Why I sew my kids’ clothes
Sometimes when people find out I sew almost all of my kids’ clothes, they get weirded out.
I totally get it. It probably would have sounded insane to me a few years ago. Like, what, are you trying to channel The Sound of Music by ripping down the curtains and turning them into little jumpsuits?
(Updated to add: I did it. I turned curtains into clothing, LOL!)
What started out as a hilarious fail — seriously, you should see the hideous pair of “jeans” I tried to sew for my son when he was a baby — has turned into a hobby I love and it keeps my kids dressed in their own unique styles. They only sometimes come home with fallen-off buttons in their pockets.
If you’ve ever raised an eyebrow at a homemade frock or wobbly-stitched pair of leggings, here are five things you might not know about those of us who sew clothes for our kids:
1. It’s almost always cheaper
Yes, sometimes I’ll splurge on a gorgeous pricy fabric that I absolutely have to have, but it’s no different than picking up an expensive gotta-have-it dress at Gap or Gymboree.
For the most part, I watch for fabric sales and keep a sharp eye on the discount section. A $4 piece of pre-cut knit fabric is often enough for multiple T-shirts for each child plus a couple of pairs of leggings.
Last week I spent less than $11 to make matching pale blue PJs for myself and both of the kids. (My husband politely declined a matchy-matchy pair.)
2. You save even more money by upcycling
Once I learned to sew with stretchy fabrics, I realized our discarded adult-sized clothing was a treasure trove of free fabric.
So what if something has a deodorant stain or a tiny hole near the hem? Our kids are much smaller than us, so it’s easy to snip away those imperfections.
I’ve cut down shirts, sweaters, dresses, tank tops and leggings to make new items for the kids, and it’s been a great way to keep seeing my favourites. I also get tons of bags of hand-me-downs from my mom, my sister and her friends because they get a kick out of seeing their clothes refashioned into items for the kids.
3. Kids really, really, really like picking out their own fabric.
Remember those scenes in the Little House on the Prairie books when the Ingalls family would go into the dry goods store and pick calico for new dresses? They were psyched, and it’s no different with my own kids.
They proudly walk through the fabric store to check out what’s new since our last visit (likely three days earlier). They get to express their personalities by picking out exactly what they like, and their choices often surprise me. Yes, sometimes I kind of hate it at first but in the end I almost always decide they were right about it.
(Except for that Little Mermaid fabric my daughter picked where Ariel’s red hair looks like a repeating pattern of blood splotches. That was just a bad call.)
4. You get a custom fit (that lasts longer).
I have cranky conspiracy theories about how certain big brands tend to sell children’s shirts that shrink in length so quickly that you’re constantly needing to buy the next size … which is somehow far too wide for them. My friends complain about certain brands where the sleeves are always too short or the necklines are too droopy.
Every child is shaped differently. But when you make the clothes yourself, you can accommodate your child’s exact shape and take into account how quickly they grow.
I lengthen my son’s shirt and pants patterns so everything fits longer without being baggy, and my daughter’s been wearing the same pair of leopard print leggings for three solid years because of a sneaky sewing trick.
5. We don’t have anything against store-bought clothing.
Although I’ve bought fewer and fewer “ready to wear” items since I’ve gotten comfortable making everything from button-up shirts to hooded sweatshirts — even underwear! — I still buy pieces here and there.
Sometimes I’ll cut them up, change the sleeves or add a ruffle, and other times something is perfect as-is. But I certainly don’t think everybody should run out and buy a sewing machine to avoid putting their kids in *gasp* store-bought T-shirts.
If you have horrible flashbacks to using a seam ripper in your junior high Family Studies class, have a great time buying clothes at the store. But if sewing is a hobby you enjoy, try sewing something for your kids to wear. You’ll have fun messing around with different patterns and you’ll even have something useful in the end.
(Well, will probably be useful — don’t ask about the fur-trimmed bodysuit that literally fell apart at the seams the minute my daughter stretched.)
xo
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How to sew fabric bins
I never seem to have enough baskets, bins and storage cubes, but sometimes it’s hard to find exactly the colour or pattern I’m looking for.
That’s why I’m SO excited to have figured out how to make them myself — from any fabric. The possibilities are going to be endless!
There are a lot of great free printable patterns online, but I grabbed Jessica’s version from MeSewCrazy.com.
It basically involves cutting out two large “H” shapes that fold up to form the basket, and four skinny strips to form the handles. Super easy!
The key to making these baskets sturdy is to use mid-heavyweight interfacing, which feels similar to dryer sheets and can be ironed onto fabric to make it stiffer.
Spread one of your H-shaped fabric pieces onto your interfacing, trace it, cut it out and iron it to the wrong side to strengthen it. Adding interfacing to the handles also makes them stronger.
To assemble your basket, take each “H” piece and fold it (right sides together) to it turns into a short, fat “T.” Sew up the top sides and press the seams flat.
