Does anyone make clothes for their children?

PinkLipgloss

Hi all,

I originally posted this in the OS board however I never got a response so was hoping to get a response here!

Was wondering if you of you crafty ladies/gents have experience of making your own clothes for children?

I have a toddler and quite fancy the challenge! I will obviously have to invest in a sewing machine and some fabric but other than that I have no idea how to get started!

Can anyone help? Google returns hundreds of results however I'm posting here in the hope of getting recommendations for specific sites/books.

jfdi

I used to as I couldn't stand the boring colours that were around at the time. (nearly 25 years ago now!)

I think I started with something simple like dungarees - if I recall I unpicked a grown out of pair, adjusted the width & length a bit & used the pieces as a pattern. I used some cotton furnishing fabric in really bright colours (quite hardwearing!) and added in extra bits like reinforced knees!

It's rarely cheaper these days, but you can have fun! I also made all the cot linens / blankets etc, and moses basket covers, cot bumpers - the whole lot really.

What things were you thinking of? I steered clear of stretchy fabrics (still do!) as I'm not patient enough to make them up properly! LOL!

rosalie-lavender

I made a lot of my children's clothes when they were small and still make a lot of my teenage daughter's dresses.

From experience I would say stick to the simpler more basic patterns for their everyday clothes. Children grow so fast that it is easier to have patterns that you can make up quickly.

I buy a lot of fabric from the internet. I mostly use cheapfabrics.co.uk and remnant house. If you go to the big stores it will be much more expensive. The sewing world magazine comes out monthly and has an offer in it that you can buy one pattern and get one free. It covers, Butterick, Mc Calls and Vogue patterns. I think there are a lot of free patterns available on the internet though, if you look around a bit.

PinkLipgloss

Thank you for the responses! I really appreciate it and it has given me some ideas.

I was thinking of making dungarees, shorts and t-shirts, trousers - nothing too adventurous to begin with!

I realise that there is a lot of affordable clothing in tesco, Sainsburys etc however I find it all so boring and a lot of the boys clothes are mini versions of teenage clothes (jeans, hoodies etc).

I really want to dress my son in colourful, funky clothes! I have managed to find some clothes I like online however they are very expensive.

Besides, some family friends gave me lovely handmade gifts when my son was born (blankets, cushion, teddy bear) which has sparked my interest in sewing.

rosalie-lavender

I have just realised I have put the wrong magazine. The sewing world magazine is a sewing magazine and it does have offers from time to time for patterns. The magazine with the regular offers for Butterick, Vogue and Mc Calls is called Sew Today. They also have a website.

http://www.sewdirect.com/index.html

and the fabric stores:
http://www.cheapfabrics.co.uk/thestore/
http://www.remnanthouse.co.uk/

It is also worth looking out for fabric stalls at markets if you have any near you.

PinkLipgloss

Great - thanks Rosalie - planning to pick up a copy of the mag with weekly shop today.

rosalie-lavender

PinkLipgloss wrote: »

Great - thanks Rosalie - planning to pick up a copy of the mag with weekly shop today.

I used to find if I couldn't get it anywhere else WH Smith usually had it.

rsdiscos

There are some great american sites such as
http://www.made-by-rae.com/2010/03/celebrate-boy-archives/
https://www.prudentbaby.com
https://www.tipjunkie.com
With lots of tuturials and patterns.
Melissa

PinkLipgloss

Thanks again Rosalie.

Melissa thats great thanks - google returned thousands of hits and its great to have someone suggest sites worth looking at rather than trailing through all of them!

lamplady

You can find patterns on etsy sometimes. I had a go at making clothes but I now prefer to embellish shop bought ones, it's easier and can give excellent results - putting ribbon and binding on plain jeans can transform them!