How to Make Your Own Maternity Jeans | Style Revive Expecting, Season 6, Ep. 1
|Sponsored| After the excitement of pregnancy settles in, you may be wondering “what do I wear”? Maternity jeans are an essential item for expecting mothers. Not only do they provide extra comfort and support, but they can also look stylish and fashionable. Maternity jeans can be an investment and it’s hard to find ones you like. So why not try and upcycle an existing pair to fit a growing bump?
When we started Style Revive back in 2020, I never thought that it would reach 6 seasons! This series has followed some of my major life events including being creative through the pandemic, moving into a new home, and now sewing for my first child. This season I’m focusing on stitching for my growing belly, creating something for the little one, and using embroidery to enhance the nursery. We are kicking it off by making a pair of maternity jeans!
Jeans are a wardrobe staple that should carry over into maternity wear. Maternity clothing can be expensive and not so stylish, so I’m excited to share my process for transforming a pair of regular stretch jeans into maternity jeans. Save money, get thrifty, and start sewing!
Let’s Upcycle Some Maternity Jeans!
Maternity Jeans Upcycle: Step by Step
As I mentioned in the video, if you are working from a pair of existing maternity jeans, you can trace the shape of the belly band piece and cut it for all the other maternity pants you want to make.
If you want to draft your own piece, you can base it on my band measurements and adjust it to your size, either grading up or down. Since the band is stretchy, the size can be a bit flexible.
With just some scissors, a stitch ripper (this one is my favorite), and a measuring tape you can upcycle ANY pair of stretch jeans to be maternity friendly.
The maternity jeans I purchased are wider-legged, so now it’s great to have skinny jeans with distressing to fit my belly bump.
To ensure your maternity jeans are as supportive and durable as possible use a stable knit with good recovery. I used a double layer of Art Gallery Fabric’s Knit Solid in the color Deep Dark Ocean to match the denim.
Start from Scratch
If you are not the upcycling type, or can’t find any suitable jeans to work from, start from scratch! I couldn’t find a maternity pattern I liked, so I decided to make another pair of “boyfriend” silhouette jeans using the Burda Easy #6124 pattern.
I like this pattern, and since it already has an integrated stretch band, so all I had to do was lower the front waistline (similar to the upcycled jeans) to make them fit.
Working from examples makes it easy, so I took the front crotch curve measurement from my maternity jeans (6½”) and used it on the front pattern piece of the Burda jeans.
You can do this maternity alteration to many other pant pattern styles. Simply lower just the front waistline and attach a belly band. Hello, maternity Pagosa Pants!
I blended a curved line back into the side of my pants and added seam allowance. I also had to adjust the top portion of the pocket pieces to match the lowered front waistline. The back piece remained the same.
Making something scratch means that you have more flexibility in terms of fabric! I love this Diamond Arcuate Denim from Art Gallery Fabrics.
To make these more “jeanslike” I switched to a gold topstitching thread and stitched a faux fly as well as topstitching my pocket openings.
For the belly band, instead of using the patterns pieces for a rectangle band, I used my copycat pattern piece from my purchased maternity jeans since it had the shaping.
I stretched it in as I pinned and sewed it in place.
For the hem, I played around and added little cuffs. I do this a lot to patterns since I am short!
Now I have another pair of relaxed-fit jeans in a funky denim print to add to my maternity collection.
Has anyone tried making their own maternity clothes before? Leave a comment and tell us about it!
Happy sewing,
Meg
Tune into Sew Daily Network every Monday until March 27, 2023, for a new episode of Style Revive, and catch up on past seasons here!
Join Our Sew-Along!
Yoga pants are a fantastic style for a growing baby bump, so be sure to check out our Yuma Yoga Pants Sew-Along and grab the free pattern and tutorial! The Sew-Along runs through May 16, 2023.
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Maternity Pants Ideas from Sew Daily
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