All I did was add 1/4" elastic to both side seams. I started just below the bust, secured the elastic with a few stitches, and then stretched the elastic as I sewed down the seam using a zig-zag stitch (the more you stretch the elastic, the more gathered the fabric will be). I stopped the elastic about 1/2" above the bottom hem of the shirt.
Here's what it looks like from the inside (not my tidiest work, but oh well):
Very easy! You still have plenty of room for the growing bump, and don't have to wear a tent. Hurray for that.
80 comments:
Super cute idea. I didn't know it was called "ruching" or whatever you would say!
Smart idea.
Oh, where in CA do you live? My husband's job is relocating to Irvine and I'm a little nervous it will be tooooooo expensive to live there. Is California all right? I know you moved from out east, so it might not have been a big deal for you, but I'm sweating bullets!
Super cute idea, Jill! You are sooooo clever.
I love this! I'm not pregnant, but I will definitely bookmark this idea for next time. My sister is pregnant, though. I'll have to pass this on to her!
I am going to have to bookmark this one. I can't stand wearing the "tents" but with my first two I've found it inevitable.
Awesome! Great job and I love the color. Thanks for sharing.
That looks great. I'll have to remember it for when I'm next pregnant! Cute little bump too! xx
Great idea!!!! Thanks for sharing!
That turned out great! Thanks for the tips!
I love these posts. Thanks!
@Melanie-I don't live in California but some of our best friends moved out there (from the Chicagoland area) and actually live in Irvine. They pay about $2,000/mo. for rent for something that would cost about $1,000/mo. here. Things seemed very expensive to me even at the grocery store. It's the area! They are actually looking to relocate to AZ in the next year or so because it's SO much cheaper there! Just thought I'd throw my two cents in ;)
You're rad!!! The End.
I had that same idea about a week ago, but I wasn't sure how to go about it. Thanks for the how-to!
Very smart (and cute) idea!
Love it. I am hating most of my (hand me down) maternity clothes from the first 2 kids, and this is a great way to freshen things up.
Thanks!
Thanks, friends!
Melanie - I'll email you about CA cost of living.
I only have a few weeks left incubating baby number 3 but when it's time to carry baby number 4 I am definitly making over my maternity wardrobe with the tips you have provided. Great work!
As I read this I keep looking at the tent I am currently wearing! Thank you so much for all your ideas...I need them!
This is awesome!! I'm wearing a rather large maternity shirt right now that is a tent on me, and now I can fix this today!!
Thanks!!
Adorable. Too bad I didn't run across this two years ago! :)
What a great idea! You saved about $40 doing that! Wish I'd thought of that when I was pregnant!
this is awesome! i must remember to come back to this if I ever decide to try for #3!
I love this idea!!!
I LOVE this!!! My favorite maternity shirts were the ones with the ruched sides. They always looked the most flattering on me. I love this idea! Thanks for sharing how you created yours!
awesome!
adorable
That is so cute! And so simple! Thanks for the instructions. Oh, and congrats on having a girl! How exciting!
This is an idea I'm going to steal! I have 17 weeks done and I could use "new" shirt, since I was tired of my maternity ones some weeks before giving birth to the first :P
Would it work even with no zig-zag? I have a very old Singer that only do back and forth...
YAYYYY! No more tent shirts! I bought about 7 maternity t-shirt, same style, just different colors with my first pregnancy 7 years ago...still wearing them the third time around, the darn things wont wear out! LOL! Now I know what to do with them! THANK YOU!!!!! SO VERY MUCH!!!
Did you have to take in the sleeves too? When ever I buy a bigger top to fit my curvey belly ( when I was prego and now with my post baby belly and hips) the sleeves seem really big odd looking.
wow! thanks for this idea! I'm going to try it on a big shirt I already own (I'm just getting to my 3rd trimester).
cute! you have an adorable baby bump!
Way to go, yummy mummy! Great work!
Great idea! And what a good deal. Maternity clothes are soooo expensive.
What a great idea! I am 29 weeks pregnant now and am desperate need of a wardrobe fix. This is a great quick and easy project :).
thank you so much! i was trying to figure out how to do this since I just couldn't get myself to pay $29 for a similar shirt yesterday and the regular shirts I bought are still too big. Now if only I had some energy:)
Awesome maternity shirt!! I linked to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-quick-maternity-shirt-from-a-large-t-shirt/2010/03/02/
--Anne
thanks so much for posting this, i thought that was how you do that but wasn't sure, i recently bought a non preggo shirt that was like this
yay! this is what i've been wanting to do with a couple larger, unfitted maternity shirts that i have. thanks! btw, when are you due? you look fabulous!
Love this post and the last about maternity clothes. I am on # 6 and really don't want to buy new clothes but really want to look cute. Thanks so much for helping us pregos look better while we feel huge and save money. I love your blog!
That's a great idea. I didn't know at first if you had used elastic thread. This is so easy, thanks.
I just bought a couple of shirts like this at Motherhood and I thought, I can do that! Thanks for the tutorial!
I think this would be cute for non-pregnant women, too – add some styling to a regular t-shirt.
That is SO cute and SO smart! I love it.
love your design! thanks so much for sharing :)
- Miss Imagination
Thank you for sharing your fabulous idea!
