5 spring outfits for kids to sew with less than 1 metre of fabric
Do you have one-meter fabric coupons in your closet and no idea what to do with them?
We’ve put together a selection of mid-season garments that you can make up quickly to clear out your closets while filling out the kids’ wardrobes!
A pretty skirt for mid-season
If you’ve got a yard of cotton (cotton batiste, cotton poplin…) in your closet, you can sew our Chabichou skirt, available from 12 months to 14 years. A super-comfortable skirt that’s easy to wear with tights for the cooler days of early spring, or bare-legged to welcome the first rays of sunshine.
It requires just 90cm of fabric (in 150cm width) and is quick and easy to make. No zippers or buttonholes, just an elasticated waistband.
You can easily personalize it by adding colored or iridescent piping along the pockets, choosing a printed fabric or using contrasting thread for the topstitching.
A T-shirt for everyday wear
The short-sleeved T-shirt is a spring and summer staple. It’s a piece you can sew in multiples and personalize by adding a pocket, patch or embroidery, in a variety of colors and patterns.
It’s also a project that requires very little fabric. All you need is 60 cm of jersey to make our pattern, available in sizes 2 to 9.
When sewing a t-shirt, it’s important to choose a stretch jersey. For breathability, prefer cotton jersey to polyester jersey, the latter being more suitable for sportswear. You can also opt for an anti-UV jersey, which will be perfect for protecting your offspring from the sun’s harmful effects on the skin.
All-terrain shorts
Shorts are a good garment to have in your closet for those first days in the sun. Figuette can be made with a small 60-centimeter length. If your coupon is smaller, you can also use a contrasting color or another print for the pockets, or add no pockets at all.
This model is quite simple, but you’ll still need a little sewing experience to master the construction of the shorts and the assembly of each piece.
When it comes to fabrics, we’re all about fluidity and lightness. We can, for example, make it with cotton, batiste, poplin or cotton voile (which will be thinner, so be careful not to choose a fabric that’s too transparent) or viscose with a pretty print.
No complicated fastenings to assemble: the shorts are tightened at the waist with elastic and a decorative drawstring.
A lightweight top
The Clémentine top by Klafoutis is a simple, comfortable tank top that’s perfect for spring, worn with a cardigan, or for summer.
It requires less than a meter of fabric, and as with Figuette, you can choose two different colors or prints. In fact, the top is divided into two parts, with a yoke on the lower half of the garment. This means you can make it with two separate coupons if you don’t have enough fabric left over to transfer the entire pattern.
It’s best, however, to choose two fabrics with a similar fall and weight. Mixing viscose and cotton poplin, for example, is not recommended. You can choose a cotton fabric(batiste, poplin, cotton voile…) or a viscose to make this easy-to-assemble piece.
To make it even more original, don’t hesitate to add details: fancy piping to delineate the two parts of the top, pom-pom fringe on the hem…
A sleeveless jacket for cool days
For those chilly mornings, you can sew the Patronnes sleeveless jacket, made with less than a meter of fabric and very easy to assemble.
Rather than choosing a sherpa or boucle fabric, you may prefer something more spring-like, such as a quilted cotton. By finishing the jacket with a pretty bias and leaving the buttons off, you’ll have a fully reversible garment that can be adapted to any outfit!
And what projects will you be sewing for your children this spring?
