[Nicole]

I simply can’t believe it has taken me so long to sew this up as a uniform.

http://fiveandcounting-motherof5.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/uniforms.html

Its perfect and compared to a traditional school pleated skirt, it took me two hours, start to finish, to make two!

Its a good length for active play too.

Isn’t Liesl clever?

[jay_1965vw]

Very nice! I hadn’t noticed the music class skirt pattern before, I think it may be next on my shopping list…

[katybellabug]

The MC is one of my favourite school skirts. I have just finished another two and am working on the blouses now. I need to lengthen the skirts next time though, I know there is a post on how to do that somewhere…

[Nicole]

Thank you, I knew it was a nice pattern but I am blown away at how smart it looks as a uniform.

I was going to lengthen Katy, but Liddy likes a shorter skirt for play (and she wears tights) and they both prefer untucked shirts.

[needlewoman]

And you have done a grand job, Nicole!! From your experience, and I realise every kid is different but how much longer than the back waist measurement (or from shoulder at neck line to waist line a la O + S) should the blouse be for the nicest length for wearing out (ie not tucked in). I’ve been trying to work this out from the other O + S patterns and just getting muddled. Would be easy if I had access to the kids but just have to make best of it. If anyone else has some helpful stats about this, I’d welcome it. (RTWG has just provided some very useful info about the new short pattern and cloth nappies/diapers).

[meleliza]

That does look really nice. I had already been thinking that music class would make a nice uniform blouse. Maybe I’ll make a couple when K starts school. On the other hand, you can usually find a Peter Pan blouse at

Lands End or the Gap for reasonable prices.

[Nicole]

Fee, I am not %100 sure what you mean? Sorry, pregnant brain, may you clarify? Thank you!

Melanie, I save little money sewing uniforms (if you took in my hours), its purely for pleasure.

But you can’t compare this https://www.flickr.com/photos/motherof5/14202690646/ with mass produced polo tops and track pants form the school shop.

I suspect you will be tempted too.

Nasty poly cotton compared to fine cotton…. I think you may be a fellow fabric snob somehow 😉

[meleliza]

Oh yes, of course I am, and your version is much nicer. I don’t buy from the uniform stores either. That stuff is nasty, over priced poly acrylic of the worst kind and doesn’t wear well at all. By the end of the year, kids sweaters have holes in the elbows, pills everywhere and many kids white shirts are a really disgusting dingy gray. Not my boys! But, school uniforms are gaining popularity in the US (they’re not traditional for us at all and I never wore uniforms), so more regular stores are selling them. http://www.landsend.com/shop/school-uniforms/-/N-g54 for example, is a high quality catalog store that’s been around for a long time. I get the boys shirts, pants, shorts and sweaters there and take them to a local sports place to get embroidered with the school name. The fabric is good quality and lasts really well. I wait for sales to buy and get two years out of most of it. The tie has to be the school plaid – and so do the girl’s jumpers, so that does have to come from the uniform store. But at least if I make her a nice cotton blouse, the yucky uniform won’t have to touch her skin. And the girls blouses will be much more fun to sew.

[Sarvi]

You gals are so clever and industrious! When I saw the condition of her school clothes I was A, very happy that she’s such a busy little person in the classroom and on the playground, and B, way too scared to let my sadly few handmades go to school. If I could sew like what’s been posted here it would be worth the effort!

[Nicole]

First days wear and Tildy has red texta on the front of her blouse. I scrubbed it but it is still faint. So it will be pressed nicely and back in the cupboard. I figure she did it at school, she wears it to school.

Melanie, I purchased Jed a Lands End shirt when we were first wed. It was beautifully made and he is still using it a a work shirt nearly 20 years later.

The quality was exceptional. We really don’t have anything comparable here.

[mcholley1]

Nicole these are lovely! I made the MC skirt as a school skirt last year but my fabric choice was too stiff and the pleats always came home from school sticking straight out to the side. You have inspired me to pick a more appropriate fabric and try again. And, yes…there are a few items in G’s closet with similar stains.

I do purchase knit polos from Olive Juice for school. However, there is something so warm about sending my girl off in handmades that makes me keep sewing the rest of the school closet.

[Nicole]

Thank you MC!

I must say, although I usually prefer natural fibres, I think the small amount of polyester in this cloth helped ‘grab’ the pleats. I also used a water spray to dampen and a pressing cloth, letting the pleats cool before moving the garment.