How to Make Your Own Nursing Shirt

One of the best gifts you can give your baby and yourself is to nurse. Your baby will be healthier and you will loose baby fat faster and lower your risk of postpartum depression and breast cancer. But finding attractive and comfortable nursing tops at an affordable price can be difficult. Certain styles of blouse patterns can be adapted for nursing, or you can purchase patterns for making nursing tops. Either way, these can cost you less than purchasing ready-made tops.

Instructions

1

Purchase Simplicity Pattern 5086 or any pattern with a similar side and center panel structure. You may use any view of Simplicity 5086 for these alterations.

2

Cut the pattern pieces apart, and set aside the side front piece.

3

Cut a piece of paper 2.5 inches wide and 10 inches long. Beginning 9 inches down from the top of the shoulder, tape the 2.5-inch wide strip to the seam that connects the side front pattern piece to the center front pattern piece.

4

Lay the pattern out on your fabric and pin into place as directed by the pattern instructions, adjusting the side front pattern piece to include the wider interior seam allowance. Cut out the pattern pieces,

5

Use tailor's chalk to mark a dot on the outside center front fabric seam 9 inches down from the shoulder and 19 inches down where it will attach to the outside center front panel. These dots will be the points where the seam allowance addition on the outer center panel will begin and end.

6

Take the side front pattern pieces and edge stitch or overlock the edge of the seam allowance beginning 1 inch above the wide addition and ending 1 inch below it. Edge stitch or overlock the outside seam allowance of the center front pieces between the dots.

7

Pin the center and outer front pattern pieces together, rights sides together. You will stitch down from the shoulder to 1 inch below where the addition starts, then backstitch and cut your thread. Begin stitching the seam 1 inch above where the addition stops and stitch all the way to the end of the panels. This will leave you an opening in the seam over the breast.

8

Iron the seam so that the seam allowance for both panels is pointed toward the center front of the shirt.

9

You can sew small snaps into the seam allowance at a point 3 inches down from the opening and at 6 inches to help keep the panel closed when not in use. This step is optional.

10

Finish the rest of the garment according to the pattern instructions.