Maternity Clothing: Free Tutorials and Patterns Round Up

As a 29 year old female, I have had quite a few friends who have had babies during the last 5 years. Thus, I have had a lot of friends who have been in the market for maternity clothing. The two biggest complaints that I've heard are:

1) It's tough to find clothes that are reasonably priced.
2) it's tough to find clothes that are stylish.

After a number of these discussions, I got inspired to browse for DIY maternity clothing tutorials. I was blown away by what I found. Hopefully you will be, too. For those of you out there who are pregnant and are well equipped with sewing skills, you can save quite a lot by making some or most of your maternity clothing. The best part about the wealth of tutorials out there is that you can pick and choose what you like, resulting in some wonderful, stylish clothing that fits your body. Also, after you have read through a half a dozen or so patterns for the same type of maternity clothing, you will get an idea how these patterns work. Most likely from there on out, you'll be able to start making your own alternations with regular clothing by following some of the basic maternity clothing guidelines.

No matter how much clothing you make, you will most likely still be in the market for some purchases as well. Before I get into the tutorials, here are a few tips to help you save on your maternity clothing purchases:

• Shop sales whenever possible. You may find great, pricier items from Target or Motherhood Maternity that are marked way down.
• Shop out of season or at the end of season whenever possible. Even if you're purchasing t-shirts as you head into fall, you can still layer them with warmer pieces.
• Shop secondhand. Goodwill receives Target merchandise that doesn't sell. You may be able to find significantly discounted brand new maternity pieces from brands such as Liz Lange. Additionally, a lot of used maternity clothing is in excellent condition because women don't wear it for a long time.
• Don't forget about garage/rummage sales and Craigslist. While you're hunting for used baby items, you may find some maternity clothing, too.
• Borrow clothing from similarly sized friends and family members. Again, most used maternity clothing is in good condition.