jersey for $5 per meter.

This is a nice pattern - don't get me wrong - and very easy to sew up - but there are a few things I would change if I were to make it again.

The first thing would be the fabric choice. The jersey I bought was a very fine slinky jersey and while beautiful - just too light for this pattern. The nursing modesty panel shows very clearly through the front panel because of how thin the fabric is.
 The fabric choice also didn't handle the construction method of the neck line and modesty panel very well and I don't think it will stand up to the test of time and wear when feeding frequently. All of this is purely down to fabric choice. I think it needs a nice sturdy ITY Jersey or cotton lycra. Whatever the choice - it needs to have a bit of weight to it.


The second thing I would change (and this is just a personal thing) is that I would use a cover hem on the neckline, hem, sleeve hem and modesty panel neckline - purely to increase the sturdiness factor and increase the amount of stretch in the neckline. I have a Serger that can do a cover hem - however - I have yet to master it.

The last thing I would alter is the width of the middle panel. This is what gives the top the length it needs to cover the growing bump - but - it is just a bit too wide for my liking - I was left feeling as though I hadn't followed the pattern instructions properly - but on review it seems I did. I feel as though it could be half the width and make the bottom of the top the same length longer.

On the positive side - it is a very flattering top and not all that difficult to sew. I didn't use my Serger to set in the sleeves as I have never made anything with set in sleeves before and wasn't all that sure about this step. The sleeves are fine though having sewn them with just a straight stitch. I finished off the raw edges with the Serger after sewing the sleeves in.  If I could find the right fabric I would give it another go - it is just that living in a relatively small city I am quite limited in my choice of fabric stores and Jersey/knits are something I like to  feel before purchasing.

I made the Large size and I normally wear a size 10 - 12. With this particular fabric I may have gotten away with the Medium. One my milk comes in the 'top' part of the top will fit fine, but the middle panel and bottom of the top will swamp me when I no longer have a bump.

So how am I going to make this better? I am toying with the idea of cutting out the modesty panel and using this one as a night shirt with easy feeding access or simply wearing it with a white singlet underneath. I may also have a play with folding the middle panel in half and understitching it somehow - purely to have a play.

This is a nice pattern and has fantastic instructions - I was just glad of the opportunity to make a muslin of sorts.

Swaddled Baby Love

So - as promised - here is apic of my first finished quilting based project.

 

Despite the amount of swearing that went into getting it to the finished point I am quite pleased with how it turned out. 

The reason for so much swearing? I sewed the pieces together the wrong way no less than 5 times! I can barely believe it myself! I was having a serious case of baby brain that afternoon!

Then having never sewn on quilt binding before, I followed the instructions in the pattern book for sewing binding. It wasn't as hard as I had in my head that it was and I am a bit annoyed that I have never tried before. It has truly inspired me to go on a finish my other quilt project that has been sitting in the unfinished objects box for almost two years. 

So what is it you may ask? It is the "Swaddled Baby Love" project from the Anna Maria Horner book -  Handmade beginnings.

The idea is that it is a swaddling wrap for the sewn baby doll for an older sibling to be able to have their own 'baby' when the new baby comes along. This is a gift for H boy for when the new baby is born. 

The part that I can't get over is how satisfying is was to sew on that quilt binding!

Watch this space for the next UFO project!

Back to the sewing machine

I know it has been a week or so since I posted but I have been feeling a little overwhelmed with the amount of things going on at the moment and sewing was the last thing on my  mind.

However, as is very characteristic of me I have now gone to the other extreme and am on a bit of a sewing binge.

I started obsessively thinking this week about what I am going to wear when I am still in hospital after having the baby. Last time I was hopelessly under prepared in the way of pretty PJ's and nursing friendly access clothes - but hey H boy was my first and I really had no idea!

The jusry is quite split on weather or not to wear comfy street clothes, lounge clothes or PJ's in hospital. I was toying with the idea of yoga pants and nursing friendly tops - and I will probably still throw in a few of these. However, I ended up deciding on pretty PJ's - as I know that I'll get a lot of use out of them throughout winter.

So I began scouring the internet and this is what I came up with:

Megan Nielsen

Make it Perfect

I will combine the PJ pants with some purchased white nursing tops from Kmart (they are only $10 - I couldn't buy fabric for that price!). The pants don't really bother me - I have made many Make it Perfect patterns before and they always turn out well.

However after having a bit of a pattern drafting/cutting out session yesterday - 

I found some white cotton Lycra in the stash to have a play with the sleep bra pattern before I commit my pretty fabric. All I can say is it was a dismal fail and I think I need ALOT of work and practice sewing stretch before I get on with the night dress. Nothing like a challenge though hey!

I am also keeping track of what I spend on this little venture because I had contemplated just buying some pretty PJ's from Peter Alexander - but for what I have bought in material supplies and patterns ( A$85) I would have only been able to get 2 pairs of pants - pretty as they are, and they wouldn't have been made just for me.

For my A$85 I will get Four pairs of PJ pants and one nightdress. (Edit: Make that 5 pairs of PJ pants - I just found a cute old sheet in the cupboard that I am going to  have a play around with ...more info to come.)