I'm officially 35 weeks along and I have yet to purchase any maternity clothing. I can't help but feel proud of that fact and I definitely owe it all to the popularity of jeggings & stretchy tunic tops. Back in November I stopped by the DownEast warehouse to say hello to some old coworkers & pick up some cheap basics. I was all out of tanks & tees that were long enough to cover my belly. While there I spotted this top: A whole pile of these shirts have been lurking the warehouse store for well over a year & a half. I kid you not. I gave them a second look only because of their fabric. It's a two directional stretch knit. PERFECT for a baby bump. I snagged the largest size available & headed to the check out. I believe this shirt cost somewhere around $3, so there wasn't much of a risk that this thing wouldn't fit. As soon as I tried it on at home, I threw it in the "to alter" pile in my studio & forgot about it for a month & a half. Today it was high time I alter the sucker; after all, I have less than 5 weeks left before this baby bump turns into a jelly lump. Plus I've been craving a little more variety in my wardrobe recently. Here's what I did:

• tapered the sleeves
• rouched the sleeves
• took in the armpits by 4" on each side
• tapered the bottom sides of the shirt by 4 inches

I think it turned out fabulously. I was not looking forward to altering the knit fabric, but by aggressively pinning the sides down (like a pin every inch & a half), I didn't get any puckering. HALLELUJAH! The fix took me about an hour & a half of trial & error. What do you think? The transformation is quite subtle, but I feel about 20 lbs lighter now that it's altered. Before I felt like I was hosting a circus underneath my top. Do you see how my belly button is about 2 inches off center? Maybe I'm only noticing it, but I think it's hilarious. It did the same thing when I was pregnant with Penelope; it's a drifter. To see the full outfit, check out my fashion section.