It's that time again…to break out the maternity friendly patterns! We are being surprised by a small son this summer, so for the next few months any sewing that I do for myself will have that exciting event in mind.

This time I was intrigued by a 1930s coat pattern. It's waistless, and belted in to fit at the waist. I didn't want to tackle a coat any time soon, but I thought it might work as a house dress instead if done unlined in cotton – and I know from experience that I do wear this sort of dress after pregnancy too. So I pulled out some busy 1930s repro cotton from Connecting Threads and gave it a try. 

I added white piping to outline the front closure, which is the only dress detail and might otherwise get lost in the print. Definitely the right choice.

It was fairly easy and fast to make, even with the adaptations I needed to make a dress out of a coat pattern. The raglan sleeves are very comfortable!

I opted for buttons the whole way down the front, and also like that choice. 

Shown here with a baby bump, it should work well for the nursing-friendly fluctuating postpartum sizes as well. I'm not sure that I will fit in it for all 9 months, as it is still a narrower dress, but it certainly is much more comfortable than most of my other recently outgrown house dresses – yet without looking obviously "maternity".

This is the first garment I've made since early January, since I've been on a sustained wintertime quilting binge. But I enjoyed making a dress again, and have a few more planned for myself and my girls especially as we approach Easter!