Twinset Style, part 2

Finish the neckline of your underlay. If you're using ribbing, cut it to 2/3 the length of your neckline and apply it normally. Hem the underlay.

Seam the shoulders of the back and the jacket front. You can serge the neck edge, fold it over and topstitch it down if you want. I have a rayon dress made this way and it's worn well, despite my worries about fraying.

If you're using a facing for the jacket, seam the pieces together and attach them to the jacket. If you haven't ever done this before, consult a good basic sewing book, like Readers Digest or Better Homes and Gardens. It's a little too complex for me to go into with my little Paint diagrams. Turn the facing and topstitch if you're in the mood.

Flip your jacket inside out and place the right side of the underlay on the wrong side of the jacket front. Match the shoulders at the armscye and stitch the shoulder seam.
You'll want to pin the sideseams together. Do you want to tuck your underlay in or leave it untucked? You'll stitch the sideseams differently, depending on what you want. For the tucked-in style, your sideseams are only going to be attached for a few inches, like so:
If your underlay will be untucked, then just stitch the entire sideseam closed.

Now hem the jacket. Attach a frog closure or sew a button through the two jacket fronts. Now you can attach your sleeves and hem them and you're all done!

Twinset Style

This is probably the most complex of these designs, but it's not super hard. If you decide you really like this style (and you hate my directions for assembly), seriously consider buying Elizabeth Lee's twinset and more pattern #307. She has a really clever technique for constructing the jacket neckline. My way works, but her way is better.

Decide how low you want your jacket front to go. Measure some of your v-neck clothing to see what depth you like. Then mark the correct depth on your pattern piece.
Whip out your handy ruler and connect the depth mark with your shoulder line. Ta-da! You've just created your jacket neckline and your pattern should look roughly like the drawing below.

Remember to include a seam allowance for the center front of the jacket when you are cutting it out! Or create a facing for the neckline and front edges. It should be about 2" wide, though you can make it wider if you'd like. You'll need to face the back neckline as well if you go this route.

Vertical Front Style, part 3

Assembling your vertical nursing shirt

Your first step is to finish the center edge of the underlay. If you're using a knit, I highly recommend stabilizing this edge with clear elastic. It has excellent recovery and will keep your shirt from stretching out, which is impressive considering how many times you're going to yank at it over the course of its shirt-ish lifetime. You can either serge the clear elastic on or use the three-step zigzag on your sewing machine. Don't stretch the elastic while you're applying it -- your goal is not a gathered edge, just one that snaps back into shape.

If you're using a zipper down the center, apply it now, making sure that the tab is to the right side of the shirt and that the zipper closes with the tab at the waist side of things. I used the centered application like on the zipper packaging, but you can use an invisible zipper if you prefer. It's your shirt -- do what you'll like!

Hem the side edges of your overlay. I serged the edges of mine before folding and stitching, but you can turn a small double hem if you prefer.

Now you can line up the overlay with the underlay and pin them together at the neckline and hem. Baste along the neck, shoulder and hems where they are connected.


Finally, measure down from your shoulder to choose where you want your nursing opening to start. I start mine about where my bra strap meets the top of the cup. I usually unhook my bra through the nursing opening, not the neckline, so this works well for me. Mark this spot on your shirt with a pin and stitch (regular stitch length -- you're not basting this) from the shoulder to the nursing opening. If you have a good idea how long you need your nursing opening, you can also stitch the bottom. I prefer to wait until the shirt is finished, try it on and see how much room I'll need before committing to the lower stitching.


Now the hard stuff is out of the way and you can construct your shirt following the pattern instructions.

Vertical Front Style, part 2

Designing your vertical underlay
Your underlay can be a long slit or you can insert a zipper, which allows you to get a snugger fit and no gapping. The long slit is ridiculously easy, whereas the zipper takes a little more time and thought.

If you're choosing a long slit, you cut the center front along the fold line. I do this by laying my underlay along the selvage edge as I'm cutting the shirt out and cutting all sides of the pattern. I told you it was easy.

For the zipper, I add a seam allowance along the center front of the shirt pattern. You could add a 5/8" strip of paper along the center front if you really want, but I find it's easiest just to align the pattern piece 5/8" from the selvage edge and cut it out. If this is a shirt (instead of a dress with a waist seam) trim about 1-1/2" from the center hem. Don't trim beyond the line of your overlay - figuring this will be easy since it's the same pattern piece. The underlay is going to hang free from the hem when you are finished and you don't want it dangling outside of your shirt.

Vertical Front Style

Designing a vertical overlay

Starting with your pattern, draw a vertical line from shoulder to hem. This line needs to cut through the bust point or it can be inside it a bit, towards the center, but you do not want it on the outside of your bust point. Placing the overlay beyond the bust point creates a wingy effect and draws unnecessary attention to your nursing shirt (unless you're an exhibitionist and love people looking at your chest, in which case, wing away!). Your pattern should look something like this:


Your overlay doesn't have to be perfectly straight up and down. It can be wider at the shoulder edge and taper to the waistline or the other way around, if you'd rather. One dress that works well for me is about an inch wider across the shoulder line than it is at the waist. I also have a shirt that's 100% straight and it's fine, too. If you're designing this out of a woven, you'll want to be careful with the angled overlay, since the edge is cut on the bias and will stretch as it's handled and sewn.

