I don’t know how you other moms feel, but breastfeeding leaves my closet severely lacking. Right now I’m in that awkward phase where I’m swimming in my maternity clothes and my normal clothes leave me looking like a busted can of biscuits.
To further narrow down my already-limited options, most of my tops are not breast-feeding friendly. I was left with a little bit of a dilemma, because you can only wear yoga pants and t-shirts so many days in a row before your husband actually notices you’ve been wearing the same shirt 3 days in a row. Gross, I know. So I set out to make some nursing-friendly tops that wouldn’t leave me looking matronly. Is it just me or do all the nursing tops look like they are straight out of the 90’s?
I was browsing around online when I came across Harper and Bay. Can we pause for just a minute and enjoy the serious goodness coming from that website?!? Nursing dresses that are hip and cool that don’t leave you looking like you’re wearing your mother’s hand-me-downs. I instantly fell in love with this navy dress and decided I HAD to have it. But…..
Then I looked at the price tag. Yep, totally not happening on my budget. I have three hungry little mouths to feed, three bums to diaper and three bodies to dress. I figured it would be easy enough to recreate.
I whipped out my tried and true Lane Raglan from Hey June patterns (Affiliate Link). I can’t say enough about this pattern. Each of Adrianna’s patterns are made with such precision and attention to detail. There’s a reason her adoring seamstresses have come up with the hashtag #adriannaisagenius (go ahead and search that hashtag). My favorite part of this pattern is that the sleeves come forward further than most raglans. I find this look to be much more flattering for all body types and it happens to make my nursing hack look so much better.
For my Lane Raglan dress I took the top pattern piece and combined it with Patterns for Pirate’s free pencil skirt to create a dress pattern. In order to do this, I lined up the waists of both patterns and taped them together. I found this blue floral fabric from KnitPop (they have ridiculously cute florals and great prices) and the pink fabric came from Michael Levine. The white lace zippers were purchased from JoAnn’s.
I sewed everything together with the exception of the front two seams. I measured the front and back neckline and cut two neckbands that were 80% of the measurements, plus the seam allowance for the ends. I also attached both front and back neckbands. Then, I took the sleeve and front bodice seams and pressed the corresponding seam allowances under. I sewed the zippers right on top and voila! I had the perfect nursing dress.
I’ve already made another dress with an exposed zipper and after that I’m sewing one up with an invisible zipper. I could wear this dress everyday! It’s amazingly comfortable and when it’s made in a more relaxed fabric its perfect for everyday wear.
An invisible zipper would be smart! Every time I wear my h & b dress Henry gets excited about the zipper and wants to play with it! (Disclaimer: I bought mine when it was a Kickstarter project and only cost $65. Worth it since I wear it at least 2 times a week!) Did you rouche at the hip? You are amazing by the way! I complain about 2 bums to diaper!
Smart to get it while it was a kickstarter! I think their pricing is totally fair! It’s a well made dress and they have a target audience. 🙂 I didn’t do any ruching at the hips because I used a heavy weight fabric and it wouldn’t have looked right. I have another one cut out that I wanted to add ruching to though. 🙂 I really want to hack the crop top skater skirt dress next. That one is adorable!
I’m so glad you did this! I’ve been eyeing the Harper and Bay dresses for a while and kept thinking that I should be able to sew it but I haven’t taken the plunge! I will try this and can’t wait to see you do the Crop top one!
Thanks Raena! You should definitely give it a try. 🙂 I’m excited for the crop top one!
BRILLIANT!!!! Functional yet total hotness! Love it!
Thanks so much Abigail!! 🙂
Nice dress, and love the backdrop! Gorgeous xx
Love the dress!!
What a great idea! Love your dress!
How gorgeous is the dress! And I would have never known that it’s a nursing dress. What a great find.