Liz Bryson of Cotton and Curls was living here in San Francisco for a few months and it was such a treat! I had admired her sewing blog for a while. She was here for fashion school and is now my go-to expert on all kinds of sewing and fabric questions. She’s amazingly talented and so I asked her to share a couple maternity projects here on the blog, for myself and any other pregnant ladies out there! Her first tutorial is genius, a simple elastic triangle sewed into the side of your regular jeans to convert them into a stylish maternity version (because, guys, the maternity jeans selection out there are not a pretty sight).

Here are her instructions:

Pregnancy comes with a big belly and the desire to still wear pre-pregnancy jeans, so we dearly try to cover up those unzipped and unbuttoned pants in many different ways. Well, if you are anything like me when I was pregnant and get tired of squeezing into pants, this could be the perfect solution for you! Just add a few patches of elastic at the sides seams and done! You can easily still zip and button your pants and the added elastic keeps you comfortable.

Keep reading for the tutorial…

1. Seam rip side seams 3 to 4 inches down and cut open the waist band. Keep the original seam allowance to fold later.

2. Place elastic in a similar color (you can buy elastic at any fabric store) behind the new opening. Measure elastic by adding how many inches you would like to your waistband, then divide by 2 for an equal amount on both sides. If you couldn’t find elastic wide enough, then sew 2 pieces elastic together at it’s widths.

3. Fold the original seam allowance back under. You will have to fold under just a tad more at the top of the pant to take under the waistband evenly with the rest of the side seam.

4. Pin to the elastic.

5. Sew a topstitch and 1/8th inch from the edge. I sewed a second stitch an 1/8th inch away from the first to reinforce it.

6. Cut off extra elastic (serge if you want to prevent fraying).

The best part, you can remove the elastic and re-sew the seam up in your favorite jeans after the babe comes (well, let’s be honest, maybe it might take a few months before you don’t need that elastic anymore!)