Pure genius, I will have to remember this if I get pregnant again. Thanks for sharing!
so was this just a normal t-shirt or was it a maternity shirt? If it was a normal shirt, why aren't the shoulders huge on you?
I used a normal women's fitted t-shirt (target brand), not maternity. When I tried it on pre-refashion, it fit well in the top, but was extra long and much wider than a typical shirt I would wear. I didn't do anything to the shoulders or sleeves, because they already fit well.
If you were to do this with a very large t-shirt or a men's t-shirt, I'm guessing you'd have to alter the sleeves.
I just gave you an award on my blog that should be named after you--you're so darn creative! Thanks for your amazing talent. Come pick up your award.
You are a genius, Jill! I have three sisters-in-law who are pregnant and I'm going to have to make them each one! Congrats, by the way!
rock on! as soon as the opportunity presents itself *winkwink* i'll be sporting a refashioned tee! keep the good ideas coming! :)
Love the tute, so I had to add it to our "link luv roundup" this week! FAB refashion!!! http://bit.ly/d8hv9k
p.s. you look gorgeous, love the belly!
You are my hero! Great idea!
Great idea! I love doing this on my daughter's sleeves when they are too long. Great idea to turn a large shirt into a maternity shirt. Were the neck and sleeves too big still? They look fine in the picture.
How creative to just make this for yourself! I might give that a try next time I have a bump! :)
Genius! I have a couple shirts like this that I bought at Ross and they are my FAVORITE... now I know how to make my own (someday when I need them again!!)
I have to say that I LOVE this idea. I'm not a great sewer at all, but I think this is one I could actually do. Now I just need to get pregnant. :)
Hi,
You have a nice blog. A 40-week pregnancy is really just a blip in our whole life time, but the problem with clothing during that time is very painful. Keeping this in mind, two best friends and mother of two children each started http://www.bellybundles.com. We have high quality maternity clothes there and we would like to hear your feedback on our products.
Thanks,
Carina - Maternity clothing
This is sweet! Great idea! I did a t-shirt maternity makeover when I was pregnant, but I like yours better! Find mine here:http://www.berninausablog.com/read/t-shirt-makeover-tutorial
OH< WONDERFUL!!! I need to do this with a few Tees, now! Thanks!
It's a good idea!
That reminds me the ones I did 4 years before when I was pregnant. I 've just written a post on my blog (and I put a link to your post).
Thanks!
I was wondering if I could turn my big T's into this!!!! I had a MUCH harder plan in mind!
It's THAT easy?! I'm going to get pregnant just so I can do this!
I did not know you were preg. Congratulations. I cannot wait to see all the cute things you will do for a girl. Get ready, they turn out expensive IMO lol
I used this idea and turned one of my too tight tees into a cute shirt for my daughter. Thanks for another great idea! I linked to you here
http://mommaskindacrafty.blogspot.com/2010/03/refashion-my-shirt-to-hers.html
I love this idea!! I always wanted to do this, but never had the motivation when I was pregnant! Maybe I'll make one now for next time :) SO adorable!
Jessica
www.sublte-tee.blogspot.com
omg I love this idea I am going to go get to work right now xoxoxox
I just did this with two ribbed tank tops I picked up for $2 each at WalMart this morning. Definitely beats the $25 for the same top at the maternity store!
Thanks, you're awesome!
This is an awsome idea! thanks so much for sharing! I wish I would have that tip when I was pregnant... oh well next one! hehehe
Great idea ! :-)
I linked back to this post on my To-Do List for my T-shirt refashion project.
~Kimberlee
www.thespunkydiva.blogspot.com
I love this idea! When I was pregnant with my son it was so difficult for me to find shirts that weren't tents, especially toward the end when NOTHING seems to fit over that bump but a humongous shirt! Good thing to keep in mind for when I have the next one!! :o)
If the shirt is too wide and droopy looking at the top, try adding elastic to the shoulder seam from the neck to the sleeve.
Just found out I'm pregnant and money is an issue so thank god for people like you!!
I used this idea to make a 4th of July shirt for my daughter. She's almost 6 months into her first pregnancy. I bought a women's XL red, white and blue tie dyed tank from Walmart for $3.00. My daughter usually wears a size 6. I sewed elastic in the side seams as you did but also added it to the armholes just over the shoulder from front to back to take up the slack in the larger armholes. I tried it on myself and found that the neckline gapped a bit so I added elastic from over the breast on one side in the front, over the shoulder and to about the corresponding place in the back. Did the same on the other side. Looks like it will be darling on her. She lives out of town and will have to try it in this week end when she visits.
I LOVE this idea! I have the perfect shirt for this! When i was pregnant the first time I had a blue TENT that I had bought online from a maternity department. It was so terrible I never wore it. This is going to make it actually usable for this baby!! Thank you so much!
Just a simple question do you know about how much elastic you used each side. I have a friend that is pregnant and kinda short on funds thought i would hit the second hand stores for some shirts....
Jennifer M - I don't know how much elastic I used because I didn't cut it before I sewed. I started it just below the bust and then stretched it down as far as I wanted it to go, sewing along the way.
Wow, really good idea.
I'm pregnant and on a tight budget, so this is going to save me a lot of money.
Thank u!!
Laura
Thank you! Having an impossible time finding petite maternity shirts let alone ones that are not super tight and too big in the shoulders. Now I have a plan of attack for modifying to make my own!
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