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Thinking about sewing for some of the little ones in your life? We always get questions about sewing for kiddos, so today, I brought a special guest on the podcast who knows all about sewing for kids and tweens.
It's Tilly from Tilly and the Buttons!
Tilly and I have known each other for a very long time, and she has a new book out called Mini Makes, which is all about sewing for kids.
So today, she's going to be sharing her top 10 tips for sewing for kids. And I think even if you don't do a lot of sewing for kids, you're going to find a lot in here that can apply to your own sewing as well, even for yourself or for other adults. I'm really excited to talk to Tilly today, so let's get into it.
Sarai
Welcome, Tilly! I'm so glad to have you on the podcast today.
Tilly
Thank you so much for having me. I'm going to get some fan girling out of the way before we begin, if that's all right with you. Colette patterns were just such a huge inspiration to me and lots of other people I know around the time that I started sewing. It is a pinch-me moment to be on Seamwork Radio with you because you really did help to spark my love of sewing in the first place.
Sarai
Oh, that's so sweet. Thank you so much for saying that. I am a big fan of your work as well. I'm really excited to talk about your new book.
Tilly
Yes, yes. Do you want me to dive right in?
Sarai
Well, let's talk a little bit about if anybody doesn't know you already, I'm sure most of the listeners do. But if there's anyone who doesn't, Maybe you could talk a little bit about yourself and about Tilly and the Buttons.
Tilly
Sure. I am the founder and director of Tilly and the Buttons. We're a sewing pattern brand known for refreshingly clear instructions, colorful style, and our fun and inspiring approach to sewing.
We're particularly known for being beginner-friendly, but we do cater to all levels. I'm also a sewing author, which we’re going to talk about.
Sarai
What inspired you to create a book on sewing for kids?
Tilly
I've got two small children, myself, who are three and six at the moment, and I just love making clothes for them. It's so much fun to take the cute little pieces and you can use some really fun and playful prints.
It's just something really satisfying about seeing little ones wearing something that you've made as well. But I find that the sewing patterns that are out there already for children, there are lots of them, but they can be a little bit hard to access for some people.
They can be a little bit hit and miss in terms of the instructions. I wanted to create some really user-friendly, well-put-together patterns with lots of extra hints and tips on sewing for children as well to more like a rounded resource on how to get started sewing for children.
Sarai
A book is a big undertaking. What made you decide on a book rather than just patterns?
Tilly
Initially, actually, it was going to be a collection of patterns, and we did start working on them quite a few years ago. Then for a couple of different reasons, we put the project on pause.
When we came back to it, the team basically convinced me that it would work really well as a book, I think because they thought it would be really good value to put lots of patterns together into one package because it's like 26 pounds, whatever that is in dollars to get the six patterns, 24 projects, rather than buying the individual patterns.
Plus, there's a lot more space to add extra advice and tips and tricks for people who might be new to sewing for children.
We didn't really know of anything out there that was similar, so we I thought it would make a really nice product.
Plus, I love working on books. It's one of my favorite things to do.
Sarai
Yeah, it allows you to explore things in a lot of depth, which is nice, although they are a lot of work.
Tilly
It's a lot of work, as you know.
Sarai
What do you think is the best part about sewing for kids? What do you like about it?
Tilly
I think maybe the fact that you can just really have fun with it.
You can make some really cute embellishments and add little fun touches that you might not put on grown-up clothing.
For example, we've got a mini version of our Billy sweatshirt pattern in the book. The main version is just a classic sweatshirt, but then there's lots of variations.
One of them is a bear face sweatshirt. You sew the bodice into a bear face and you add these little ears, and you can applique on different face designs to create a polar bear or a grizzly bear. It's just so sweet and fun.
Sarai
That sounds really, really cute. I have the book right here, and I've been having so much fun just going through it.
I don't have any kids myself, but I do have a niece, and I really loved making clothes for her when she was a baby.
Do you have a favorite age to so far?
Tilly
I guess just currently the age that my kids are at the moment. So they're three and six.
My six-year-old is starting to become a little bit more fussy with his clothes and telling me exactly what he wants to wear. But he still gets really excited if he spots something in my fabric stash that's got, I don't know, big cats on it or something like that.
My little one is three, and I think at that age, you can still make stuff that's super cute and quirky. Although he's actually becoming a bit of a fashion-conscious little diva as well, mainly with what socks he wears.
