Maternity to Fitted Shirt

Some of my maternity clothes have never left my closet.  Please tell me there are others with similar hidden secrets.  Though I am now 50+ pounds lighter than when I delivered my last child, I have held on to a number of items.  This plain brown top is one of them.  It is soft, stretchy and comfortable.  It is not something that I would wear outside my house, but it still gets worn around the house on occasion.  I wanted to make it a little more fitted and flattering though.  So here is what I did.

First, I found a fitted top in my drawer and laid it out on top of my maternity shirt.  Both shirts had been turned inside out.  Then I matched up the shoulder seams as best as possible and smoothed everything out.  Yes I like chocolate brown!

I took a washable marker and traced along the edge of the fitted shirt, leaving about 1/2" for a seam allowance.  I cut along the marker lines.

The front of my shirt was longer in the front than the back due to the extra material required to cover the baby bump. In my case it was easy, I folded over the existing hem and ironed it down.  The material is light enough that the extra layer didn't add any bulk.

Then I began sewing from each sleeve opening down to the bottom.  I also ran a stitch line across the front bottom hem to keep it in place.

Easy to do and the shirt no longer leaves the neighbors wondering if another little one is on the way!