DIY Maternity Pants

I fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes during my first trimester.  Sure my pants got a little tight at the waist, but nothing that a hair elastic or Belly Band couldn't fix.  But then I hit 16 weeks and I had to find a solution.  Since I wasn't about to *gasp* buy maternity pants I decided to DIY some old work pants into maternity pants.  Because let's face it, I love a good DIY.

While I had the idea of maternity pants, I can't take any credit for this DIY (shout out to all you awesome DIYers).  There are tons of different maternity pant DIYs available on Pinterest.  I, however, liked the DIY instructions from What's Up Moms and the results were amazing!

While you can use a sewing machine I somehow managed to break mine so I was stuck doing this by hand.  It takes awhile, but I promise the end results are worth the effort, especially if you're like me and haven't gained any weight in your thighs (thank you sweet baby Jesus).  I find that most maternity pants I tried on fit in the waist, but were loose in the butt and thighs and no one wants to have people whisper behind their back that they have a grandma butt.  Then again...my mom, aka soon to be grandma, has an amazing derriere so maybe having a grandma butt isn't such a bag thing...

I've made a ton of DIY pants and shorts this pregnancy and made some modifications to What's Up Moms DIY.

Here are my directions for DIY Maternity Pants:

You will need:
A pair of pants (or shorts) that you don't mind repurposing
Needle and thread
Fabric scissors
Straight pins
4 inch elastic (I bought mine from Amazon)

Directions:
1. Cut out the front pockets.  Starting at the top of the waistband cut along the side seam making sure to remove the whole pocket.  Just be careful and don't cut a whole through the pants.  Repeat on the other side

2. Measure and cut the elastic 1.5x the length of the pocket you just cut making sure the elastic overlaps the seam

3. Line up the top of the elastic with the top of the jeans and pin in place.  Obviously repeat on other side.

4. Starting at the waistband sew the elastic in place along the seam.  Always make sure to start and finish your knots inside the pants.  I sewed the seam twice for extra reinforcement.  Repeat on other side

I matched the thread as best as I could to the color of the pants.  My sewing isn't the best (clearly), but in all honesty you can't see the new seam under shirts, especially long maternity shirts.

5. Trim the elastic on the inside.

6. Put on your DIY maternity pants and show off that adorable baby bump!