The Extra Ordinary Bree: Mother Been Inspiration

I’m sure you all remember Bree from The Extra Ordinary Bree from Project Toddler Runway – she had some of the cutest entries in the competition!  Since then she’s kept busy as a contestant on American Crafter, and is now in the middle of hosting Extreme Makeover: Fabric Edition with April from Wildflowers & Whimsy, another great contestant from Project Toddler Runway.  She’s mom to five adorable children, so I bow to the master mommy and thought she would be able to provide amazing inspiration to handle the postpartum deflated belly syndrome!  Not that I’m saying anything about her belly – I wish I looked as good as she after just one delivery!

Before we head into Bree’s inspiration post – here’s where you’ll be posting your pooch hiding entries – Mother Been Flickr Group.  This portion of the competition is a lot more open to interpretation – if it disguises, cinches in, or minimizes a postpartum jiggle belly – we want to see it!  If you have any trouble getting your project uploaded, please feel free to send your photo and description to me at deshazer(dot)jennifer(at)gmail(dot)com.

So when Jenn asked me to share a tutorial with you guys I was so excited… and then I realized that she was looking for a postpartum related tutorial and I sort of panicked!  Hold on.  Let me explain.  

Since 2004, when I got my first positive pregnancy test, I have been pregnant more often than not.  Seriously.  I did the math.  Out of the last 89 months, I was pregnant (for some duration) through 49 of them. That’s 55%. 

I know, I know… holy macaroni.

So why the panic?  I should be a pro right?

Well if you’ve been there before, in that crazy, yucky postpartum phase, then you know that, somehow, someway, you forget everything about it!  Maybe it’s the lack of sleep or the overdose of hormones.  Maybe we just mentally block it out as some sort of coping mechanism.  Maybe it’s the smell of a new baby or the sight of tiny baby toes that brings about Mommynesia (a common condition in which a woman magically forgets what being pregnant for 9 months and not fitting into her favorite jeans for at least 6 feels like).

But, because I think Jenn is so totally cool, I revisited that deep dark place.  

What do I remember most?  Two words…

Okay don’t scream.   It’s not that bad… well, maybe it is… but it can be remedied. I’m going to show you a couple of super simple tricks that will help you look great when you’re ready to get out of your sweat pants and maternity wear.

The first one is really easy.

Find a maternity shirt & cut about 2-3 inches off the bottom.

Cut and sew this band so that it fits the widest part of your hips snugly.

Fold the band in half and reattach to your shirt. The band wont be as wide as your shirt so you’ll have to either stretch the band while you sew or gather the shirt with a basting stitch before you sew.

Now instead of having a giant, billowing maternity top that will have people asking “you’re already pregnant again!” You’ve got a fun bubble top that hides the squishyness.

Oh and if your shirt isn’t long enough to cut 2-3″ off, try shirring, elastic or a drawstring!

via Polyvore.com

Next, I’m going to show you how to adapt a regular pattern and make it work for your postpartum body by ruching the tummy!

Grab a favorite tank top or shirt (don’t worry… you won’t be cutting into this) and some jersey knit.

Lay your shirt on top of the jersey knit and trace and cut the back.  Don’t forget to leave seam allowances!

Now you’re going to do the same for the front of your shirt but this time you are going to extend the length of your shirt a lot.  I added almost double the length and could have used a lot more!

Now line up the front and back of your shirts at the shoulder and sew it up. 

Next you’re going to pin the two pieces together from the arm pit to a bit under your bust.

Now pin together the bottom the same way.

What you should be left with is a giant extra piece of fabric right at the tummy!

Now just start gathering the front of the shirt and pinning it to the back. I tried to alternate between big folds and pleats and little bunches and ruffles to give it a lot of depth.

Repeat on the other side.

Now sew the side seams.

And the beauty of jersey knit is that you don’t have to finish the edges if you don’t want to… sooooooo… You’re done!

Good luck everyone!  Can’t wait to see what you guys come up with!