We have already spoken about all the dressmaking and fabric trends that are coming our way this summer for adults, but what about the smaller and sometimes noisier people in our lives? Well, now we are turning our attention to children’s clothing and in particular the best summer fabrics for children too, although be warned you might get a bit jealous and want to make some of these for yourself .
OEKO-TEX fabric
You may have noticed that many of our fabrics are OEKO-TEX, which may have also left you wondering what exactly that means. Well the OEKO-TEX 100 standard means that the fabric has been tested for harmful levels of 100 substances and is a sign that a fabric is as safe as it can be. Making it perfect for children’s clothing.
Fun Basics - Children's Patterned T-shirts
We were thinking the best part of making children’s clothes is that the shapes are often pretty simple and they are a great way of building up your confidence in sewing. But this also means you can use some lovely fabrics to make some pretty cool clothes, and they can really let the pattern sing. Not only that, but a simple t-shirt can be a great way to let bolder prints shine just the same as adults clothing. We thought the Breton stripes would make some handy and very cute little tees for your little ones…
Shop all the Breton Stripe Fabrics
Jersey Prints for Children
But if stripes aren’t your thing, we have plenty of cute illustrated jerseys that would make great t-shirts, one of our more recent favourites is Last Piece of the … Not only would it make a great t-shirt but now we think about it would make some great pyjamas too.
Last Piece of the.......Jersey print
So now you have the fabric but are possibly wondering about the pattern; well we stumbled across this free one by Gina Michele and it looks pretty perfect to us; and it has many ages so once you have perfected it, you are off…
Fun Tropical Prints for Children
You know us, there is hardly ever a tropical print we didn’t love and looking at them, actually they would make great children’s clothes too. Especially some of our jersey tropical prints, perfect for throwing on and running around in, these can be used for dresses, t-shirts and even fun little shorts. We were thinking how great would kids' clothes look in some of our mini leopard print jerseys? The print is small so will look great on kids' clothing and the colours are pretty cool too.
Little Leopard prints in yellow and khaki green
Cool Cotton Poplins
But it isn’t just jerseys which we have some pretty good tropical prints in, what about some of our cotton poplins? The perfect fabric for lots of children’s clothes from funky bloomers to tiny babies right up to simple dresses for older girls. Or maybe even children sized versions of a Hawaiian shirt, taking inspiration from the Big Boss himself. We have made up some samples in a few which you may have seen at our more recent shows, and even if we say so ourselves the one in Jungle Trails looks incredibly cool.
Printed Cotton Khaki Sand and Blue Jungle Trails
Talking of more jazzy prints, there are many more to look at in our Tropical Dressmaking Collection…
Rainbow Colour Fabrics
Now there are some things which are pretty undeniable and one is rainbows are always great - if you can’t find a rainbow print, then you just need to wear as many of the colours as you can. Luckily we have just received a very cute little rainbow print on a cotton so it can be used for many different kids' clothes.
But that is not all, how about adding a little bit of the rainbow to even a sweatshirt or jacket with our two striped ribbings, perfect for perking up even the dullest sweatshirt. That goes for adults as well as children to be honest…
Bright Jelly Bean Stripe Circular Ribbing Fabric
Plain Cotton Poplins
However if you are more into using bright colours on their own as a stand out moment, and you were looking for a certain colour, well we are pretty proud of our collection of plain cotton poplins. There is everything in there from pretty pink watermelon all the way through to dark bottle green with a variety of yellows, blues and oranges in between. Poplin is a lightweight but not flimsy cotton, making it perfect for children's dressmaking especially in the summer on a super hot day…
Muted Cute Prints
We have focused quite a lot on the bright colours of children’s dressmaking which is obviously missing out on the slightly more traditional but still super cute options of more subtle colours. For that we have our collection of double gauzes and ginghams, our printed double gauzes in particular are perfect for babies clothing. In fact, we thought it would work really well with the free pattern from the Sewing Bee for a uni sex romper suit.
The only difficulty would be deciding which colour stars to use, having said that the plain ones would also make a great option….
Double Gauze Denim Blue Stars and Sunshine Yellow Mini Gingham
As we have said many times before, you just cannot go wrong with gingham and especially during the summer for children’s clothes. The only thing we might say is, maybe the mini ginghams are a better option as the smaller print won’t get lost on the smaller bodies.
Children's Striped Fabric
Cotton Denim Hickory Stripes in Red/Blue and Pink
We simple cannot talk about dressmaking for children and not talk about the Hickory Stripes. These striped denims were simply made to be whipped up into a pair of adorable dungarees, perfect for spring/summer layering. Even if dungarees aren’t for your little ones, they would also make a great pair of shorts. The colours are the perfect balance of bright but not too bright, and they could be teamed with any number of other patterns or printed tops. The variety of colours also means that there is something for everyone; gosh, in fact we need to go and make something for ourselves from them..
Having said all that, if you are thinking you don’t need any children’s clothes at the moment, the hickory stripes would make a really great back pack because they are a similar strength to denim or a cotton Panama . Whether it be a simple drawstring number with a neutral piping cord string or something elaborate they would be perfect for any adventure a child is off to have or simply to carry their sandwiches and a snack.
Discover The Best Children's Fabrics for Summer
Discover all our high quality children's fabrics for a fun-filled summer whether it's animal prints, stars or stripes, kids jersey fabrics, organic cottons and OEKO-TEX 100 certified. An amazing collection awaits you at Fabrics Galore Online.
