Maternity Bridesmaid dress - advice please!

[CupsofTeaAndHandfulsOfCake]

If I have posted in the wrong section then I will try and get it moved.

I would love the advice of Mumsnet, Google has not been helpful.

The advice is re. Changing a regular bridesmaid dress into a maternity one.

I am 6 months pregnant and I haven't put on any weight anywhere else I am about a 10-12, but my tummy is HUGE, my boobs are bigger too. (It might sound like I look good but I really don't!)

Its my friends wedding in a few weeks (I will of course get bigger by then!) and she has kindly asked me to be the bridesmaid.

She had already bought the dresses for all the bridesmaids so I have to wear it.
Its not an actual bridemaid dress from a bridal shop, she bought them from the high street, it is a floral, sleeveless, quite short, cotton dress. The fabric is quite thin and when I wear it now it goes very short at the front and you can see my pants
My huge, old knickers are not a good look for a wedding.

She is a dear friend, a lovely girl and in no way a bridezilla and she wants me to wear it and its her special day so I can't buy another one.

I can't afford to pay someone to alter it so the question is how do I change it to a maternity dress myself? She has given me a spare dress of the same size so I can sew the 2 together/use the fabric.
Do is sew in a 'pregnancy panel', I couldn't find anything on google or youtube. Is it even called a pregnancy panel? How do I do this?

How do I let out the sides to fit my boobs and tummy in?
Can I somehow adjust the length to make it suitable?

Sorry to ramble on but I want to make the effort to look nice for her day.
Any advice would be amazing.
Thank you in advance.

Can you link to the dress? I'd start by taking the extra one apart at the seams and pressing it so you can see what fabric you have to work with, and if there are any darts in the bust maybe let them out for more space? Is there a zip to manage? If so avoid adding to that seam as gets complicated!

Taking out the side seams and bunging on a panel each side is fiddly but not too hard

Good luck!!

firstly can I say you are absolutely lovely to be even trying to work this out and I would love a friend like you.

Are you a good sewer/dressmaker? I only ask because if not I think you really need to have a chat with the bride about this. I don't mean this nastily but if she has asked you to be her bridesmaid and is a dear friend and a lovely girl then she will understand that it is a lot to put on your shoulders.

The risk with altering it yourself is that once you snip it there is no going back and if it doesn't turn out correctly you will feel bad which isn't fair.

I would be petrified to have that level of responsibility and surely as your friend she has to understand this - surely the seamstress from the bridal shop she bought her brides dress from could alter it quickly and cheaply for her? I had a nip/tuck done to my bridesmaids dresses and was charged £35 for each one.

Surely she would pay this to save you the stress and worry?

x

sorry that wasn't quite the advice you were looking for - I too am 6 months pregnant, hormonal and am a worrier - not trying to be negative sorry!

x

p.s I am also a bridesmaid next week and will be stood next to a size 8 bride and 2 other bridesmaids - one size 6 and one size 10

as far as I can make out from the fitting I will be wearing a cadburys purple marquee :)

Has your friend seen you wearing the dress? if she sees that you can see your pants in it then surely she will realise it isn't going to be an option.

What about wearing leggings under the dress so its more of a tunic top? Not very weddingy i know but then the dresses don't sound like traditional bmaid dresses so may be an option?

I think you are absolutely lovely to be trying to alter it yourself but yes i think talk to the bride before setting to with the scissors.

See what happens with the possible alteration but maybe if its not got a hope in hell of being maternitied, then suggest to her that you use some of the material from the original floral dress to accesorise a slid colour dress that fits you well and works in the colour scheme.. ?

solid*

I would agree that unless you're pretty good at this already, it sounds a bit of a nightmare! After my DS was born (and I was still losing some of the mammoth amount of weight I put on) I had some of my favourite clothes altered to make them wearable again and it really wasn't expensive at all... I would google to find a local seamstress / tailor and take it to them for a quote.

At least then you can weigh up the cost against the worry. I think I had 5 items altered and it came to around £60 for them all. They can also tell you realistically if something can be done with what you've got.

I agree with other posters. Can you try take it to your local dry cleaner and ask them to help? A lot of in house tailors who can do magic and don't charge too much.

Thank you so much everyone. Very helpful :)

I have decided I will step away from the scissors and find a local dressmaker.

If s/he can't do it then I am getting some nice leggings for underneath.

Impatientwino I kind of want to wear a Cadburys purple marquee instead really . . .

I'm in the same position! Going to be bridesmaid in a few weeks and I'll be 25 weeks pregnant. I have also been asked to wear the original dress, which was bought over a year ago from a high street store... I'm fortunate, like you, in that so far the rest of me has stayed the same size, but my bump and boobs are huge! What I've managed to do is let the hem down but also tie a sash from some spare material under my boobs so it makes it look a bit more maternity like. Maybe the hem could be let down on yours? Good luck!

Hi cups I'm a dressmaker (currently on mat leave, as having ELCS in 3 weeks), and have made bridesmaids dresses for pregnant women, even a breastfeeding wedding dress for one client.

Do chat with the dressmaker on the phone to get a feel for how much knowledge she has of maternity fitting, as not all dressmakers will know how to acheive this. You might need to phone a couple of dressmakers to find someone you feel comfortable with, or who will be able to fit you in at short notice.

Someone good should be able to tell you if there is potential to alter the dress. If not, then perhaps a sash or belt could be made for a plain dress, as has already been suggested, so you match everyone else. Failing that, leggings sounds a great idea. Better than your knickers, anyway .

Good luck with it!