What clothes to sew for back-to-school?
Summer is the perfect time to pack your back-to-school essentials: bags, accessories and even clothes!
We’ve put together a selection of mid-season sewing garments to help prepare children for this very important moment.
A floral blouse
In September, temperatures often remain fairly warm, and this can last until early October.
The ideal solution is to layer your child’s clothes so that he or she can take them off as the day progresses, without suffering from the heat or chilly mornings.
For the first few weeks of school, plan to sew loose-fitting, breathable clothing. Like our Belval blouse, which is gathered at the collar but remains loose-fitting for freedom of movement.
If you want to give it an autumnal look, you can sew it with a floral fabric in shades of orange or burgundy, choosing a soft cotton poplin.
A sleeveless jacket
The sleeveless jacket is an ideal alternative to a jacket or coat. It doesn’t keep you too warm, but still ensures that you don’t suffer from the first chill winds of autumn.
It’s a trendy, easy-to-make piece that immediately adds an original touch to any look. This vest can be worn with a long-sleeved t-shirt, a dress…
For a quick way to sew a small sleeveless jacket, follow the pattern of Les Patronnes, Goya, which closes with a brandebourg.
The garment can be sewn in a wide variety of fabrics: faux fur or sherpa fabric for a very contemporary look. Or floral quilting for a country touch, or sweatshirt for a more discreet look…
Flare pants with elasticated waistband
Kids love fashion too! When it comes to pants, the trend is flare. Jeans inspired by the 70s, flared at the ankle and with a high waist.
The Instinct Couture pattern adapts this garment for children aged 2 to 12, adding an elasticated waistband for extra comfort and ease of donning.
You can sew these pants with cotton twill, denim, denim or cotton gabardine. And choose pretty gold buttons to decorate the front of the pants.
It’s a piece with a few technical details, to be sewn if you already have some experience. And if you know your machine!
An all-terrain dress
The long-sleeved dress is a very practical back-to-school garment. Your child can wear it with or without tights, adding a cardigan or jacket if it’s cold before school starts.
Our Neufchâtel dress is very easy to make, the only technical difficulty being the bias binding and invisible zipper. The secret to good sewing is simply to take your time to achieve a neat, straight result.
When it comes to fabric, we opt for a cotton poplin that’s breathable and very comfortable, in a plain color or a print: floral, polka-dot, stripe…
A sweater for warmth
Sweaters are a back-to-school essential. It’s an intermediate piece that’s perfect to have in the kids’ closet before breaking out the chunky winter sweaters. It’s easy to put on and take off, and can be customized to suit any temperature.
If you’re sewing it for September or October, you can choose a fine jersey. If you want the sweatshirt to last a little longer and accompany your child into late autumn and early winter, you can opt instead for fleece, sweatshirt fabric, fleece-lined sweatshirt fabric, or fleece fabric.
Every time, you’ll need to match it witha rib trim. Either in the same color as the body of the sweater, or in a contrasting color.
As for patterns, you can sew our Venaco model, which takes up the classic sweater shape. Or Dreams, with shoulder inserts. A great way to play with patterns, colors and materials.
And what about you? Have you started preparing for back-to-school? What basics should you have in your closet to be ready for September?