Sarai
I remember when my sister was little, she was obsessed with animal print. She had an entire drawer that was just animal print, like zebra print and leopard print. It was really pretty amusing for a four-year-old child dressed head to toe in leopard print.
Kids have their own little taste.
Let's get into the tips. You brought some tips to share with us anybody who's interested in getting into sewing for kids?
Tilly
Sure. I've got 10 tips which we can go through.
My first tip is to prioritize comfort and ease of movement.
Tip 1: Let Kids Be Kids: Prioritize Comfort and Ease of Movement
Tilly
I just think when you're making clothes for kids, let kids be kids. Make sure that they're non-restrictive.
I always say they need to pass the playground test. Basically, can they run and jump in them and roll around and be silly and make a mess?
Because that's what most kids like to do.
I tend to gravitate towards stretch fabrics for sewing children's wear, so jersey, French terry, sweatshirt fleece, because they are comfortable and allow for ease of movement, but not exclusively.
Also, things like cotton, gauze and nice soft, floaty fabrics are great as well. They need to be durable so that they can survive the school disco or acrobatics and all the traumas that children put their clothes through.
It can be helpful to reinforce seams. For example, you could sew an extra of stitches at the crotch seams or the underarm or any other seams that are going to come along under a lot of strain.
If you have a serger or an overlocker, then use that to make sure that the seam allowance finish is really nice and strong.
Sarai
Yeah, that's a good one for anyone, really. I think it's a great tip.
Tilly
For anyone who moves around a lot.
Sarai
Yeah, which is all of us, I think. From time to time, at least.
Tip 2: Allow for Messes
Tilly
My second tip is just a quick one and just to allow for mess.
I think sometimes this can be particularly helpful if maybe you don't have children of your own and aren't used to just the amount of mess that they can make.
But if you're sewing a gift, for example, I would pick a washable fabric and preferably something with a busy print or darker color that can hide stains because children, particularly young children, they do tend to make a lot of mess in different ways, and you want to be able to hide those and not ruin a garment on the first outing.
Sarai
Are there certain fabrics that you think are really helpful for that—or colors?
Tilly
I think in terms of colors, I would just think about busy prints or something that's a bit darker so that if they do spill some food on it or whatever, get some grass stains, then it's not going to be completely obvious.
So avoid the bright white or the very light pastel solids. Unless your child doesn't make a lot of mess, of course.
Tip 3: Allow Room for Growth
My third tip is to factor in room for growth. I would not make children's clothes too fitted.
Luckily, their sizing does tend to be more forgiving. Even when you buy ready to wear children's clothing, it does allow for room for growth. They do tend to be a bit looser in style, so just embrace that.
But you might want to consider making sleeves and legs on the longer side initially and perhaps rolling them up or tacking them up, and possibly even adding a little bit of extra hem allowance to which you can let down later.
Also helpful for room for growth, of course, is stretch fabric. Anything in jersey is probably It's going to last a little bit longer with a growing child.
One of the projects in the book has an adjustable waistline with buttonhole elastic. Do you know what I mean?
It's quite a wide elastic that's button holes incorporated into it. You can use that in the waistband of leggings, for example, and then you create holes on the inside of the waist channel, which you weave the elastic in and out of, and then you sew on some buttons.
You can basically cinch the elastic in and button up the elastic when the child's waistline is smaller. Then as they grow, you can let it out. Leggings like this do tend to last a lot longer.
There's a project in Mini Makes which explains exactly how to do this.
Also, I just find it helpful for particularly younger children. My youngest, his tummy is always inflating and deflating during the day. They got such sensitive little tummies based on what he's been eating.
Plus, it's a really useful hack to know for women's wear as well. If different times of the month or just if you're weight fluctuates, it's really useful to be able to know that hack as well. So that's the third tip, is to factor in room for growth.
Sarai
Yeah, it seems like a lot of these tips for kids are very applicable to grownups as well.
Tilly
They are, they are.
Tip 4: Consider Safety
Tilly
My fourth tip is to consider safety. I would avoid highly flammable fabrics, particularly for nightwear.
Avoid ties and draw strings, anything that can get caught around a child's neck or in equipment.
Also, just be wary of potential choking hazards when you're sewing for children, particularly little ones for babies and toddlers. Anything like loose buttons or snaps, sequins, beads are unnecessary.
If you are adding buttons or snaps to a project, just make sure that they are really securely fastened and do not use magnetic fasteners for children because they are very dangerous.
