Project Maternity - full tummy adjustment (dress)

First thing's first. I did not invent this technique. This is a version of the tutorial I found at Rostitchery which I'd seen successfully used on Polka Dot Overload. What I've learned in the last 3 months is that there's an absolute black hole when it comes to maternity alterations, so this is me doing my bit, linking to and walking through my full tummy adjustment (FTA)

This is the pattern I'm using:

It's from Burda Style Magazine's January 2011 issue. A Simple Jersey shirt-dress. I'm only modifying the front piece which looks like this:

as you can see above I've seperated the pattern piece into 3 sections, so I can follow Rowena's instructions...

You can also see in the picture above, I've extended the original centre front line by 3.5 inches.

The next step is to cut out the bottom left section:

see? I'm going to move it to the side by 3.5 inches too, but you want the side seam to run nice and smooth. you could do this by redrawing the line instead of cutting it, but to be honest, it's much easier ad more precise to just cut the thing up:

So all you have to do is pivot the cut piece so that the side seam runs smooth with the rest of the pattern, then you need to draw in your new bottom hem line, a nice smooth curve. This  curve is what's going to stop your skirt from getting a bit err... short as your bump grows. as Rowena points out:
"NOTE:  the hemline has to come out from the center front being completely horizontal or you'll end up with a pointy front.  once you get the horizontal established, you just make a curve that is pleasing to the eye"

 then tape the sucker down, add your seam and hem allowances and your done!... well.... you're done with the pattern alteration... you've still got to sew the thing.....

Easy huh?? like stupidly easy.... anyhow... lets see how it works in practice....

I also modified a skirt pattern, which was slightly different, that one was my idea so I hope it works! Tell you about it tomorrow!