Maternity Jeans Revisited

So, here we are 3 months after I wrote my first Maternity Jeans post....and I have been wearing my refashioned pants for quite a while. I thought I'd share some tips I've learned along the way, in case anyone else out there is interested.

First off, Adri at Mama Mia is probably who's idea I follow the most closely. But the chic at Grosgrain explains making the band better.

Who would want to do this project: All pregnant ladies, I'd think! But if you can wear your jeans or even maternity jeans UNDER your belly, go for it. That is what I did with my first pregnancy and it was comfortable and easy. NOT SO MUCH this time around. This little one is laying lower, or something, so nothing is allowed to be worn under without some amount of discomfort...meaning that I've had to utilize the panel the entire pregnancy.

Why are these "home made" refashions better: Unless you spend HUGE money on really well made maternity jeans, maternity jeans you find at Motherhood or JCPenny, etc, don't fit! They either have too much stretch making them shapeless (the last thing you need when you already feel like the blob), or they are cute but fit weird in weird places (especially if the junk in your trunk increases during pregnancy). These home made refashions take great regular jeans/pants, that fit everywhere besides your belly, and you just alter them to fit the belly. GENIUS!

Tips:

• Make your own panel out of Polyester with LYCRA fabric. you can find it at JoAnn's. 1 yard will make several panels. I used black.
• Don't use the pre made bella bands (or that type). They didn't seem to be strong enough to hold up to the tugging....which you will do to get the pants on....since there is not waist band to use in pulling them up.


• Instead of doubling the tube/panel to sew on the pants, I just made a tall version of Grosgrain's. I sewed the raw edge to the jeans, and hemmed the top edge. This way I can fold it in half or wear it full panel as the belly gets bigger. It also seems to hold the jeans up better this way.


• Use Adri's method of cutting in front, or else you'll find yourself with a panel that starts WAY TOO LOW in front. Believe me, I did this.


• Try to find jeans/pants with a higher waistband. Thankfully this style is coming back! Since you'll be cutting the waist band off, it gives you more jean in the end. Low rise jeans turn into REALLY low rise jeans after they've been refashioned....and it is harder to hide the panel under your shirt.


• HIPS DON'T LIE. I just had to write that. Well, for me this pregnancy, my hips have spread out faster (and maybe wider?) than the first time around. Meaning, the cute pants I refashioned at 22 weeks no longer fit at 32 weeks. They fit everywhere else, but the hips .... they had something different in mind. So, you may find yourself needing to refashion more pants in the later part of your 3rd trimester. I just refashioned what I hope is my last pair of jeans for this pregnancy..... and since I need the confidence boost, I actually spent good money on these jeans.....because I feel experienced enough I didn't worry about messing it up. Practice makes perfect.

Hemming: Well, as long as I was refashioning jeans....I decided to learn to hem my own pants. Normally I would never do this.....I would have the store or a tailor hem them using the original cuff. But since I've been buying a lot of my pants online, and I don't want to spend extra money on dumb maternity jeans at the tailor.....I figured out a middle of the road solution. It is better than the goofy hem, just folding them under (which I have done, it is okay on cords, but stupid on jeans), but not as great as the in store tailoring.

So Stephanie at Barefoot in the Kitchen and the chic at Dacia Ray explain the same method. In the end, it looks from afar like the upscale hem. BUT when you look close you'll see there is a fold, which is annoying to me....but not annoying enough to pay someone to alter my jeans for me. It is super easy, I did this to a pair of jeans this morning in 15 minutes. It turned out great.

Bottom Line: Having a well fitting pair of regular jeans that you refashion for maternity wear makes you/me feel much more comfortable in jeans and pants. Pants seems to be the biggest hurdle in maternity dressing (besides the whole wedding/dance/party outfit dilemma), and this Maternity Refashion has made wearing pants during pregnancy (which is a must for our mountain west cold weather) so much nicer.