Sewing Extravaganza: What Happens When the Hubby Gives Me A Day Off

My super sweet Hubby gave me today off. Isn't he the greatest? I sure think so!

He and the Munchkin enjoyed lots of quality time playing, eating "manly" lunches (pepperoni is a food group on the manly food pyramid), watching American Pickers and Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, playing outside, and visiting the local archery store. Oh, and they picked up pizza for supper so I didn't even have to worry about that.

Meanwhile, this mama got to shower BEFORE nap time (a luxury to be sure!), spend two hours running errands by myself, and hole-up in the craft room with my sewing machine to work on some projects that have been on the back-burner for a few weeks:

1.) Flannel-backed Burp Cloths
2.) Maternity Pants converted to a Skirt

For the burp cloths, I followed the tutorial here. She does a great job of explaining things so I don't see the point in being redundant. :)

I bought these cloth diapers and then dyed them a light Kelly green. I shopped and shopped and shopped again for some cutesy flannel, but couldn't find anything I liked. Of course, my closest options are Hobby Lobby and Walmart, and neither of them stocks very many flannel fabrics. So I went the budget-friendly route and re-purposed some flannel receiving blankets that were the Munchkin's. We had six, and barely used them, so I sacrificed three of them for this project. I used each blanket to make two burp cloths, and still have some scraps left over.

 These were very simple to sew, especially if you're not super-picky about how straight or neat they turn out. (The burp cloths always end up an odd shape for some reason. Oh well.) The most important thing for me was making them extra-absorbent. The Munchkin managed to soak every single burp cloth that we threw at him, so I'm expecting nothing less from Baby #2.

The skirt was definitely something I made up on the fly. It is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to find comfortable, stylish maternity skirts that aren't maxi/jersey skirts. I love maxis, but cannot wear them in the colder WV weather. So I tried my hand at making my own! I had a pair of Gap maternity khakis laying around from when I was pregnant with the Munchkin, and sacrificed them for this project. They were a nice wide-legged trouser so I didn't have to add any fabric to make the skirt wide enough.

I apologize for not having a step-by-step picture tutorial for you guys. That would have required meticulously taking pictures of each step, and as we all know, one-on-one time with your crafts is PRECIOUS. I didn't want to waste it taking pictures, so you'll just have to use your imagination.

First I ripped the interior seams all the way up each leg to the seat of the pants. (Since this was a nice mid-weight fabric it was easier to find the seams and rip them instead of cutting around them, and makes for a neater finish. I've also made a skirt out of denim capris, and had to just cut next to the seam.) Second, I laid it out on the bed and played around with pins to get the front and back seams to lay just right. I left a 12" slit in the back to make it easier to walk in. Lastly, I just started sewing it up.

Voila! Now I have another well-fitting clothing option for church services. Because we all know when you are pregnant, it's all about comfort. If you find your maternity wardrobe lacking when it comes to skirts, don't limit yourself to what you can find in the stores. It only takes a little creativity to make something uniquely your own!

I'm sure there are tutorials out there for converting pants to skirts if you need more specific instructions. Sorry that I'm too pregnant and lazy to take the time to write one up. :)

That's all for today... a big thanks again to the Hubby for letting me get these done! :)