Then you’ll want to fold each “T” so the side seams are in the middle of the basket and match up the bottom raw edges. Pin and stitch straight 2cm from the edge to form a nice crisp bottom to the basket sides.
You’ll be left with two pieces that look like paper bags made of fabric.
To make your basket handles, pin the skinny strips right sides together and sew along each long edge. Then turn them inside out, press and topstitch. Don’t worry about the raw ends because they’ll be hidden!
To attach the basket handles, pin them to the exterior of your basket on either side of the side seams and sew them in place, very close to the edge.
Assemble the basket by flipping the exterior inside out, straps tucked inside, and then putting the inside-out lining basket inside it. This means the right sides will be touching and you’ll see the wrong side of the fabric everywhere. Sew all the way around the top, leaving a 15cm gap so you can flip it right-side out.
Once the basket is flipped right-side out, tuck in your raw edges in that 15cm section and topstitch all the way around the top of the basket. You’re done!
Now, because I was curious if interfacing would really make a difference, I sewed one basket without any. It was like a droopy noodle! It could probably stand up if it was filled to the brim, but I wouldn’t call it a basket — it’s more of a limp tote bag. So, trust me, interfacing is an important step!
The neat thing about these baskets is that you could easily modify the pattern to make them taller or wider — suitable for anything from a gigantic laundry hamper or toy bin to a sturdy tote for beach trips or sports equipment.
Happy sewing!
Be sure to grab Jessica’s awesome free pattern over on MeSewCrazy.com
This project has been sponsored by Atlantic Fabrics.
Sew your own reversible fabric bins
I never seem to have enough baskets, bins and storage cubes, but sometimes it’s hard to find exactly the colour or pattern I’m looking for. That’s why I’m SO excited to have figured out how to make them myself — from any fabric. The possibilities are going to be endless!
There are a lot of great free printable patterns online, but I grabbed Jessica’s version from MeSewCrazy.com. It basically involves cutting out two large “H” shapes that fold up to form the basket, and four skinny strips to form the handles. Super easy!
The key to making these baskets sturdy is to use mid-heavyweight interfacing, which feels similar to dryer sheets and can be ironed onto fabric to make it stiffer. Spread one of your H-shaped fabric pieces onto your interfacing, trace it, cut it out and iron it to the wrong side to strengthen it. Adding interfacing to the handles also makes them stronger.
To assemble your basket, take each “H” piece and fold it (right sides together) to it turns into a short, fat “T.” Sew up the top sides and press the seams flat …
Continue reading in my weekly DIY column, My Handmade Home, and be sure to grab Jessica’s awesome free pattern over on MeSewCrazy.com
This project has been sponsored by Atlantic Fabrics’ six locations across Nova Scotia, including the brand-new Halifax store on Parkland Drive.
Pancakes and anxiety
I used to make pancakes a lot. Really nice, homemade, fluffy ones — not even from a mix. Nope.
I’d whisk together flour and baking powder and salt. I’d make a little well in the middle and add the beaten eggs, milk, and oil. I used a super-smooth griddle and never, ever burned them.
They were delicious.
Of course, I always doubled or tripled the recipe so I could have lots of leftovers to freeze. The freezer always had huge ziplock baggies full of pancakes, lined up in careful rows.
It would take me a really long time to crank them all out, assembly-line style. But it meant that we always had pancakes! No worries about running out! Not here!
And then, I just … stopped.
I don’t know when or how, but suddenly it was too much work to make pancakes. It made me agitated.
I hated getting the recipe book down. I hated the way the flour got all over the counter and the floor. I hated getting out so many different ingredients. I couldn’t remember the recipe, even though I had used it so many times, because I was always doubling and tripling … and math is hard.
I toasted no-name Eggos instead. Sometimes my husband made pancakes. I did it every few months, maybe.
Our super-smooth griddle broke. It had been one of our favourite wedding presents. We bought a replacement and even though it was much larger, the surface was swirly and made the pancakes swirly, too. I hated that.
But over the past couple of weeks, I’ve started making pancakes again. Once or twice a week, even.
Just one batch, though. No doubling or tripling. There are plenty for all four of us, plus a few extras to freeze for another day. I’m not stuck standing at the counter for over an hour, flipping batch after batch. It doesn’t take very long. It’s nice.
I even know the recipe by heart now. In my head I call them “Two and a Quarter Pancakes” because everything is either two of something or a quarter of something.
Two cups of flour.
Two teaspoons of salt.
Two tablespoons of baking powder.
Two cups of milk.
Two eggs.
A quarter cup of oil.
I don’t have to dig out the recipe book. I’m getting used to the new griddle. It doesn’t take very long to get all of the circles to turn golden brown. And the kids … they go crazy for these pancakes, especially when I sprinkle in a few mini chocolate chips.
Not everything has to be a huge production.
