Penny Pincher - Convert-a-tank

SO! If you are like Mama Christa and I and are a little paranoid about people seeing your flab when you lift your shirt to nurse your baby, this tutorial is for you! Yea yea yea, you can buy shelf-bra style tank tops, but that actually gets to being a lot of hardware if you want to wear an ACTUAL bra under it. Besides, if you are sporting big ta-tas like Mama Christa and I...a shelf bra simply doesn't cut it for public consumption most days. Usually I am stuck wearing the shelf-bra tank top AND a nursing bra...so when I nurse my baby I have to un-clasp TWO layers and get them reclasped to the right clips and not eachother. It's a big fuddle. Additionally, I find all that pressure on my boobs to be very uncomfortable, and I get hot easily, so I don't really dig it!

So I decided to destroy a couple of my stretchy, ribbed, maternity tank tops to create NON-SHELF-BRA nursing tanks. It's simple, straightforward, and cheap, which I like.

Select a tank top.I like these motherhood maternity ribbed tank tops because they are LONG...not to mention, they fall apart easily (pieces of crap) so if I mess it up, it's no skin off my neck since it was unraveling to begin with.OH, and they were handy when I got this bug up my butt. My tank top is pictured with an optional accessory: The Toddler, please use at your own risk.

Make any alterations, these tanks were a little too loose on me because they are maternity and because I lost 40lbs during this last pregnancy, so I simply did a stretch stitch down the sides

using the old surged seam as a guide, I took this tank

 in about an inch or so.

The altered tank top laid out for ya. Shown with The Toddler

For the alteration you'll then trim the excess off with a good pair of scissors. Don't worry about being right up agains the edge, if it frays, it will stop at the stitching and you can trim it later to keep strings from being everywhere.

 go ahead and give those strips to the toddler if you are using one for this project. 

Once you get the seams trimmed, try it on to see if it fits you the way you want it to. You'll wear this under other clothes so it should be comfortable but close-fitting. No need to add extra fluff. When doing a blog tutorial...edit out the old glory arms too...cuz it just doesn't look as good on you as it does on me! *facepalm*

Then, have optional accessory toddler help you to draw a line with chalk or fabric pencil to the SIDE of your breast. When I finished this tank I decided I should have done it more to the side than is depicted here. The idea is so that you can't see the goofy seems under a t-shirt...that would just look trashy like panty lines ok? So more towards your armpit, and probably 8 - 12" long, just eyeball what looks right to you. If you take a picture for a blog tutorial...make sur eyou actually crop your messy kitchen, bad hair, and self-picture scowl out ok? Not everyone pulls this off as well as I do...

For the slits I sewed the opening BEFORE I cut it. I sewed down one side of my line, then set the needle into the fabric, lifted the foot, and turned the tank top 180 degrees to go down the opposite side, leaving a very narrow gap between the two lines of stitching. I'm still using my stretch stitch here. 

Cut down between the stitch-lines, careful not to cut any of your thread!

Check it...it's a nursing opening! Again...edit your old glory arms out for this kind of stuff...cuz yours are NOT as hot as mine ok?

Then you do the same on the other side. Like I said, go more towards the armpit seam than I did (this was the first one, gimme a break)

Now you can wear the tank under any ol' shirt, you can have any color (ribbed tanks are inexpensive, as are plain ol' jersey knit tanks. When you are nursing in public, your tummy is covered for your own comfort, you aren't sweating like a pig because you're wearing too many layers on your chest, you're not fuddling with all the clasps, and you can wear a nursing bra that actually supports your boobs.

I know this isn't revolutionary...but it seriously only took me 30 minutes, and I like this better than the shelf-tanks A LOT!

Late Night Quicky - Hiding at Home

So I'll NIP, I'm much more open about it this time than I was with my 2-year-old, Aiden, when he was nursing. I bought a nice, functional cover this time...and I never even use it...haven't used it since Thanksgiving actually! Can you believe it!

Tonight, however, I took the baby upstairs to our room to nurse him. There was a realtor here doing an assessment and talking FOREVER with my DARLING husband, and Chase needed to eat. Normally I would sit in my chair downstairs, but for some reason, I was not comfortable nursing with this strange man in my house. Surprising since a different Realtor was here just a few hours before and I just went ahead and nursed...however, that realtor was an older woman and she was about to leave.

Funny how the dynamic changes when you are with so FEW people...I'm actually a little more comfortable nursing in a larger setting, a mall or restaurant, and I think it's because most people don't notice me and if they do, they have business to go about when they are done making that quick mental note (Like "nursing mother, ok, check...now what was I going to order?")

Stay tuned later this week for proof that I nurse my baby in front of a roomful of strangers while I teach my childbirth education series at Everyday Miracles. ;)