Have you ever ordered fabric online that was absolutely fugo when you got it but you were too lazy to return it? That was this fabric for me. It has sat in my stash for several years. It is an ITY print that I had purchased online (I don't want to say where because it really wasn't their fault). It just wasn't what I had expected so I told myself I would make some pajamas out of it one day so it didn't go to waste.
While browsing through my pattern collection, the fabric spoke to me when I came to Vogue 1179. I thought the dress would look really fab in a mod sort of way made up with my pink and black nightmare fabric. And I think it does!
The pattern is another non-maternity design that still works great for The Bump. Mine is 19 weeks at this point. I didn't make any alterations to the fit. In fact, I cut my usual 2 sizes smaller than the pattern recommends based on my pre-pregnancy measurements. I do this for almost all knit designs by the Big 4 pattern companies because, in my opinion, they allow too much ease for knit pieces.
The dress was super easy to make. I think I whipped it up in less than 2 hours (not including cutting). I made some minor changes to the construction. Instead of a narrow hem on the arms, I finished these with seam binding. Also, the instructions would have you sew one side of the collar to the dress, then press down the seam allowance on the other side and hand sew this in place. I suppose this would make for a very clean look but I found it much easier to just fold the collar piece in half with wrong sides facing and sew it all to the neckline at once. I then did my faux- overlock stitch using my standard machine to finish the edges. No one knows the difference from the outside so this was a good time saving move for me. Also, I was worried the dress might be too short because The Bump tends to hike things up a bit. So I did a 1 1/2 inch hem instead of the 4 inches the pattern allows.
I'm very happy with this dress. I received several compliments the first time I wore this. It's very comfortable while pregnant- and it's another one that I can wear after pregnancy too.
~Jenny
