I have spent a lot of time considering what kind of maternity outerwear to make as I wanted something suitable for maternity and beyond. I didn’t want to invest time and money making something I could only wear for a short time.
One problem I’ve encountered when it comes to maternity wear is that it is really tricky to find suitable ready to wear (RTW) clothing to fit tall pregnant women. I think I might have mentioned this in my last post, but it is annoying me enough to mention it again.
I am 5’11” and always find my arms are too long for RTW coats and jackets, the second hand maternity one my friend lent me, while still lovely, is slightly too short in the sleeves for me.
I decided on the Artemis pattern by I AM Patterns, a company I had never tried before. I’d had my eye on the pattern for ages and I’d seen some really nice ones popping up on Instagram. I was particularly drawn to the laid back, oversized style.
I had some leftover navy corduroy after making my maternity dungarees, and think it works really well with this pattern. I bought the corduroy from Merchant and Mills and I couldn’t recommend it enough. I seem to have a bit of a corduroy obsession right now, my last 3 projects have all been made using it.
Sizing wise I decided to go for the biggest size available, which I think was a UK 14? the fit is very oversized and even with my bump it is probably a bit big for me. I am not complaining though as I’m growing rapidly so extra room is always appreciated :).
I didn’t make any adjustments to the pattern other than lengthening by 10cm , as I wanted it to cover my bum.
I didn’t lengthen the sleeves as I don’t think the pattern piece would have fit on the width of my fabric if I had, but I finished them with bias tape and used a small seam allowance, rather than double folding, to give me a bit more length and they hit at the perfect point on my wrist.
I used a combination of techniques to finish the seams, binding the pocket seams and sleeves with homemade polka dot bias tape and overlocking inside the sleeves where the seams wouldn’t be visible. I thought this would help reduce bulk at the underarm where the sleeves are cut on the bias. I worried that if I bound them they wouldn’t hang nicely.
I didn’t originally add closures, but on wearing the coat out once in the Shetland wind I realised this was a mistake as it was blowing open and driving me mad. I covered some buttons in the corduroy and evenly spaced them down the front. I think they look really smart so I’m glad I made this addition.
In terms of the fit of the jacket and overall style, I am really happy with it, it feels really laid back and easy to wear. I do find with the low armholes I sometimes feel it a bit tight across the chest when I raise my arms and it sort of falls off my shoulders when I wear it, but this might be as it’s a bit big. I think without the baby bump to contend with I would have preferred to size down.
Overall though it is definitely serving its purpose as my maternity cover up and I hope I will continue to get a lot of wear out of this for years to come. I love the big pockets and the relaxed style, especially paired with my newly finished hand knit scarf which I will be sharing a blog post on soon.
Attie and Dora 