Custom Wedding Dress & Kimono Upcycled Clothes | オーダーメイドウェディングドレス&着物ドレス
Photos by Photo Pink
Back in January, I had an opportunity to work with Holiday for a dress for her maternity photo shoot. She came up with an inspiration board and color scheme while I developed and put it together the pieces. It was fun, and I love the photos from her shoot. She is pregnant with twins, one boy and one girl! I also made a matching pocket square and a bow tie for her husband.
Let’s talk about teeth today!
Kiko’s teeth: I was so happy to congratulate my daughter the other morning when I noticed that she had developed 4 visible teeth! Two front bottom teeth, and two wing teeth on the top. She kind of looks like a vampire now. All of the sudden it dawned on me that I might need to start brushing her teeth. So I went to my source of information, aka Baby Center for what to do with baby teeth cleaning. Apparently, they recommend cleaning the baby’s gums with wet gauze even before the teeth come out. I had not been doing that…sorry Kiko. I had no idea. But now that the teeth have popped out they recommend parents to start brushing the baby teeth. So, I went to a pharmacy and got a baby’s first tooth brush..picture below. Babycenter recommends that I put a tiny bit of tooth paste and brush her gums and teeth. I was afraid that she would whine, but surprisingly, she seems to like it. She smiles at me when I do it, so I take that as a good sign 🙂
My teeth: One thing I was proud of was how strong my teeth were. I’ve never in my life had cavities. I wasn’t taking a particularly good care of my teeth besides going to the dentist for a cleaning every 6 months. I hated flossing and I only did it when I felt like it, but still no cavities. Things changed after the baby. I have no idea what happened – I just got treated for 4 cavities, I wanted to cry! Since that horrible visit to the dentist I have begun flossing twice a day, using mouth wash and brushing my teeth religiously. I’m deathly afraid of the dentist and more cavities. Delivery was painful for one 12 hour event, but going to the dentist and getting fillings is painful in long gradual torture kind of way.
Anyway, I hear that mouth PH levels change when you are pregnant, and you are more likely to get cavities during pregnancu. I’m guessing this had happened to me. Has anyone experienced the same?
I’m 35 week pregnant this week! I can’t believe how fast my whole pregnancy has gone. I only have 5 more weeks (or less) before baby Kiko will be born. By the way, I plan to avoid the subject of earthquakes and the nuclear power plant situation in this blog. I’m not a news reporter (although my major in college was Broadcast Journalism..I’m such a bad writer!) and constantly dwelling on the whole situation makes me really nervous. So back to the good stuff, sewing and fashion, and the bright side of life here in Japan.
This week, I finally made myself the Meg Nielsen Maternity top variation. The original top looks like this. I think the top is great for the third trimester pregnant body. So, I decided to do a Chie remix of the dress for a couple of reasons. First I do not have jeans that fit me comfortably any longer so I needed to find a way to cover my bottom half. Also I wanted to make it a bit dressier because I planned on wearing this on my baby shower, which had to be canceled….because of the earthquake (I guess I couldn’t completely avoid the topic). So using Meg’s pattern, I made some alteration and turned it into a dress.
I used two-way stretch jersey in peach color. After finding out that I’m pregnant with a baby girl, I find myself wearing more pink – Not sure why, but I want to feel girly in pink and peach and all that pretty colors of Spring.
I love how the dress turned out, and I’ve already worn it once. It’s so comfortable! I think the criss cross front might work well for nursing as well.
When I wore this dress, Andy made a confession – he said one of the most unflattering pieces of clothing I own is a pair of black opaque tights. I was shocked. That’s my uniform! Since I barely wear pants, I wear black opaque tights almost every day. I had no idea he thought they were ugly. So I decided to switch to half sheer gray tights to pair with my new dress.
Here is a tutorial on how I turned Megan Nielson wrap around maternity top into a maternity dress!
There are 3 pattern pieces to her original top: Front, Back and Sleeves.
1. Alteration on front pattern piece:
2. Alteration on back pattern piece:
4. In addition to front, back and sleeve pattern pieces, you will need to draft an I-line skirt pattern yourself.
I used the pattern I drafted for the front cross dress from my Spring collection, and added 3 inches to the top to give it a high-waisted look. Perhaps you can try this tutorial to draft your I line skirt pattern, and omit the darts, because if you use stretchy fabric, you won’t need darts.
I cut 4 pieces for the skirt: 2 for front and 2 for back. The reason for this is to layer (or line) the skirt because the fabric I used was rather thin, and I was afraid that it might be sheer.
I would love to see your version of the dress! I think this is a great addition to a wardrobe even if you are not pregnant. I’m already planning on making another one for myself…but only if I can finish the 12+ custom orders I have to waiting before Kiko comes!
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