July 29, 2020

Introducing the Brookline Maternity T-Shirt and the Nursing Expansion!


Life is exciting when you’re a new or expectant mother! Sadly, maternity and nursing clothing (whether ready-to-wear or patterns) are usually anything but exciting. But now you can say goodbye to boring and uncomfortable maternity clothes and hello to a beautiful new pregnancy and nursing-friendly wardrobe with the new Cashmerette Brookline Maternity T-Shirt and the Nursing Expansion Pack! These new PDF patterns are available in sizes 12-32, and Cashmerette’s signature multi-cup sizes, C-H.

It’s so hard to find great maternity and nursing clothes, both in ready-to-wear stores and in sewing patterns. And if you’re curvy or plus size—you can forget about it. But all that is about to change!

Finally, there’s a maternity top that’s stylish, comfortable, and is specifically designed for curves. The Cashmerette Brookline Maternity T-Shirt is a chic and versatile pattern that you can wear throughout your pregnancy and beyond. The Brookline includes two views—a ruched or swing bodice—as well as multiple neckline, sleeve, and sleeve finishes to help you design your ideal top.

Then, if you’re breastfeeding, you can transform your favorite Cashmerette patterns into a nursing-friendly wardrobe with our new Nursing Expansion Pack. This expansion includes add-on pieces for the Pembroke Dress & Tunic, the Concord T-Shirt, the Turner Dress, and the Brookline Maternity T-Shirt to help you have easy one-handed access for nursing, while keeping the rest of you covered. Get this Nursing Expansion Pack free with our Nursing Pattern Bundle!

The Brookline Maternity T-Shirt and the Nursing Expansion Pack are available in sizes 12-32 and cup sizes C-H. (All Cashmerette patterns have all sizes and cup sizes are included, which means you can reuse your same pattern purchase if your body changes—just print off a new size!) These two new additions to the Cashmerette collection are available in PDF only, and we encourage you to check out our complete guide to PDF patterns if you’re new to this pattern format.

Here at Cashmerette, we’re on a mission to help you create a wardrobe that fits your body and makes you feel great, throughout all stages of your life. When you’re pregnant and breastfeeding, your body is doing incredible things—and you deserve to adorn that body with beautiful and comfortable clothing! For quite some time now we’ve been working on adding maternity and nursing patterns to our collection (starting with the Alcott Dress, which includes an optional maternity skirt). The photos of the Brookline that you see here were taken back when Jenny was 7 months pregnant (her babe is now 18 months old!) and we are thrilled to finally be able to share these patterns with you.

So let’s get to know these new patterns!

About the Brookline Maternity T-Shirt

The Brookline Maternity T-Shirt is a versatile tee you’ll want to make and wear again and again. With two chic views, three neckline options (high, scoop, or v-neck), three sleeve lengths (short, mid, or long) and two sleeve finishes (cuffed or hemmed) with an optional sleeve tab, you can craft your perfect maternity tee or use the same pattern sew a whole wardrobe.

Designed for knits, the Brookline can be dressed up for special outings or dressed down for causal everyday wear. Choose a breathable cotton jersey to stay cool in warmer temperatures, or go for a merino wool jersey for extra coziness in winter. However you choose to make your Brookline, you can relax knowing that you can be chic and comfy while you’re getting ready for your new arrival.

The Brookline is a beginner-friendly pattern and comes with our thorough illustrated instructions to guide you through every step of the sewing process. The Brookline come as a PDF pattern that you can print at home or at a copyshop, and it includes sizes 12-32 and cup sizes C-H. We recommend choosing your size based on your bust and hip measurements; the waist is designed with lots of ease to accommodate you throughout your pregnancy. (Learn more about how to choose your size in Cashmerette patterns here.)

Swish Around in Swingy View A

View A of the Brookline Maternity T-Shirt is a swingy tee designed to accommodate a pregnant belly. Pair it with jeans or leggings for an instantly stylish look you can throw on minutes before leaving the house. This view is also totally wearable even after you have your baby—Jenny’s been wearing this Brookline sample regularly!

Jenny measures 48″ bust, 40″ waist, 47″ hip and is wearing View A in a size 18 G/H. She was 7 months pregnant at the time this photo was taken.

