How-To: Maternity Jeans From Regular Jeans and a T-shirt

I finally got around to trying out this great tutorial from Instructables on how to turn your regular jeans into maternity jeans. What a great idea! Maternity jeans cost half the earth, and it’s hard to justify buying them for just a few months. So far I’d been making do with one pair of store-bought maternity jeans and many pairs of yoga pants, but it was time for something new in my wardrobe (or rather, something old that I could wear again).


Unfortunately I made a few mistakes which you lucky crafty pregnant ladies can learn from! As you can see from the photo, I cut the waistline of the jeans far too low. The instructions say to cut about 1/2″ below the waistband, but make sure to evaluate the jeans you are using first. The jeans I chose had a very low waistline to start, so I probably should have realized that they weren’t a good pair to use, but instead I tried to compromise and just cut off the waistband and ended up cutting far too low in the front. As a result, they just don’t stay up the way they ought to despite the new T-shirt waistband. You should be able to cut below the waistband of the jeans and still have them sit on top of your hips, so higher-waisted jeans work much better for this project.
Another tip I have for the actual sewing of the jeans is to have a friend pin the T-shirt band to the jeans while you’re wearing them–it will save you from having to rip out stitches and start over again if you don’t line the shirt up properly (ahem).
This is a great idea, though, and an awesome tutorial with lots of step-by-step photos. If you’ve got a pair of jeans and a T-shirt you’re willing to sacrifice, you won’t be sorry!