Handmade Baby Goods part I: Belly Bands
My sisters (especially my cousin :) and I have always looked at things for sale and been like "oh, I could make that!" So it's pretty much built into my thinking that I should never buy anything that I could make more easily or cheaply than what's being offered in stores. (Nevermind that I rarely actually get around to making the actual stuff most of the time). Usually, I'm pretty hesitant to go clothes shopping or get a lot of new stuff for myself without thinking it over for an unnessarily long amount of time and hunting for the best deal. So likewise with the whole pregnancy/maternity/newborn thing I've been thinking of how I can make the stuff that I want. In fact, most of my planned pregnancy projects are exactly that: things I can make for myself inspired by the stuff I'm too cheap to pay for.
So the first item has been the belly band, which retails from about $16.99 according to Amazon.com. The whole point of this garment is to cover the gap between your shirt and pants or skirt. So it's basically a tube of fabric. I thought, "I can make a tube of fabric." Then I googled homemade belly band to see and realized I was not the first to have this idea (of course) and that my closet was full of already made tubes of fabric in the form of old tank tops/camisoles that haven't had the tops cut off first. I looked at a website that said to just cut the top off and wear. Two steps. Easy. I was skeptical though and thought I would certainly want to add a hem or some elastic or something. But first I decided to just try it so I went to my closet for the first sacrificial victim and it worked fabulously. The cotton spandex fabric I used just rolls up at the bottom (from the cut off side) and I use the original bottom side (of the tank top) at the top so there's a little bit more of a grab around the top of my belly. From there I set aside a couple more existing tank tops for a total of 3 free belly bands and then got a couple more tank tops on my next thrifting mission (of which I mostly got the half off tag color and otherwise refused to pay more than 3 dollars for) so now I have a variety of bands in different colors at my disposal for well under the cost of a single new purchase band.
So the first item has been the belly band, which retails from about $16.99 according to Amazon.com. The whole point of this garment is to cover the gap between your shirt and pants or skirt. So it's basically a tube of fabric. I thought, "I can make a tube of fabric." Then I googled homemade belly band to see and realized I was not the first to have this idea (of course) and that my closet was full of already made tubes of fabric in the form of old tank tops/camisoles that haven't had the tops cut off first. I looked at a website that said to just cut the top off and wear. Two steps. Easy. I was skeptical though and thought I would certainly want to add a hem or some elastic or something. But first I decided to just try it so I went to my closet for the first sacrificial victim and it worked fabulously. The cotton spandex fabric I used just rolls up at the bottom (from the cut off side) and I use the original bottom side (of the tank top) at the top so there's a little bit more of a grab around the top of my belly. From there I set aside a couple more existing tank tops for a total of 3 free belly bands and then got a couple more tank tops on my next thrifting mission (of which I mostly got the half off tag color and otherwise refused to pay more than 3 dollars for) so now I have a variety of bands in different colors at my disposal for well under the cost of a single new purchase band.
so smart! did you get the package I sent??
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