Me-Made Maternity Clothes Costs

Sewing my own clothes has made me quite comfortable in my skin. When you sew you have to face reality, there’s no fudging numbers because the garment won’t fit if you do. You learn to accept that your bust measures this and your hips measure that. Those numbers are fact and help in making the garment, so I accept and embrace them. Learning how my body is shaped allows me to sew flattering clothes that can feature my assets well and make me feel good while doing so. And who doesn’t want to look and feel good when pregnant?

Sewing also allows you to save money at times, but not always. It’s all dependent on your materials and if you are okay spending time fitting and sewing your clothes. Labor aside, garments can be a bargain if you find your materials at a good cost. But sometimes it’s nice to splurge if you want to treat yourself, like I did when I made my first maternity dress using Liberty of London fabric.

Plus-size maternity clothes are now more readily available in stores and I’ve been tempted to buy them, just for convenience. But because I enjoy sewing, have the time/patience and energy I figure why not make my own. I have to admit, that I am quite curious as to how much I am actually spending on my me-made maternity clothes. Am I actually saving money or am I spending too much?

Here’s a very basic breakdown of costs per garment. I only included fabric and new materials purchased. I own a lot of notions (buttons, thread, elastic, etc) that I’ve bought at bargain prices over the last two years. I excluded them from costs because I use them for so many projects.

Stripey Knit Skirt
Cost of fabric and materials: Free (the fabric was given to me and I had left over elastic from old projects)
Cost of pattern: £8 for a maternity skirt
Time it took to make: About 2 hours. Turning the waistband inside out took forever!
Total cost: You can argue £8 but I bought a new skirt to make the stripey one, so I say £4

Jersey-knit Sleeveless Babydoll Dress
Cost of new fabric and materials: £16 for 2 meters of double-knit jersey fabric
Cost of pattern: Free! The Sew U Home Stretch book was given to me as a gift
Time it took to make: About 2 hours. A great simple pattern
Total cost: £16

Jersey-knit Babydoll Dress
Cost of new fabric and materials: £5 for 2 meters of remnant double-knit jersey fabric. Bargain!
Cost of pattern: Free! A Sew U Home Stretch pattern
Time it took to make: About 6 hours (grading/tracing the pattern and sewing)
Total cost: £5

Jersey-knit Dress
Cost of new fabric and materials: £6 for 2 meters of remnant ponte-knit jersey fabric
Cost of pattern: £2
Time it took to make: About 8 hours (grading/tracing the pattern, fitting and sewing). This dress was a pill to fit by myself
Total cost: £8

1970s Maternity Dress
Cost of new fabric and materials: £12 for 2 meters of cotton poplin, £.80 for a zipper
Cost of pattern: £7 for a vintage 70s maternity pattern
Time it took to make: About 6 hours (grading/tracing the pattern, fitting and sewing)
Total cost: £ 19.80

1970s Maternity Dress
Cost of new fabric and materials: £12 for 2 meters of black poplin, £2 for remnant red mystery remnant fabric, £.25 zipper
Cost of pattern: £0, re-used vintage 70s maternity pattern
Time it took to make: 4 hours
Total cost: £14.25

1970s Maternity Dress
Cost of new fabric and materials: £36 for 3 meters of Liberty fabric, £2.25 for half a yard of Japanese cotton lace, £.25 zipper
Cost of pattern: £0, re-used vintage 70s maternity pattern
Time it took to make: 4 hours
Total cost: £38.50