Crystal's Cheyenne Maternity Dress

I chose the Peek - a - boo Cheyenne Tiered Dress which is a lovely knit pattern with lots of variations not least the all important nursing access bodice. 

This pattern comes with a standard bodice and nursing access bodice which is essentially a v cross over bodice hidden under the standard bodice. It can be made sleeveless, with bishop sleeves or with normal long/short sleeves finished off with a cuff.  

The skirt is made up of tiers which you can play around with to create a mini, midi or maxi length dress. 

I chose the aqua floral digital cotton jersey for this project. I also received matching thread, Framiliastic T6 clear elastic and the AO print out of the pattern.  

The fabric is a lovely weight and the perfect base for this pattern and I feel the print is very Spring like. 

I used the elastic at the shoulder seams and the first tier seam attached to the bodice as the pattern instructed. I did also add the elastic to the hem of the front bodice (which covers the nursing bodice underneath). I love this clear elastic (as opposed to the white/black elastic I'm used to) which can also be used for underwear or swimwear garments.

The instructions were easy to follow. I chose the size 1X according to my bust measurement which is 41 inches (4 inches bigger than my pre pregnancy size) and is a lovely fit. I mainly used my Singer overlocker for this dress apart from the topstitching where I used my Pfaff sewing machine on a triple stretch stitch. 

The dress is constructed differently than most in that the instructions tell you to construct the front bodice and front skirt tiers together first, then the back bodice and back skirt tiers. It then tells you to add the sleeves on the flat and sew both the front and back sections together from the sleeve hem to the armpits, down the bodice side seams and continue all the way down the skirt side seams in one go. Normally, bodices are constructed first, the skirt second and then the 2 are joined together. For this pattern, I prefer the latter way as I plan to use my overlocker (post partum) to decrease the size of the dress and this will be so much easier to do with only 2 full straight side seams.

The dress is lovely and easy to wear and the nursing panel, although untested as yet, is my favourite part as nursing dresses are so expensive these days and the variety of style and prints are underwhelming. 

I plan to make short sleeve maxi versions for the summer and also plan to hack the pattern into nursing tops as well. 

Inspired to make your own version? Here's what you will need:



Pattern : Cheyenne Tiered Dress by Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop  printed using the A0 pattern printing service

Fabric : Aqua Floral Digital Cotton Jersey

[Disclosure: Crystal was provided with the materials for her project free of charge and received a gift voucher in recognition of the time spent on her project.]