View A also looks great as in a tunic length, as shown in this striped sample which we lengthened by a few inches:

Kerrie measures 42″ bust, 34″ waist, 44″ hip and is wearing View A in a size 14 C/D. She was 6 months pregnant at the time this photo was taken.

Easy Ruching with View B

This is your time to ruche all the things! View B is more fitted than View A and features ruching in the side seams for a comfortable design that covers your pregnant belly. And thanks to the ruching, there’s plenty of room for your belly (and your baby) to grow.

Jenny is wearing View B in a size 18 G/H.

You can also add sleeve tabs to either view of the Brookline Maternity T-Shirt for a special detail!

Kerrie is wearing View B in a size 14 C/D.

About the Nursing Expansion Pack

Women who start breastfeeding often discover that a majority of their closet is off limits to them. Whatever your coverage of preference is, no one wants to have to lift up a whole dress to bare a single boob.

That’s where the new Nursing Expansion Pack comes in: you can keep wearing your favorite knit dress and tee patterns, and with some easy adjustments, they’ll be perfect for nursing. The Nursing Expansion Pack comes with add-on pieces to transform the Pembroke Dress & Tunic, the Concord T-Shirt, the Turner Dress, and the Brookline Maternity T-Shirt into a nursing-friendly wardrobe that you’ll love to wear.

Here’s how it works: the expansion pack includes overlay and underlay pieces for each of the patterns, which you assemble and sew as a single front. The underlay pieces give you access to your boobs (think of a racerback, but in your front) while the overlay covers them up to the public. Simply lift up the overlay of the top or dress for easy one-handed access for nursing, while keeping the rest of your body covered.

The Nursing Expansion Pack and all of the patterns it pairs with are beginner-friendly. Included in the expansion are sizes 12-32 and cup sizes C-H, as well as detailed illustrated instructions to guide you through every step of the sewing process. You have two options for purchasing the Nursing Expansion Pack:

  1. You can get the Nursing Expansion Pack on its own here. This expansion only includes the add-on pieces, so you’ll need the full patterns for the Pembroke, Concord, Turner, or Brookline. (This option is great if you already have one or more of these patterns!)
  2. You can get the Nursing Expansion Pack for free with our Nursing Pattern Bundle, which includes the full patterns for the Pembroke, Concord, Turner, and Brookline.

Note that the Nursing Expansion Pack is available in PDF only; be sure to check out our complete guide to PDF sewing patterns if you’re new to PDFs.

Jenny is wearing the Pembroke Dress with the nursing expansion.

Jenny is wearing the Concord T-Shirt with the nursing expansion. The nursing expansion on the Brookline Maternity T-Shirt is same as on the Concord.

Jenny is wearing the Turner Dress with the nursing expansion.

And did we goof around a bit during this photoshoot? You bet we did! (I mean, who could resist?!)

We can’t wait to see the beautiful things you make with these new maternity and nursing patterns! Be sure to use the hashtags #BrooklineMaternity and #CashmeretteNursing when you share your photos on social media so that we can applaud your fabulous new wardrobes.

6 thoughts on “Introducing the Brookline Maternity T-Shirt and the Nursing Expansion!

  1. Mary E says:

    Excited to see this for my pregnant plus size daughter! Can you tell me how much the shoulder width goes out on the larger sizes? That is always a problem. She has wider shoulders than I, but most plus size patterns really go waaay over normal, as if plus size women are built like football players! Thank you!

    1. Ayelet says:

      Hi Mary, our grading assumes that your shoulders don’t get wildly larger as the size increases; we’re definitely different from the big 4 in that way!
      -Ayelet at Cashmerette

      1. Mary E says:

        Awesome, and thanks for the quick reply!

  2. Abbey says:

    Jenny, this is absolutely fabulous!! A year late for me though LOL. BTW loving allllllllllllllll of these great pics too.

  3. ELIZABETH MCALISTER says:

    I wonder if you think the Brookline would work for women who aren’t pregnant but endowed with an ample belly. Is the belly allowance so generous that it would be blatantly obvious that one was shopping on the other side of the aisle, if you will. Just asking for my friend, Mrs. Claus.

    1. Ayelet says:

      Absolutely! The swing view of the Brookline looks great even when you’re not expecting. Jenny has been wearing her version all the time!
      -Ayelet at Cashmerette

Let me know what you think!