Sewing for the tween - tips and sewing a high-low hem shirt by Stacy from Land of KA

Today we have Stacy from The Land of KA is with us to not only share some tips for sewing for a tween, but a great tutorial!  Stacy makes amazing clothes not only for her daughter but for her son as well. Go check out some of her creations!

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 So when exactly do the tween years start? For my girl, I think it started around 3 with the attitude. When you are a little curly-haired blonde cherub as a youngster everyone thinks you are adorable and you can get away with so much. That translates to a bit of an attitude when you start to grow a bit. She can still be a sweetheart, but there is no doubt she has her own opinions about things! It has been about a year or so since she stopped wanting to wear dresses that I have made for her. This proves frustrating, as I LOVE TO MAKE DRESSES! Now, I need to make more tween appropriate clothing for her. Last fall I did a s.w.a.p. (sewing with a plan) for her back to school clothing. She wore most of those clothes all year until they didn't fit her anymore. Now I am in the midst of another year of back to school sewing, and need to determine what to make for her this year. 

 These are my tips for pleasing a tween:

  Request Input They are no longer at the age where you can make whatever YOU want to make and expect them to wear it. My kids were pretty good for a long time about wearing whatever I made, as long as I picked it out and put it on them. They were lazy that way. Fun times! If I expect my girl to wear something now, I need to solicit her input on what she likes. I let her pick fabric and show me what styles she likes.  

Look at popular stores for current trends I think one of the number one things you hear from adults whose mothers sewed for them was, "It looked homemade, out of style, I hated what she made!" We have so many options for buying fabric and embellishments nowadays, that it should not be a problem to make something they would like. I get catalogs from a few stores, so I look at them and also online. Justice is a pretty popular tween store, but Chasing Fireflies has a few things that would work for them, too. I get out the catalogs, give her a pen and have her circle her favorites. It gives me an idea of what direction I should go when I set out to make her clothes. Current trends: High-low tops, patterned leggings/jeggings/skinny jeans, animal print, layered lace tops

  Add some bling Rhinestones are all the rage right now. I don't have a heat set tool, so I buy mylar carrier sheets from Dharma Trading. You can either make your own designs for the rhinestones, or use a printout when you place them on the sheets. You can also add pre-made iron-ons, rivets or use fabric paint. I get most of those types of things at Michaels craft store. Anything you add is going to make it look more trendy, and not homemade, with the *BLING*.

  Make it comfortable and un-fussy There are some super cute things out there that just don't seem user friendly for a little girl. I have seen little girl trenches with belted waists. Tell you what...that belt would be lost in no time with my kid. That is just wayyyyy too much work to get dressed with that. Another thing...she is all about knits or stretch twills/denim. If it doesn't allow her to move, then it gets put into the "I won't wear it" pile. I made her these jeans last spring. She wore them about 3 times before she tried to do the splits in them. They were corduroy without a lick of lycra in them, so guess what happened?? Split is right! Big tear right up the backside NOT on a seam. So...she needs things that will stretch! 

 Alrighty... Today I am going to show you how to do a high-low hem shirt with a lace overlay.

First off, you need a regular knit top pattern. One thing you always need is a basic top block. From there you can go in many different directions. Here are the front and back patterns in process. I moved them out a bit at the hem to give more room to the shirt. I am using french terry here and it doesn't have a lot of give to it. I wanted it to be easier to get on and off for her.

I used my French curves (bought a package of them off of Amazon) to draw the curve on the front and the back. The front has a bit of a swoop in it, but you can just draw a plain curve, too.

Then...time to cut! I cut the lace on the front along with the front piece to make sure they ended up the same.

Sewing Steps:

• Pin and attach the seams at the shoulders. I used my serger, but you can use a zigzag on a regular sewing machine. I serged stay tape on at the shoulder to give it some extra stability. Next I serged the ends of the neck binding and then serged it on. I ironed it down flat, and then top-stitched with a zig-zag stitch on the sewing machine.

• Pin and attach the arms in the flat.
• Sew the cuffs on the arms and topstitch.
• Sew up the side seam from the arm all the way down.

• Measure the binding out on the finished seam and cut to the proper length. Close the edges and then pin to the bottom. I also ironed it down flat before attaching to the shirt. Now, attach the binding on the bottom seam and topstitch. Alternatively, you can just fold the hem up and sew it down with a zigzag if you don't want to put a binding on the bottom.

All done! Next, I sewed up a simple pair of leggings from matching fabric, so she has a full outfit. Leggings are super quick and easy to make. I made a pattern that has the front and the back in one piece, so you just need to cut two pieces, sew up the crotch, sew up the inseam and attach the elastic. Takes about 30 minutes to make a pair.