Sometimes one batch of fresh pancakes is a lot better than two or three batches in the freezer.
***
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Toy soup: How I stopped hating my daughter’s messy room
There is soup all over her bedroom carpet, but it’s not made with noodles or vegetables. It’s the very worst kind: Toy soup, hot and fresh.
Baby dolls mixed with Barbie dolls, Polly Pocket dolls, dollhouse dolls and American Girl dolls — jumbled together in a tangle of nylon hair and ill-fitting outfits. A hearty layer of stuffed animals and books hide clothes that should have made their way into the hamper and didn’t.
I scoop up entire handfuls of miscellany: Lego, hair clips, doll shoes, Duplo, coins, Lincoln Logs, Lite Brite pegs and stickers she peeled off her body and dropped onto the floor.
Sometimes I get so fed up that I take all of the toys out of her bedroom. Well, not all of them, because then she might get destructive and start tearing apart her drawers again. So I leave her dollhouse and dolls and think “OK, that’s not too bad. That should stay fairly clean.”
Nope. Little by little, she’d sneak toys back upstairs and start a new batch of soup.
I don’t know how it happened. I used to be that annoying child-free adult who tsk-tsked at the messy bedrooms of my nieces. How were they allowed to have piles of toys on the floor, books yanked off the shelves and piles of random junk here and there? Sometimes I’d even help them clean up, and it felt so satisfying … until my next visit and their rooms were just as chaotic as before …
It embarrasses me when her room is a disaster because I feel like it reflects badly on me, as her parent. I have the basement toyroom organized within an inch of its life, so what is happening two floors up? Shouldn’t I be using a sticker chart or clever little routine to teach her how to tame this chaos? Should I be forcing her to help me tidy it every night before we read our story? Most importantly, are other kids’ rooms this messy?! the shelves and piles of random junk here and there? Sometimes I’d even help them clean up, and it felt so satisfying … until my next visit and their rooms were just as chaotic as before …
I’m out of my element here. Ever since our eldest got past his horrific room-destroying toddler stage, there hasn’t been a single serving of Toy Soup. The stack of books on his nightstand will get a bit high and I’ll ask them to re-shelve them, and his dirty clothes get forgotten on his extra twin bed sometimes, but that’s it. the shelves and piles of random junk here and there? Sometimes I’d even help them clean up, and it felt so satisfying … until my next visit and their rooms were just as chaotic as before …
He plays with toys on the main level or in the basement and has no interest in bringing them into his room. His LEGO is colour-coded and when someone asks me how long it’s going to stay that way, I just laugh. My son is orderly, like his mom, and my daughter is like a handful of glitter whirling around in a windstorm. the shelves and piles of random junk here and there? Sometimes I’d even help them clean up, and it felt so satisfying … until my next visit and their rooms were just as chaotic as before …
And so I wait until I can’t stand it anymore. Every few weeks we have a “cleaning party” and listen to playlists on my phone while we sort, straighten and shelve. She loves how clean her room looks when we’re done, and she really does seem to try to maintain it … for a while. the shelves and piles of random junk here and there? Sometimes I’d even help them clean up, and it felt so satisfying … until my next visit and their rooms were just as chaotic as before …
After yesterday’s cleaning session, though, I’ve decided I’m done worrying about the Toy Soup. I’ll continue to intervene every few weeks — rescuing dirty socks and forgotten books from under the bed — but I’m going to try to stop stressing about the mess on a daily basis. the shelves and piles of random junk here and there? Sometimes I’d even help them clean up, and it felt so satisfying … until my next visit and their rooms were just as chaotic as before …
As much as I’d prefer the Barbies in the Barbie bin and the Polly Pockets in the Polly Pocket bin, maybe she’s imagining a storyline involving friendly giants — like my sister and I used to do with Little People and LEGO people. the shelves and piles of random junk here and there? Sometimes I’d even help them clean up, and it felt so satisfying … until my next visit and their rooms were just as chaotic as before …
I don’t understand why I’ll lift up her pillow and find an old cell phone, a stolen Power Rangers Dinocharger from her brother and one of my husband’s old wallets, but maybe they are her most important treasures and that’s the safest place to store them? the shelves and piles of random junk here and there? Sometimes I’d even help them clean up, and it felt so satisfying … until my next visit and their rooms were just as chaotic as before …
I might question why her jewellery is spread across her dresser, but then I notice that she uses her jewellery box to store the money she quietly collects, with her prized $10-bill smoothed out carefully below the glass lid. the shelves and piles of random junk here and there? Sometimes I’d even help them clean up, and it felt so satisfying … until my next visit and their rooms were just as chaotic as before …
The tidying-up rules will still apply to the rest of the house because we share it, but this room? It’s all hers. As much as it drives me crazy to see her doll crib piled high with four different doll varieties, armfuls of plastic play food, books and sticker pages, it’s her space and she seems to want it this way.
You do you, baby girl.
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