Four Easy Maternity Skirts

Once I started outgrowing my normal clothes a few months ago, I started searching for easy maternity options. I browsed online maternity stores, but even the least expensive options (like Motherhood maternity) were still too pricey for this miserly shopper.

I did some searching and found some simple ways to modify skirts for maternity -- I particularly liked Hannah's very helpful posts here and here.

So I scouted out our local thrift shop for stretchy camisoles. They happened to have a sale the day I went, so all of the clothing was half off their normal price of $1! I went a little crazy, but at 50 cents per garment, it's hard to go wrong...

This burgundy floral skirt came from a dress that I made about four years ago and hadn't worn in ages. The dress was destined for destruction, but no longer! I cut it off at hip level, cut the bottom hem and above-the-midriff off my camisole, and stitched the two together with a zig-zag (stretching the cami as I went). *So* simple.




This denim skirt has been sitting in my closet for a year or two, making me feel very guilty -- this is its third "incarnation," since it started out as a (very-cute-but-too-big) Liz Claiborne wrap dress. I modified it into a skirt, but wasn't really happy with the results. Now, thanks to some knit from JoAnn's, it's a maternity skirt!




This thrifted denim gored skirt was a staple in my closet for several years. When it developed a strange faded line about three inches down from the waist, I sadly removed it from my closet (but kept it to use as a pattern). It turns out that the faded line was exactly where I needed to cut to add a maternity band! I love happy endings. *wink* This band was made from a navy camisole.




I actually made this skirt for maternity, but I used scrap fabric to make it. It's my favorite A-line pattern, cut off at the hips. The fabric was leftover from another skirt I'd made, so I had very little to work with. I made the skirt as long as possible, then serged the bottom edge. Using the final scraps, I cut several 5" wide pieces sort-of-on-the-bias to make a pleated ruffle.



After pinning my pleats in place on the skirt, I zig-zagged about 1/2" below the top edge of the ruffle. To maximize length, I left the top and bottom of the ruffle unfinished -- after one wash, they have a comfortably frayed look, but since they're not cut on the grain they won't ravel too much. The stretchy band is more of my JoAnn's knit (I couldn't find any khaki camisoles) -- but 1/2 yard was only about $2 on sale, and I was able to cut enough for four maternity bands.




All of these skirts were basically free, not counting the few pennies I spent on camisoles/knit, thread, and some elastic at the waistbands (more on that later). And that's important to me -- five regularly-priced items at Motherhood Maternity would be about $100! While I certainly hope this isn't the last time I'll be using a maternity wardrobe, I didn't want to invest a lot of money on clothing that will only be worn for a few months.

So you can expect more maternity make-overs and suggestions over the next few months, as I try to build a frugal wardrobe!