Thanks for having me Sally and Major Mama!

Sewing for a Tween Boy--Guest Post by Jessica of My Inner Need to Create

Today is a guest post from Jessica of My Inner Need to Create with a great boys look! Since there is a decrease in the availability of patterns for tweens in general, you can probably guess the dismal selection of boys patterns for this age. Jessica has come up with a great jacket and some great thoughts when it comes to sewing for a tween boy.

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Hi, I'm Jessica from My Inner Need to Create, I have three kids, ages 4, 5 and 9. And to be perfectly honest when I got the email from Sally inviting be to contribute to this site I said (out loud) "WHAT, I'm to young to be a mother of a Tween!" Oh, where has the time gone!!
Well, unlike the previous guest bloggers, I haven't had many fit issues with my Tween, he seems to be a pretty standard size, with him it is more of a style issue. Almost all of my last years' sewing projects for him have sat in the closet, untouched.
So I approached this project differently. I knew what I wanted to make him, a military cargo jacket. So instead of starting this project on my own, I included my son. I showed him pinned jackets, let him choose a style, gave him a choice of the fabric, etc.

Then I got to work...
There are A LOT of pieces to this pattern but I promise it isn't that complicated.

PATTERN

These aren't to scale but the measurements are on them if you want to try out making this jacket for your tween. This is size 10 and you will need to add seam allowances.



STEP BY STEP

1.       Sew back top and back bottom pieces together, of both the fabric and the lining. Top stitch the seams flat. Sew the left and right side of the back together to make one piece. (Do this for both the fabric and the lining).

2.       Assemble the hood, both fabric and lining. Then attach the 2 with right sides together, flip and top stitch around.

3.       Stitch pleat into all 4 pockets. Fold under all raw edges and baste. On top of the pockets roll completely to hide exposed raw edge, stitch across.

4.       For the pocket flaps I made the buttons invisible by making 2 flaps each for each pocket.

Roll under and stitch one of the long sides of each of the pocket flaps (8 total).
Sew two button holes into one of each of these pocket flaps (4 total).  

Then put two flaps together (one with button holes and one without), wrong side, right side and stitch around the other 2 sides of the flap. Flip and top stitch the two short sides.

5.       Attach the pockets to the front pieces of the jacket.

6.       Sew the front pieces to the back piece at the side and shoulder seams. Do the same for the lining.

7.       Hold sleeves in half and stitch up the side. Attach sleeve from fabric to the jacket from fabric and the sleeve from lining to the jacket from the lining fabric.

8.       Fold collar in half. Sew the hood, collar and lining to the jacket. You might need to baste first depending on your fabric choices. Flip.

9.       With a separating zipper attach zipper to the left side of the jacket by putting it between the lining and the fabric of the jacket.

10.   Sew the second half of the zipper to the other side of the jacket, lining only. Then hold the front button panel in half and sew that piece to the fabric of the jacket, from the top of the collar all the way down to the bottom of the jacket.  Then sandwiching the zipper between the fabric and the lining sew the zipper into the jacket.

11.   Roll under the lining and the fabric of the sleeves and sew around to create a cuff.

12.   Roll under the bottom of jacket and sew around.

13.   Sew button holes into the button panel on the front and sew all 14 buttons onto the coat.

DONE!

He seems to like the jacket so I am hoping he wears it.... I will have to wait and see though, since I live in Texas and it was 105 degrees today!

Thanks for inviting me to contribute to this blog! It is a great idea and with 2 more kids closing in on tween status I am sure it is to become a very important resource for me!

Have a great week!

A Great Knock-Off and some Great Thoughts from Cathgrace

Today we have Catherine, the amazingly talented lady behind cathgrace.  She is also a veteran at sewing for the tween crowd (both genders even!) and even held her own during the last season of Project Run and Play. I love that she did so well, while sewing for tweens and not cute little toddlers. Her skills really showed with the garments she was able to come up with...you should go check them out.  Today she has some great thoughts on how to make clothes your tween will want to wear and where to get some inspiration. 