Tip 5: Make Age-Appropriate Variations
Tilly
My next tip is to make age-appropriate variations. So, think about the age of the child and how they're going to get in and out of clothing or any other practicalities that you need to incorporate.
There's lots of tips for this in my book, if you're not used to making clothes for babies and children.
For example, babies and toddlers tend to have larger heads. So the projects in the book have got shoulder fastenings for T-shirts and sweatshirts for baby and toddler sizes, and then they don't for older sizes because they can just pull a ribbed neckband, for example, over their heads more easily.
But shoulder fastenings will make it much easier to dress a baby or a toddler.
Crawling babies as well. If you're making a dress or a smock top, for example, for a crawling baby, you might want to make the hemline a bit shorter than you would for a baby who's walking or still only lying down so that they don't get their knees caught on it.
There are lots of considerations like this. Actually, this was a really big learning curve when doing all the research and the development for the book about all the things that you need to factor in when making for children.
Sarai
Yeah, the mobility issues seem very different when you're thinking about kids.
Tilly
Exactly. As I said, if you don't have kids, don't worry. The book does explain all these things and incorporates these considerations into the design of the patterns and how they've been graded as well.
Another one related to this is to think about whether a baby, for example, lies or sleeps on their front or their back, if they're commando crawling. You know when pre-crawlers sometimes lie on their front and pull themselves onto the ground?
Just think about that when thinking about positionings of fastenings and what type of fastenings you're going to use just so you don't have buttons or snaps digging into a baby on the front or on the back, depending on how they're lying predominantly.
Sarai
Yeah, that makes sense.
Tip 6: Make Dressing Quick and Easy
Tilly
My next tip is related to the last one, but it's more focused on dressing. Make dressing quick and easy or self-dressing, depending on the age of the child that you're making for. Elasticated waistlines are a lot easier for children and adults than zips, buttonholes, and drawstrings, especially if they are around the potty training age or just beyond it, and they need to be able to get to the toilet really easily.
Drawstrings—I find them so annoying, especially the ready-to-wear ones that my three-year-old wears. I feel frantic when they tell you at the last second that they need the loo. It can be really stressful.
I always go for elasticated waist when I'm sewing for my kids. And shoulder and back openings, again, to get over babies and toddlers heads or leave them off or as a design detail only for older children who dress themselves so they don't have unnecessary fastenings to deal with.
Tip 7: Consider Sensory Preferences
Tilly
And then my next tip is to consider sensory preferences of the child and any skin sensitivities that they might have, so particularly if they have additional needs. But just any children, I find a lot of children have strong ideas about what they do and don't like to wear in terms of how it feels.
I would avoid positioning zips and Velcro or itchy labels directly against the skin when you can. My little one is always asking me to cut labels off everything.
Check that you don't have sharp buttons or bulky seams digging into the skin, again, if they're commando crawling or lying on their back.
I also know a lot of kids just find things like hoods and shoulder straps really annoying. I would love it if my children were dungarees, but they refuse because they find the straps really annoying.
If you're making a gift for someone else's child, maybe just check first before you incorporate features like that into what you're making to save you a lot of time.
Tip 8: Choose Quick Projects
Tilly
Then my next tip is to choose projects that are quick to make because it's very fast. Also, if you're a parent or a carer yourself, you are probably very busy and very tired.
All the projects in Mini Makes are really quick to make. Even there's a jacket in there, which is a mini version of our Sonny Jacket, which has got paneled seams, but it is surprisingly quick and simple to put together. It's a lot of straight seams and the collar goes on flat.
It's nothing fiddly. Just think about how long something is going to take to make and whether you're going to have time to finish it before the child grows out of it.
Sarai
Yeah, that's a really good tip.
Tip 9: Have Fun With Embellishments and Cute Design Details
Tilly
But having said that, my next tip is to have fun with cute embellishments and design details.
I mentioned the bear-face Billy sweatshirt earlier where you can make a polar bear, a panda bear, or a grizzly bear face on a sweatshirt.
There are also projects in the book with these really cute knee patches to go on leggings.
There are a few different designs, like a strawberry, an acorn, a star, or an apple. You can really have fun with applique and choosing different colors and prints.
It's a great way of using up scraps as well.
There's a little project in there to add some dinosaur spikes to the side seams on leggings.
It's just really fun little things that you..well, I mean, maybe you could get away with them on adults' wear, but I wouldn't get away with them.
