Simplicity 1469 - Maternity/Nursing Dress

Pictured here at 28 weeks
What could be better than sewing maternity with a Megan Nielsen pattern? Paying a big 4 pattern company price, of course! Recently, Megan licensed two of her maternity patterns with Simplicity, and this one is my favorite. I'm not sure why it's lacking reviews on PatternReview.com...this pattern is awesome!
I purchased an Art Gallery Knit for this project. I bought it from Five Eighths Seams but it can be found online at Fabric.com. It's called Gossamer Cotton Jersey Knit Wire Flowers Foil. It is a medium weight knit with 50% stretch and was a perfect choice for this dress. You can trust the sizing for this garment. I was worried size small would not be big enough, but the fit is great.

Changes I made: I brought the neckline in at the shoulder, and tapered out to the center, for more coverage. I shortened the skirt by 1", then folded the edge over 1"and coverstitched a 3/4" hem. That's it! I can't believe it....these are the only two changes I made! No adjustments to the bust were needed this time around. I can't tell you how grateful I am. Not having to do a small bust adjustment during pregnancy is a huge relief!
What I'd do different next time: The only thing I would change is to shorten the bodice by 1/2" or so. I am naturally petite from the shoulder to the apex of the bust, so shortening the bodice would help bring the waistband closer to the bottom of my bust for a better fit.
Okay...maybe one other little change: I would shorten the sleeves by 1/2". It gets really hot in Charleston, okay?

Serging/Coverstitching I constructed this garment almost completely on my new Huskylock 21 serger/coverstitch machine. Considering this is my first completed project on this machine, I am really happy with it. I learned a few things about my machine in the process, especially in using the narrow coverstitch. This project proved to me how useful this machine is. It's much quicker to serge with this machine vs. my old Janome serger. (Perhaps it's partially because I took classes on how to use my machine...more on that later.)

I really enjoyed this project and was surprised how quickly it came together. These days only an easy project is going to get done. I am sooo tired all the time and don't feel like I'm functioning on all cylinders.
Can't wait to make another...maybe it will be a shirt next time!