Petal maternity shirt

A couple friends of mine were taking another friend out for her birthday one evening, so about lunchtime I started thinking about what I could give my (expecting!) friend for her birthday. Feeling inspired by this "crafterhours" post, I stuck the kids in bed for naptime, dug through my bag of maternity clothes, and pulled out this:

This maternity tank was a very stretched out medium -- I hadn't worn it in my last 2 pregnancies because it was so big and the straps were all stretched out, but the fabric was still good and I loved the color, so I had kept it.


Well, a quick rummage through the scrap bin and an hour later, it was the perfect gift--

Yes, that lumpy "pregnant belly" on Cordelia is a pillow tied on

And, since everything is adjustable, it can still work after she's not pregnant anymore!



How I did it: First, I cut off the stretched-out straps, then folded over about an inch along the top edges and sewed them down to make a casing for the ribbon I threaded through and tied at the shoulder. Then I cut a tiny slit in the bottom hem (on the inside) and threaded a piece of narrow elastic through that to gather the bottom.
To make the flowers, I cut out the "shelf bra" from inside the tank top, fused the two pieces together with "wunder under" and cut out little flowers; just like the "crafterhours" tutorial. I pinned them where I wanted them, sewed them down, and was done!