Crop Style, part 3

Assembling your crop nursing shirt
Hem your overlay.

Lay your overlay over the underlay, matching the necklines and shoulders. If you used a slice method for your nursing opening, each side will line up with the overlay, but they don't overlap. Pin as much as you need to keep the two layers together.

If you used the scooped armhole method for your underlay, your armscyes are only connected part-way down. Be extra careful lining up your sideseams to compensate for the single layer at the lower armscye.


Now baste your layers together. Now you can assemble your shirt according to the pattern instructions, ignoring the fact that your front is made of two pieces instead of one. If you want to use the button at the sideseam, pin the overlay sideseam towards the middle of the shirt and out of the way when you put your front and back together. Then attach the button after the shirt is complete.


That's all there is to creating a crop front nursing shirt. If you're confused about a step, or I've left something important out, please contact me at tomorrowperson at gmail dot com.

Crop Style, part 2

Designing your underlay
You have a few options for how the actual opening part of your shirt is going to work. You can slice from shoulder to bust point, from armscye to bust point or scoop out big armholes. If you're slicing, it's best to go beyond the bust point for an inch or two. This will give you a little more maneuvering room. If you're making something for night nursing, you may as well extend the openings to your waist. My favorite pajama top has extended armhole openings to the waist, allowing instant access when it's dark and I'm groggy.

Here are some examples of how each looks on the pattern piece:




You'll notice that the giant armhole opening doesn't go all the way to the bust point. My first shirt like this did scoop all the way to the opening and I found that it showed through the top layer, which is why I've changed my ways.

No matter which you choose, I highly recommend reinforcing your nursing opening with clear elastic, which has great recovery and will keep your underlay from drooping as it ages. You can either serge it on or use a 3-step zigzag stitch to hold it in place. Do not stretch the elastic as you attach it because we do not want you to look dorky. If you're working with a woven fabric instead of a t-shirt knit, you can use a 1/4" narrow hem or bind the raw edge with bias tape. I've done both and they work equally well.

Crop Style

This is a crop opening, which seems to be all the rage with Sears and Penneys. Basically, you have two shirt fronts. The side closest to your body (the underlay) has slits for you to reach your bra and feed your baby. The side that the world sees (the overlay) looks like a short t-shirt, usually with buttons at the sideseam. Personally, I detest the buttons and gave them up a couple of years ago, but we're all different, so whatever floats your boat is fine. Here are a couple of pictures:


You can see that the velvet overlay is much longer than the pink t-shirt. The velvet is also sewn together at the sideseams, while the pink shirt is still waiting for those dumb buttons a year after I started wearing it. And yes, the longer overlay is much more flattering than a horizontal line directly across the giant bustline. Live and learn. :)

Designing your crop overlay

Decide where you want your crop overlay. It needs to be somewhere between the bust point and the waistline. Using a yardstick or something to help you draw a straight line, draw a line across your pattern for your crop overlay. Remember that it's going to need a hem, so add an extra inch for the hem. I like my overlays to have the same hem allowance as the underlay, so check your pattern instructions if this matters to you.



Good job! Now to design the underlay.

Step One: Pick your pattern

Need to sew some breastfeeding clothing? Here's how to make a variety of styles using one t-shirt pattern.

First you'll need to start with a pattern that fits you. If you don't have a pattern that fits yet, measure yourself and measure some of your existing shirts and dresses to see how much ease you like in your clothes. Now you can search for a pattern that will fit the way you want it to fit. Some pattern manufacturers include the finished measurements at the bust and hips on the back of the pattern envelope. Others include it on the pattern instruction sheet. Some brands are roomier than others, so it pays to find this information. If you're frustrated with regular patterns, I highly recommend Wild Ginger's pattern drafting software. Their Click & Sew line is inexpensive at around $20.00 for a few different styles and you get a pattern drafted for your body. My bust is huge and fitting has always been difficult for me, so this is the route I go.

So let's assume you have your t-shirt pattern. Now to make it nursing accessible:

You need to mark your bust point on the pattern (You may want to trace a copy of your original pattern because we are going to draw lines all over it. If your pattern was from a 99-cent sale, you may not care.). I did this using the highly technical method of holding the pattern up to my body and lining up the center front with my center front. Put a little X or something on the bust point. Great! Your pattern should look something like this:

Now that your bust point is on the pattern piece, you can design your opening. Choose from crop, vertical or a mock twinset style.

Blast from the past!

I've decided to repost my old tutorials for sewing your own nursing tops or dresses. I had them up on an Earthlink site for several years, but they stopped providing broadband service to my area, so they've been languishing on my hard drive.