Maternity… Nursing… Regular Womens Nightgown!

So for January’s monthly sewing challenge here on Everything Your Mama Made & More! this months theme is ‘Something for YOU!’ so this is my something for ME!  It has been a while since I have sewn period & months since I have sewn anything besides kids super hero capes!

With my due date fast approaching I decided it was time to make some nursing friendly nightwear!  I had tried out Megan Nielsen’s Maternity Wrap Top and really like it, and honestly like all of her maternity/nursing patterns they look and fit great when not prego too!  So I decided to order her 3 nursing friendly .pdf patterns Perfect Nursing & Maternity Top, Pina Gathered Dress or Top & Nursing & Maternity Lingerie Set.  I have only made up 2 of the 4 so far, but all 4 are great for Maternity, Nursing & Regular wear, so very versatile patterns you can get a lot of use out of :).

So this week I tackled the Nursing & Maternity Lingerie Set. I found the pattern it self to be simple with clear instructions, the sizing seems pretty true to size & matches up with the measurements she gives.  It would be nice if it included an XL because they bust measurement only goes up to 40″ & I don’t think it would fit bigger with out modifications and I know a lot of women that when their milk comes in are bigger then that & would still love this.  The one issue I did have is that even though I printed out the pattern pieces properly some printed off slightly different sizes which my hubby says may have simply been a conversion problem when the .pdf files were created.  It was only a small amount but it causes some of the pieces to not quite line up perfect. It didn’t take long to print, tape together & cut out, though again because of the slightly off printing issues some of the pieces don’t quite match up perfect, and since you are using knit it tends to get a little more off… that being said the knit is forgiving & it is VERY easy to trim them to match!!!

I used a crinkly jersey 100% cotton knit I got at Walmart a few years ago for $1 a yard, it went together very well, I think less then an hour from cutting out the fabric to finish?  I am EXTREMELY pleased with how it turned out.  Last night I tested it to see how well the ‘ladies’ did in it because I have never had luck with sleeping in nursing wear and end up with nursing pads in the wrong places & a leaky mess (even the stuff made for nightwear!).  I was very happy to wake & note that even after sleeping on my side & stirring back and forth everything was still in the right place thanks to the elastic!  It’s not tight & doesn’t leave marks, but was just tight enough to prevent things from falling out of their areas, this include the empire waist elastic actually staying below the bust where it belongs!!!  I can’t wait to make a bunch more, because even if not pregnant or nursing I think they are great basic nightgowns that can actually stay put which being busty all the time seems to be a big challenge for me!

I did make a few changes for mine but only because I am a sizing nightmare with a 36G/H cup.  I cut out the size large pattern as it was because of the style.  The changes I made was since I am generally a size S in tops I cut the arm & waistband elastic for a size small & the neckline elastic for a size medium.  I wanted to make sure the neckline had enough stretch to move out of the way to nurse & I am glad I did because I think the small neckline with my bust size would have been a little to small.

It’s not a super supportive sleep bra but it is comfy & gets the job done!  For photo purposes I did put a regular bra on under it but I am very happy wearing it at home without.  For maternity wear sizing I am 36w3d’s along in this picture… I normally wear size S/M in maternity tops & this is a size L and I still have an okay amount of extra fabric in the belly area.  Considering the very limited amount of maternity & nursing patterns available as well as the cost of buying any RTW (Ready To Wear) maternity or nursing clothing new and even used 2nd hand this pattern, even with it’s few little finky issues, is totally worth the $5!