MATERNITY WRAP TOP TUTORIAL

I have been searching forever to find a free pattern and / or tutorial for this maternity wrap top. I loove this so much since it is comfy, easy and obviously not just a maternity item.

However, my search was UNSUCCESSFUL. Megan Nielsen had a wonderful free tutorial online but now has decided to charge $15 for it. While I had saved the link a while ago, the pattern / tutorial was not free anymore and I was somewhat disappointed.

Of course buying a pattern for $15 is not an option right now with all the major baby expenses that are awaiting us.

So, what's a girl to do? I used a pattern from my old knitting projects. DUH! And drafted it out here, so you can follow along, because I am pretty sure that I am not the only thrifty one out here. Hehe.

First things first: The sizing was in Euro clothing and centimeters, so I converted it in US clothing and inches. I will give you BOTH measurements. First, find your size:

Sizing:
US       6/8       10/12   14/16
Euro    36/38   40/42   44/46

http://goeurope.about.com/cs/shopping/l/bl_clothes_size.htm

I am normally a size 4 but for maternity, I figured to go up one size and as you can see from the picture it was a good decision. Gotta admit: I am new at both, sewing and sketching / sizing, so while I believe the numbers should be correct, please feed back if I miscalculated. THX!

OK, so here are my sketches. . . First the centimeter one...

And here is the inches one.















NOTE: No seam allowance is included. However, since I sewed everything with a zig-zag stitch right at the edge of the material, I did not need to add any seam allowance.

MATERIALS: Approx. 3.5 yards of knit jersey fabric, stretchy

HERE IS HOW I DID IT:
First, I sewed the shoulders together. I pinned everything like mad because these stretchy materials are soo slippery. And I used a zig-zag stitch all throughout. Saves the hemming.

Second, I closed the slides, leaving on the left side about a 5 inch (12cm) gap, which I positioned about 2 (5cm) inches from the waist end. This is where the right tie will come through. I zig-zagged around the opening to prevent frailing.

Then sewed the sleeves on at the shoulders. I am not crazy about sewing sleeves; this seams to always be a hassle. For that I typically put sleeve and the main piece on right sides and then pin from the inside.

Then I added the ties.

Lastly, I zig-zagged around the whole piece to give it somewhat of a hemmed appeal.


"Nature never says one thing and wisdom another." Decimus Junius Juvenalis