Sewing for young girls

bhhewitt · Joined: 14 May 2007 Posts: 5

I love to sew for my 4 granddaughters, ages 2 to 8. If I don't use knits, I find it hard to find cotton prints or other fabrics that can be washed. Any ideas?

Barb · Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 2:05 pm Post subject:

Hi Brenda
We see a lot of fabrics from very high end childrenswear. In fact, we often buy them for our adult customers. I guess my point here is that it doesn't have to be a juvenile print to make it work for young children. I think the most important thing for young ones is scale. Large prints work if they are closely spaced, but if there is a lot of space between the motifs it looks out of proportion on a small body. The same is true of large plaids and patterns. We try to mention "small scale" in our copy when we think it might work for little ones. Juvenile prints are often produced on cotton sheeting rather than a fine cotton satin or lawn, but they work great for appliques or trim. I'd consider using a cotton satin stretch or a cotton twill in solid colors and embellishing with juvenile prints. With fall coming up, have you considered corduroy? You can use the fine wale or pinwale and embellish it with scraps from novelty prints. Of course, knits are great for the younger set and we hope to have more of the juvenile cotton prints coming for fall. I'll keep you posted.

I am looking at a line this week that often has fabrics from children's manufacturers. I'll keep your needs in mind.