Plus Size Nursing Tanks

[Raidra]

I never bought any nursing clothes for the short while that I breastfed Colwyn, so I'm a bit ignorant in what to look for.

I really don't want to spend a lot of money on nursing clothes, so I was planning on just wearing button-down shirts or t-shirts that I can lift up. I'm a big girl, though, and the thought of exposing my stomach while we're out gives me the willies. ;) I thought it would be a good idea to find a nursing tank to wear underneath.

I've looked at the ones on Glamourmom and those look nice, but I really don't want to spend $40 on an undergarment. Would it be totally out of the question to buy a regular plus-sized tank at, say, Target, and then cut slits in the appropriate spots? Like I said, I've never had any nursing clothes so I don't know if that's impractical or what.

Or are there any plus sized (2X or 3X) nursing tanks that don't cost a fortune?

Thanks!

[suzhatch1]

Hi Rachel -

Good question! I actualy just bought a layered shirt on clearance this week & was going to try the exact same thing that you mentioned. It's one of those T-shirts with the attached white undershirt - it was on sale for like $5.00 - so I figure I'd try to cut nursing slits on the underneath & see how it washes/dries. The one thing I expect is that the edges of the cut will roll so it may not look smooth. I'm sure it's recommended that you hem or serge along the cut seams to prevent this, but I don't sew at all! LOL!! So someone suggested using No Fray (or something like that at the fabric store) to put on the edges of the cut seam to stop it from fraying & rolling. I've heard that product dries kinda hard on some fabrics, so I don't know if I'd like that. I'm going to try first without and see what happens.

As far as plus size nursing tank tops, what I can tell you is that I haven't found one yet. The GM & Target brands go up to an XXL, but the sizing is kinda wierd. Target's seem to run small. I normally would wear an XL, but tried their XXL & it was tight.

The GM sizes are pretty true, but IMO they are short. So I find I'm pulling down on the tank top a lot. I've tried almost every nursing tank out there & finally broke down and bought a GM because their bra style tank just was *THAT* much better. I didn't find the same support in any of the other tanks that I tried unless you wear a regular nursing bra & your tank & then another shirt (I'm nursing & a size DD/E right now). The GM bra tank would be perfect IMO, if it was only designed a bit longer.

I'll repost & let you know what happens with the shirt I try to alter myself by cutting slits into it. That may give you some idea whether you can just buy some plus size tank tops & then cut nursing holes in them.

HTH!
Suz :)

[Raidra]

I hadn't even thought of how it would roll.. definitely let me know how it works for you. I would imagine that if you hemmed it, it would leave a bump, too. Hrm.

I had also thought of just sewing a piece of fabric to a nursing bra to make my own, but I'd hate to ruin a perfectly good bra if it doesn't work. I'm pretty sure I could sew in a straight line. I also don't know if it would mess up the elasticity of the bra.

[suzhatch1]

You and I must totally think along the same lines! LOL!! I was thinking about that "Belly Band" idea (the maternity band that covers your belly) and I was wondering about using something similiar underneath my regular nursing bra to kinda cover my belly when nursing! I totally thought about just sewing some white fabric to an elastic band or something and wearing it under my bustline! We are certainly creative when we have to be, huh??

Times like this make me really wish I learned to sew!

Suz :)

[new_mommy25]

Rachel, what I do is layer a cheap cami under my shirt and pull the top of the cami down under my breast when I want to nurse. That way my belly is still covered. Does that make sense? Sams and Costco sell the 2 for $10 packs of camisoles or you can pick them up a million other places. Just make sure it is low cut and stretchy enough. It's a lot easier than cutting slits!!

Or, another option for inexpensive nursing tanks http://tinyurl.com/co6q8 and http://tinyurl.com/9bvqv . I've never tried one but a friend of mine has one and likes it just fine. And you can't go wrong with the price. It looks like they have improved the design to mimic GM.

[suzhatch1]

Wow! Okay, I can't believe it's been so long since I said I was going to post back about this topic. DD was only a week old when I posted the above & time just flies w/a newborn in the house!! Whew....

Okay, so here's what I did. I got a couple cute (but cheap) layered shirts from JCPenney (here's the link so you can see what I mean):

http://tinyurl.com/b9me4

I cut a nursing slit in the white undershirt on both sides. For 1 side, I left the cut edges alone. For the other side, I did a super easy (and probably poor job) at a hand-sewn whipstitch just around the cut edges to see if it would help any againt fraying in the wash. (I don't sew so at all so we don't need to go there...LOL!)

So...finally washed the shirt & have to say that both cut slits look about the same as far as visibility & how obvious they look under the top layer. The edges of the unsewn side rolled a little, but not SUPER obvious. You can kinda see it under the top layer. I bet if I had a thicker top layer t-shirt (this one is pretty thin), it would be even less noticeable.

I did notice that in my haste to cut the slits, I cut 1 of the slits more to the side (closer to my underarm), and that one seems a bit less obvious, probably because the opening isn't right ontop of my breast. So, if you try it, I'd recommend cutting the hole to the side rather than right on top.

Either way, I guess because *I know* these are hand-cut holes, it makes me self-conscious that EVERYONE will notice, but honestly I don't think it's that noticeable at all. It's definately a casual, throw it on, kinda top, but it works....

That's my 2 cents!
Suz :)

ETA: FWIW, I think that all in all, I'd rather just have another couple Glamourmom tank tops to wear under anything, rather than having to hand cut a bunch of inexpensive shirts. I originally balked at the $$ of the GM tanks, but now I'm a believer!