I recently posted about my first attempt at the Megan Nielsen Maternity Shirt.  There were aspects I liked, but I hit some sizing issues and the cut didn’t quite work for me.  This is my second attempt, a little hybrid experiment: half MN maternity, half Sewaholic Renfrew!

I’d been pretty spoilt by the Renfrew t-shirt – I love the way Tasia puts a garment together, and this one’s just right.  The instructions minimise stretching out the neckline during construction, and give such a simple way of setting in the sleeves.

Plus I realised my existing Sewaholic Renfrews still fit comfortably round the bust, so I figured I could use the upper bodice part, incorporating that well-constructed neckline, and blend it in to the Megan Nielsen one, keeping the nice ruching and length.

I traced out an XL version of the Megan Nielsen top first, then laid my TNT size 10 Renfrew pattern over the top.  Funnily enough, the two patterns met exactly around the first side notch… confirming my feeling that the ruched maternity t-shirt has incredibly teeny tiny sizing!  Surely one pattern’s XL and another’s size 10 shouldn’t line up at the bust?!

The orange line below is what I ended up cutting, and the green is the original Maternity t-shirt outline.  You can also see that the shoulder seam of the Renfrew is much shorter, so that the sleeves sit further in (which is my preference).

When it was all sewn up, there was still a little excess round the tummy, so I guess I only needed the XL sizing up top, and probably just a Large lower down.  I took it in at the sides, but didn’t trim the seams so I can let it out again if I need more space later on.

The colours just came together from old knit fabrics that happened to be in my stash (the yellow’s from an old hen party t-shirt), but I’m enjoying the contrast!  Doesn’t it look a little… superhero-esque?  Maybe once I take off my glasses…

Haha, Super Amy!

So my conclusions: if you’re trying out this pattern, make it BIG.  Unless you happen to be petitely miniature.  But if you’re a standard medium or above, start with the XL and work down.  Compare and contrast with your other t-shirts to get the fit and cut you like, and then blend that ruched section right in.  Sew on, super-sewist amigos!

So one of the first things I did after finding out a baby was on the way?  Look up maternity outfits on Pinterest, naturally.  I didn’t get raring on the sewing machine straight off, but after the three-month scan it seemed like time to start planning my rather different wardrobe for the rest of 2013.

Of course, Megan Nielsen patterns popped out and hit me in the face.  As another sewist recently said to me: “she’s rather cornered the maternity pattern market, hasn’t she?”  So I ordered the gathered t-shirt and the gathered skirt from M is for Make (and thanks Kate for sorting out blips in my order so promptly and efficiently!)

I’ll start with the t-shirt.  Helpfully, the pattern says to use your normal (pre- or early pregnancy measurements).  I confidently cut a safe medium:

I really like: the ruching down the sides, and the lovely generous length (always been a sucker for long tees).

Not so keen on: the baggy width in the sleeves, and that the shoulder seam sits right out on the edge of my actual shoulders.

I’m not sure that this top will go the whole nine months – you can’t really see it in these photos, but there’s already some pulling across the bust.  Fit round the tummy is great right now, but another four months of growth might just go beyond the stretch.

So for my second MN make, I cut EXTRA LARGE:

And a good thing too.  It does fit, but again there’s not much extra mileage in there.  I used a thick knit fabric as recommended - and it sparkles!  Perhaps I needed something stretchier… but did I mention that I cut EXTRA LARGE?!  And it’s not uncomfy, but there was a little bit of relief in peeling it off at the end of the day.  One of the things I enjoy about making my own clothes is the comfort of a really good fit, so…

…although I think it actually looks pretty cute and classy, I don’t love it.  This now seems very predictably obvious – because I don’t like wearing pencil skirts, full stop.  I’ve never made one: I sew big circle skirts, plenty of pleats, an A-line at a pinch.  And somehow I thought pregnancy would make me a pencil skirt fan?

Well I guess being properly pregnant stops that horror of looking accidently pregnant in a certain kind of skirt (been there, my friends, been there).  But still, I worry about my underwear line showing through, or the whole thing bunching round my empire line…

Nope, even with side ruching there’s just too much cling.  This skirt did serve its purpose in making me feel a little glam at the epic V&A meetup, and it might score me a day’s grace during Me-Made-May, but I don’t see a repeat make in here.

On the other hand, I think a MN Maternity t-shirt + Sewaholic Renfrew mashup might be just the ticket…