Maggy London & Marc Jabobs: A Maternity Match Made in Heaven

Our beach holiday has been going very well. Relaxing, swimming, eating, walks on the beach.... ahhhh. We were meant to go to Vietnam for Christmas, but growing a little baby prohibits you from having the necessary immunisations, so a change of plans was to be had.

As I mentioned in a previous post, for our beach trip, not to mention the lovely tropical weather of Queensland, I decided to sew a few things to accommodate my growing belly. I envisioned airy frocks... light materials, lots of belly room, a few long ones, and a few short ones. Perfect summer holiday wear.

 Today I thought I would show you the Maggy London Butterick maxi dress (B5456). Here is the pattern picture:

It has all the requisite elements for a good maternity dress - empire line, you can wear a bra, isn't fitted etc. It is for knits only, and I wanted this to be cool to wear, so I went searching for a 100% cotton knit. I found a funky lightweight Marc Jacobs knit at The Fabric Store in Fitzroy. It is light without being transparent or feeling cheap. It was also the easiest knit I have ever sewn with - nice and stable.

Anyway, onto the dress!!

There were a few things I disliked about this pattern. They have you sew the bodice up, leaving the shoulder seams open. You then sew the bodice shoulders, leaving the lining open. Then you hand stitch the lining. I wish I had read ahead - there are ways to sew a bodice together without doing any hand stitching, so I'm annoyed with myself and with Butterick.

I also dislike having a bodice lining, but then sewing the lining and bodice together as one piece. It looks so much prettier to have the seams concealed. Ah well. Next time!

The only other thing I dislike is that you can almost see my bra at the back, and you can at the sides. I know how I can fix the back issues, but does anyone have any ideas about how to fix the sides?

Issues aside, this is a very comfy dress that I think looks quite cute - (although looking at it now I do look a little heffer-ish). It will be great with flat sandals (I'm less and less able to walk around in heels - my back hates me for it now that I have a belly out in front).

We're jetting back to Brisbane tomorrow for Christmas with my family, and then will be back in Melbourne for new year. Hope you all have wonderful Xmas and new year celebrations, and I'll see you soon with more frocks!