Project Bump: Isabella Oliver Knock-off Separates

There's just 8 weeks until Raspberry's expected arrival, and home improvement projects are well underway - ugly carpeting is at the curb, walls have been spackled, and closets, drawers and cupboards have been ruthlessly purged and de-cluttered.

I now have one drawer of clothing plus dresses hung in the closet. Everything I've sewn for myself is still fitting beautifully and there are some RTW garments still in play, so I have enough to wear. But as we are now in early Autumn and the final countdown, I decided that a few tops that have sleeves and could be worn either to work or with jeans once I'm on leave would be good additions to my Project Bump wardrobe.

I thought Simplicity 1468 - Megan Nielsen wrap knit maternity tops - would coordinate perfectly with my MN ruched skirts and together would be a great knock off of an Isabella Oliver dress that retails for $198. Both the RTW and mine are rayon/viscose and elastane.

Isabella Oliver ($198) vs Knock off (about $32 from stash jersey for skirt+top)

I actually decided to do two tops, one to go with each of my skirts - the black one and the striped one.

Black and striped tops.

This top is basically a shrug with really really long ties that can wrap around your body multiple times to accommodate a growing and then shrinking belly. It's is a pretty brilliant idea for pregnancy, even if it doesn't make for the most user-friendly top. I haven't mastered getting into it yet - you're supposed to roll up the ties and then wrap them around your body like ace bandages, which is kind of hard when you have to go behind your back. You can see that, for the photo shoot, I didn't do a great job getting the wrapping even on the black one, and the day I wore it to work, I spent time after each bathroom visit readjusting the ties - if they don't overlap, little bits of skin can peek out. So I'm not 100% sure this top is for everyone and I'm glad that I wore it with a high-waisted skirt.

Both tops would look equally cute with jeans, too. I'm happy that I'll be able to wear them a lot of ways - right now and as I continue to grow as a dressy/work outfit, and then postpartum with jeans as I shrink. It seems pretty breast-feeding friendly.

Here's the back.

Be aware that you need to get that first wrap to overlap the upper back part

Like the other Megan Nielsen patterns I've tried, this could not have been easier to sew, although there's miles of hemming to do if you want the ties finished (I did).  I wondered how this pattern, which is now sold/licensed by Simplicity, might differ from her other patterns. So, I cut a straight medium. It fit pretty similarly, although a little larger than the MN tee shirt top. If I make it again I would take in the back at the center. If this was not a wrap top, I would do something about all the drag lines at the armscye and bust. But I think this may be a function of it being a wrap top and how snugly I wrapped it. Overall, the fit is very easy thanks to the ties, which are entirely adjustable; just wrap them more or less times around your body.

Other than that, there isn't much to say. The construction is very basic. I did everything with my serger or a twin needle.

I think the striped top worn with it's matching striped skirt may be a bit Tim Burton-ish for every day, don't you think? Mix and match is probably how I'll wear it, with the exception of Halloween.

Overall, this is exactly the look that I was going for.