[Sarvi]

I agree, gjsmommy, what a sweet story.

[LucyM]

One can only imagine how you and your daughter felt because of her classmates. One can also imagine the pride you felt when she decided to brush off the peer pressure and return your garments to her wardrobe. How sweet. I am sure your daughter is fortunate in that your garments are well constructed.

As a child, my mother made our clothes as well. However, one sleeve was always noticeably longer than the other (on all sleeved garments, long or short), hems were never even, button holes were messy, seams were puckered. They were homemade disasters!! But my sister and I loved them and wore them with pride. Years later, we still look back with fondness over those lovingly flawed clothes.

Your daughter is blessed to have a mother who, not only makes her clothes, but is understanding enough to stop making them as well. Hope you don’t have to stop any time soon.

[Nicole]

This topic has touched a nerve with me now. As the fifth child in a family of six,I grew up in hand made and hand-me-down clothes.

The hand made were beautifully constructed but always 2-3 years too young for me. My mother was extremely busy(as you can imagine)and would cut out outfits,but then it would be several years before they were sewn(I was a very small child).

So,at nine a frilly floral blouse and co-ordinating skirt was pretty and grown up. At eleven,when my peers were wearing long windcheater’s(down to the knee’s,remember those)and blue jeans I was tucking my collars inside my shirts and folding my knee high socks down-and being teased.

I started sewing at twelve out of ‘self defence’. At first I made boxy windcheaters and then an Aunt purchased me an Espirit pattern for a basic shirt and pull on pants.

I don’t sew for my bigger girls until I have consulted them and if I have cut something,even just a few months earlier,I double check. I want to and indeed need to sew for my children and I think if you keep the lines of communication open you are able to sew for quite a while. My eldest is 15 and I still sew all his clothes.

Great topic.

~Nicole~

[scgoble]

My daughter is only 3 but is VERY clear on what she likes to wear. She is a laid-back and mellow kid who will go along with most anything, but if you try to make her wear something she doesn’t like, she will basically have a nervous breakdown. At first I tried to convince her to wear things *I* liked, but it’s just not worth it. So I know now that pants and shirts are out, and most skirts. It is all dresses, all the time. Which is fine with me.

I know some people would probably consider a kid who dictates what she wears as spoiled, but to me it’s just not a battle worth fighting. I actually like that she has her own style. So like Nicole, I just always ask her now if she would like me to make this or that, and it is so much easier than trying to convince her to wear something she didn’t want but that I feel needs to be “justified” by being worn.

[wendy]

Well, my daughter is finally more receptive to wearing the clothes that i sew for her. It coincides with her being more easy going about a lot of things. She’s a couple of months shy of 3. I’m also getting better at discerning what she’ll happily wear. Pockets are in, buttons are out. Comfort is essential. Dresses she’ll wear but no frills. We’ve been looking at fabric together and she tells me what she likes. Animals are REALLY big. So I suppose I’ll have to start addressing her taste more and mine less when choosing. Which is realistic. Although I prefer simplicity myself, luckily there are many ‘juvenile’ prints out there that aren’t gaudy. And it’s actually sweet and exciting to have her tell me what appeals to her and why!

[Masha Richart]

Wendy, that is good news and encouraging to me. Taking pointers from this thread, I have tried to make a few things more appealing for my 2.5-year-old, too. She prefers leggings and jeggings on her bottom half, so I made a few pairs of jersey pants, and one of them is hot pink :/ She seems happy to wear those. In general, she prefers knits, which is unfortunate since I am still pretty inexperienced with them, and she doesn’t have any knit summer tops save one store-bought tshirt. Perhaps this should give me the push I need to get a serger.

[Sarvi]

Yeah, knits are just so easy to wear for the little ones. Not as fun to sew, alas.

[KarenK]

If I don’t want to fight with my kids over store bought vs. mommy made I buy fewer clothes of that type at the store and sew the rest myself. I don’t force them to wear stuff they hate (i.e. ruffles, certain prints, etc.), but for some occasions they have fewer choices than others. A good example of this in our house is dresses, skirts and pajamas. I almost never buy these items at the store anymore. 🙂

[Aviatrix51]

My 6 year old just told me that she likes the few things I’ve made for her rather than the store bought clothes.

Using a serger for knits has saved me so many times. A good friend found mine at a yard sale for 35.00.

For some kid-friendly as well as new sewer friendly knit patterns, Patty Young’s book is great! I tend to use Patty’s Mod Kid patterns and Oliver and S exclusively.

Kate

[Lightning McStitch]

Today is my daughter’s second birthday. I made her a Bubble Dress which I thought was lovely and thought might be appropriate to wear at her birthday party….

First we needed to take the bike to the market and get the fruit and vegies, so she dressed in a Hopscotch skirt and Family Reunion Blouse. happy.

Party time comes around, she’s looking a bit grubby. Presented new dress wrapped up. Definite no! Oh well, another day maybe and she still looks nice in the skirt and blouse.

Mother and aunty in law present some clothes as gifts. She happily dresses in a silver rubbery skirt and a faux fur vest. Now she looks like some kind of cave girl Barbarella.

The lovely Bubble Dress is hanging in the wardrobe. Sigh.

[Nicole]

Ouch!

One Christmas, smocked Liberty dresses shed for tacky Target outfit.

[rastis]

my kids happily wear the clothes i make… my son’s getting older now (is 4.5) and loves me making clothes for him, but that could be because he has very few store bought clothes so new mum-made clothes are just seen as new clothes! my daughter (who is 1.5) i expect will be much more fussy as she has lots of hand-me-downs from her cousins and already wants to wear “piddy” (pretty) dresses and skirts.. her wardrobe is about 4 times as large as my son’s! my nieces have refused to wear things i make them though, so i expect at some point my children will as well

[Maggie]

I recently made my daughter a blouse and pants. She has worn each once. All the hopscotch tops have been well-loved, but not the others. Maybe she is used to living in nothing but knits.

In every case I let her pick the fabrics. She always says she loves them. I crocheted a sweater once with the same result.

Although my feelings were hurt, I am trying not to make a big deal. I am sewing for others and letting her wait. Maybe she will change her mind.

[Jennifer1568]

Sometimes kids just don’t want to change clothes and want to be comfortable. I try to keep that in mind. My daughter and I discuss what is tacky, frequently. I always let her pick what she will wear but I give her about 5 choices. I also let her make pattern choices.

[cybele727]

Ooh isn’t this the worst? The moment when they say no to you lovingly handcrafted exquisitely tasteful and even fashion forward clothing for garbage!

WeeGee has just figured out that I make her clothes. It clicked when she saw me looking at the Flickr pool and asked if a pretty red taffeta jump rope was for her. When I said no that was another little girl’s dress, she sweetly yet imperiously said, “you make dat dwess foh me muhmmie!” It was a very sweet and earnest entreaty with a bit if demand.

But, she is beginning to develop her own style and tastes. So I imagine soon that we will be battling. I find pockets and the word princess, as in, “look at these princess pants” helps tremendously.

The irony is that she will fight it one day, yet I see little girls give her the envious up and down!