Baby Shower Dress (Simplicity 6820)

Hello! Today I\’m here with my one and only maternity make 😉

If you\’ve followed this blog for any amount of time you\’ll know I have a few standard patterns I return to again and again. One of my favorite all-time dresses is this leopard print swing dress, which I wear all. the. time. It\’s also been a go-to item in my maternity wardrobe since it is… quite voluminous. For my baby shower luncheon, I knew I wanted to make something special and that I could wear post-baby, so this same pattern, vintage Simplicity 6820, was a natural choice. I knew it would fit and that I liked the shape on me both pre- and mid-pregnancy.

I (as you can probably tell) made some modifications this time around! I\’ve only ever made it with short sleeves, in fact, I usually make the sleeves slightly shorter than they are as drafted. This time I wanted to change it up and added long sleeves with gathered cuffs. These aren\’t too dramatic–I just extended the length, rather than adding a major bell. I also altered the neckline slightly–it isn\’t quite a boatneck as written but it is a bit wide, especially for a vintage pattern where you often find those super-tight jewel necklines, so I brought it in a little bit in the sides and back. One change I did not make is perhaps worth mentioning–I didn\’t extend the center front hem. Several of my other versions of this dress have a bit of a uneven hem due to the fabric relaxing and honestly, it doesn\’t bother me. I did let this hem settle overnight beforehemming, but I figure I\’d rather deal with a lifted from hem now and then have it look normal later, rather than the other way around. Whatever.

I wore this to the shower luncheon with tights and black heels and was comfortable (or as comfortable as one can be at 29 weeks with twins) and felt chic (or at least as chic as one can feel at 29 weeks with twins). I\’ve been wearing black this whole pregnancy–part of the reason I Overtoned my hair pink!–but this was much more glam than my usual Citizens of Humanity black maternity skinnies and target brand maternity tanks and tees.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for sticking around through this extended period of very little sewing output! I appreciate you all so much.

xoxo,