DIY very easy maternity sheath dress tutorial (non-maternity included!)

As a pregnant lady, one of the biggest battles (along with stretch marks and nausea) is fitting into clothing. Let me tell you how much I HATE pants right now. Obviously buttoning them up, or even fitting in them isn't a possibility. I have 2 pairs of pants that fit me somewhat comfortably but as of last week, one now doesn't. As you can conclude, I prefer knit dresses and skirts....boy oh boy are they comfy. And cute too! Thus a quick maternity sheath dress is born, also last DIY's pencil skirt. Hoping to make myself more sane during this pregnancy. I have made quite a few sheath dresses, like a non-maternity floral contrasting one and this refashioned one, which tells you I'm all about the comfort. I really would prefer to tie a jean top around the waist to cover up the booty paired with some all stars and a baseball cap and I'm ready to go run a million errands for my house remodel. dress: selfmade (DIY below)     non-maternity DIY dress: here and here      hat: h&m        shoes: franco sarto (found at nordstrom rack)   mood lip stain: amazon    


Supplies:
1.5 yards of fabric (I choose knit so I didn’t have to add darts and it could have a comfortable stretch to it)
thread
scissors
pins
sewing machine
measuring tape  

 Instructions:

1. You can use either template, If you want to make a very accurate dress or paper pattern, follow the first template. If you want to make something quick ..follow the second.   Take the measurements listed in the template below, draw it out on paper, making a center line down the whole skirt pattern to help keep things perfect. After you get your measurements Add at least an inch of seam allowance to the baby bump, chest, ribcage and hips –> then divide these 3 measurements by 2 for just the front half of the skirt. You are only making 1 pattern of the front half of the skirt so these 4 measurements need to be divided by 2. Just for reassurance…I added a few inches around the chest, waist and hips for the first pattern, just in case. Draw out your measurements on a paper to look like the first image below! 2. Once you have cut out your front and back piece. Sew up the sides to the armpit, and the shoulder seam. (if you prefer to attach sleeves before the side seam is sewn up, refer to this tutorial)  

3. Cut out how deep you want the front and back neckline, leaving 1/2″ for the hem.  

4. Sew the sleeves and the neckline under (knit fabric should allow this easily)  

5. Hem the bottom, I did a blind hem (tutorial here), but you can do a topstitch.

 6. Cut out the sleeves by tracing out one of your sleeves  from a knit top or dress (I usually take apart an old shirt or use just the sleeve part to a pattern. But you can make it a little longer. Fold in half right sides together, sew into tube and hem.

 7. Slide sleeve RST into sleeve opening while shirt is inside out. So the right side of the sleeve and shirt are touching. Sew along the edge of both. Repeat with the other side. This tutorial's pictures can help you out here. OR insert the sleeve like this before you sew the side seams up then refer to this tutorial. **For the quick and dirty version (always my favorite), just trace out your dress from another and follow above instructions 2-7.

     

 NON-MATERNITY VERSION: head over HERE for tutorial