And things like decorative stitches, like a scalloped edge stitch or a lettuce edge hem. There's a little shoulder ruffle on a sweatshirt that's got a letter sedge hem that you can make on your serger.
Trims, like rick-rack, things like that, hand embroidery, and go to town and really enjoy the process. It makes you feel like a child again, I find, sewing for children.
Sarai
I think you can be really experimental with kids' clothes and have a lot of fun.
Tip 10: Get Kids Involved in Sewing!
Tilly
Related to this, really, is thinking about involving kids in the process themselves because they might have just as much fun as you have.
They don't necessarily have to get involved in everything, but sewing is a wonderful skill to have, and you can expose them to a practical skill that they might go on to enjoy themselves.
If you allow them to get involved in sewing, it will foster their creativity and imagination, but also patience, resourcefulness, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination. The list goes on and on, all the reasons to teach children to sew.
If you are thinking about involving children in sewing, of course, you need to use your own judgment about what level of risk is suitable for the child.
My eldest, for example, is very, very careful. He's six now, but he's always been a very risk-averse, very careful child. I trust him to sit in the machine by himself, and I will supervise, but he will basically do everything himself.
My youngest is much wilder, and I'm not going to show him how to use a machine until he's a lot older.
Initially, with my eldest, I would sit him on my lap and let him press the buttons after teaching him how to avoid the needle. He would remove the pins once I taught him how to handle them safely.
Then when they're a bit bigger and ready to sew themselves, what you can do is raise the foot pedal on blocks.
You can attach a needle guard to make it a little bit safer. I would definitely avoid introducing them to a serger or overlocker until they're a lot older because I'm scared of that blade.
But even if they're not actually involved in the sewing machine, there's other things they can do.
They can get involved in designing the embellishments, for example, that are going to go on their clothes, like knee patches or elbow patches.
Maybe they can turn, for example, the animal face sweatshirt. You can turn it into all different kinds of animals or characters from their favorite cartoon, or they can help choose the fabrics and the embellishments.
There's lots of fun things that they can be involved in in the process as well.
Sarai
Well, thank you so much. These tips have been really amazing.
I think they're a great introduction to sewing for kids for anybody who hasn't done it or who's interested in getting started. What struck me about them was that a lot of them seem like they'd be so helpful, like I said, for women's wear as well.
I think sometimes we don't think about issues like mobility or ease of getting in and out or making clothes adaptable as much as we do when we're sewing for kids. It's nice to think about that and how you might apply that to different types of sewing that you do.
Tilly
Absolutely. That's the subject for another episode.
Sarai
Yeah, that could be. Well, thank you so much. I'm so excited about this book. I think it's really amazing. For somebody who sews for kids only occasionally, it really inspired me to do more of that. I'm really excited to dig into the patterns as well.
Tilly
Oh, good. I'm glad it's inspired you. It's so much fun. It really is so much fun.
Sarai
Yeah, I really enjoy shopping for fabric for kids' projects. It's just like you were saying before, you can have so much fun with different prints and details and things that you might not do for yourself.
Tilly
Definitely. You can really cater to the child’s individual personality as well because, particularly if you’re trying to buy ready-to-wear clothing for a child, often it’s very limited in terms of what a clothing company thinks is suitable for a particular age or gender.
Often, it just doesn't suit the child's taste or the parents' taste.
It just means, again, as with womenswear, you can make it exactly to their taste and just make something that's really different.
Sarai
Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you so much for sharing these tips. Where can people find your book and where can people find you if they want to learn more about you?
Tilly
Our website is shop.tillyandthebuttons.com, and that's where you can find the book, our sewing patterns, and online workshops as well. We've still got our blog, which I started many moons ago, which is tillyandthebuttons.com. And on socials, we're @tillybuttons. In the US, the book is available on Amazon and bookshops as well. I'm so sure if you have a little search, you'll be able to find it.
Sarai
Yeah, great. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. It's been great having you.
Tilly
Thanks again for having me. It's been such a pleasure.
Sarai
All right. Thanks for joining us today. And thanks again to Tilly for joining us on the show. It was wonderful to talk to her. Definitely check out her new book, Mini Makes. It's just full of amazing projects for kids.
In addition to lots of helpful tips and step-by-step instructions, I think it's really going to inspire you to create some fun projects. So You can find it at all the places she mentioned on major booksellers. You can check out bookshop.org, or you can find independent booksellers as well. Really excited about this book.
Thanks for listening to Seamwork Radio.
