Breastfeeding Shirt

Instructions

1. Mark the centre front of the long sleeve top and cut open vertically. Fold over the cut edges and stitch down. Lay lace over top and stitch down - take care to tuck the ends of the lace under top and bottom.
2. Cut through the shoulders of the singlet just in front of or at the shoulder seam. Use scraps of jersey to bind the cut edges and strengthen them. I cut right at the seam, then made my binding on the back shoulders longer so it would make a tab for the snaps.
3. Add snaps to join the shoulders back together.
4. Sew the singlet inside the long sleeve top at the shoulder seams.
5. Thread ribbon through the lace holes.
6. Demonstrate new feeding top to hungry baby. 1. Mark the centre front of the long sleeve top and cut open vertically. Fold over the cut edges and stitch down. Lay lace over top and stitch down - take care to tuck the ends of the lace under top and bottom.
2. Cut through the shoulders of the singlet just in front of or at the shoulder seam. Use scraps of jersey to bind the cut edges and strengthen them. I cut right at the seam, ...
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Difficulty:

Category: Sewing

Type of item: Clothing

For: Women

Style: Romantic, Cute, Whimsical, Casual

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Materials

2 white shirts from Kmart - one singlet (sleeveless/"tank"), one 3/4 sleeve; offcut of white jersey approx 20cm x 10cm; white sewing thread; sewing machine; white snaps; approx 1m white lace with small holes in; approx 1m narrow ribbon

What was your inspiration?

It's winter, and I hate exposing my tummy to the chill every time I feed the baby, and my local shops have no white nursing tops at all (and the pink or black shirts they have are maternity/nursing tops, with big saggy tummy panels I don't need anymore!). Unfortunately, I seem to have missed the one week a year my local shops stock genuinely long-sleeve t-shirts, so I have to make do with 3/4 sleeves. If it bugs me in a week, I'll grab another remnant and add long fluttery cuffs and more lace.

What are you most proud of?

It turned out really cute and makes me feel more feminine than the commercial big-lady-wrapped-in-fabric-origami maternity tops. And it cost $5 for each shirt, plus bits & bobs from my craft room, and was done in the time it took my husband to have breakfast and change the baby!

What advice would you give someone starting this project?

1) Look for a singlet with narrower shoulder straps - about 1 inch would be best. I didn't want to use more than 1 snap on each side, but the straps are so wide they really should have 2 to keep the corners flat.
2) It probably looks best if the 2 shirts are the same length or the inside one is shorter - I used what I could find, so the inside one is slightly longer and it looks a little odd.
3) Make sure your lace is sturdy enough to survive being pulled - I've used this trick before, and some lace will break apart under the strain. You could use hat elastic instead of ribbon to reduce the strain if you want.
4) If I had been able to find a singlet with narrow straps, I would have put the snaps about 2 inches forward of the shoulder seam - being right at the top, the bulk is visible and it may get uncomfortable wearing a backpack or sling over the top.