How to Make Breastfeeding Tops
So Boy 4 has arrived! He was born on 22nd October, 10 days late and looking just like his brothers. It’s so easy to forget just how demanding tiny babies are, even the relatively easy ones. Hence no posts and very little crafting. It’s a challenge just to get everybody fed some days.
Having looked at the list I made last time, I can say that I managed to finish precisely none of the things on it before Boy 4’s birth. However I did make some tops for breastfeeding 🙂
The biggest problem I have with breastfeeding in public is not so much getting my boob out (it’s fairly easy to do this discreetly) as flashing my saggy old tum. After 4 kids you can probably imagine the kind of state it’s in. My stomach looks like a blancmange that has a map of the London underground engraved on it. Also it’s very draughty in winter. I did some research on the internet and found some tops that would keep blancmange contained, but they were expensive (£15 for a vest top!!) so I decided to have crack at making my breastfeeding tops. One trip to Primark, £20 worth of stretchy tops and a needle and thread later, I had several breastfeeding tops and for a fraction of the price! Here we go…
1. Belly Band. This one is the easiest to make. Take a stretchy top, work out where where the top of you tum/ under boob area would be. Cut the top part off and hey presto!! One belly band stylee thing, to wear under a top of your choice. The only disadvantage with this is that it doesn’t stay put and has to be rearranged every so often.
2. Top With Attached Belly Band.
This solves the problem of the band part moving about. You will need 2 tops for this one and a needle and thread.
Take one of the tops and cut the top part off, as above. Turn the other top inside out. Put the belly band piece on top of the whole top. 
Line up the side seams and sew along the side seams. Turn it the right way out.
3. Belly Band With Straps. Make a belly band, as above. Cut strips from the top half of the top and attach to the belly band half. I found this to be problematic as the fabric curls and trying to hem it without an overlocker is horribly difficult.
4. Vest Top. I actually found this one to be the best. Take a vest top and cut the straps at
the back. Attach about 10cm of elastic to each strap to make the straps longer. The neckline should now sit underneath the boob area.
So there you go!! Release your inner Gok and be comfortable breastfeeding in public 🙂