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I am so excited to be here today, as tween sewing is one of my greatest passions! (Thanks Sally and Major Moma for having me!)  I have a total soapbox that I like to get on to complain about clothing companies not making things that are age appropriate for older kids by either having them be babyish, advertisements for TV shows or sassy sayings, or frankly like something from Pretty Woman! I make a lot of my daughter's clothes and and have started making more and more of my son's clothes too, (just to get away from the sayings on boy's clothes; why do they all have to say stuff about hating homework, or school, or their sisters, while only wanting to play video-games or sports?) Anyway, I have a lot of thoughts on the subject. :) 

My daughter has been on an Anthropologie kick for a while now; she really loves it when I do knock offs for her, since she feels fancy wearing something in the style of Anthropologie. I like using them as inspiration because I think with just a few modifications, a lot of their garments can be made to be age appropriate, while seeming like "legitimate" designer wear to my daughter, ergo she is proud to wear it! I think it's really easy to default to making dresses when making handmade clothes, since they are easier to make unique without looking off, but I think getting everyday wear "right" is what works best in my daughter's wardrobe. For this project we (Emmie and I) settled on this sweatshirt from Anthropologie,

Most of my sewing is done without a pattern, so I decided to make a project for this post (rather than just linking to past projects,) that was able to be replicated easily with a known pattern, but was enough of an alteration to make a look that can't be identified as pattern X (since there are so few tween patterns out there, I think being able to think outside of the box helps.) We decided on a 2-fer with this project, and I did a knock-off, along with only sewing from my stash, so here is my version of Anthropologie's Ellery Sweatshirt.   

Anthropologie's sweatshirt features raglan sleeves, heathered grey knit and white mesh, with raw edges and a white knit peeking through behind the raw edges. I altered the proportions slightly in my version since I was making it for a child; I made the sleeves longer so that it would be warmer for Fall, and I made the body a little longer and fuller, so that Emmie has room to grow a little. 

The mesh was from my swimsuit fabric stash, and was originally intended to be used as underpants for the inside of swimming trunks, and the grey and white knit were just yardage I had (I am either ashamed or proud to say I had 3 different greys to chose from, and 3-4 different whites, my stash might be a sign of a hoarding problem.....)  

 The zipper is a really neat clear, plastic, separating zip, that I got about a year ago from a booth in the fabric market in Seoul, for about .50, (apparently about 1/3 of the worlds zips are made in Korea, so those suckers are cheap here!) and the white webbing for the belt was left over from something from years ago, (which is why I never throw anything out! :) )

So, In making this sweatshirt I began with Simplicity 1605 (which also happened to be featured as a good boy's pattern here on Sew Cool a bit ago) 

Sorry about all of the following pictures, they were cell phone in progress pictures! Anyway, I wanted a raglan sleeve, so this pattern was perfect, and the fact that it is a boy's cut, added the looseness and ease that I wanted for the fit of this jacket. Here is how I altered the pattern.

I began by tracing the pattern in the largest child's size onto paper, I butted the side seams against each other eliminating the seam allowance (I also added 2" in length)

Next I defined the lines for the mesh portion, I used a french curve to get a shape I was happy with, and then added a seam allowance for the  front and back pieces. and then I split the front piece instead of placing it on a fold.

I then traced the mesh piece onto it's own piece of paper, and straightened the bottom sides after adding seam allowances, (this will make the jacket more A-line.) 

 Here's what all my pieces now look like lined up.

And then here they are all sewn together with a casing strip added, the casing is just 2 layers of knit, gray over white with raw edges left to roll.

Next I sewed down the underarm seam of the sleeve, and then sewed the raglan seam. The rest of the finishing was just adding facings in with the zip, and a neck band (two layers so there was a white layer too) and cuffs on the sleeves.

As you can see, Miss Emmie loves her new sweatshirt, she kept saying how she felt more special than just wearing jeans and a t shirt would normally make her feel!

For me, the most important part of getting tweens to want to wear what you make, is the quality of the work. These kids are now old enough to KNOW what REAL clothes look and feel like, if the finishing or fit is off, they won't wear it, because they know they look like they are in homemade clothes (as opposed to handmade clothes)  

I serged all of the inside seams, and made sure everything was finished as it should be, right down to a handmade tag (I always try to write sizes in my clothes, it makes it easier to pass stuff on) 

Emmie really loves being dressed up, but also does a lot of casual stuff too;she volunteers at our local animal shelter as a dog walker, so this jacket will fit right in with her fall needs.

AND she gets to wear a bit of mommy's love, which she also feels with handmade clothes!

Thank you so much for having me Sally and Major Moma, I had a fun time working on this jacket! I hope that everyone will come and visit me at cathgrace, since I have a lot more tween stuff over there!

Like a beaded owl dress,

Vintage style boy's wear,

and much, much more!

Words of Advice from Gina of Party of 8

We have some more great words of advice today, from another mom of twins(!) who has found success in sewing for her girls. Gina blogs over at Party of 8, where she not only sews some amazing outfits for her girls, but some amazing quilts as well.
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I was so excited when Sally sent me the email about Sew Cool For the Tween Scene that I did not hesitate to join in the fun (Thanks so much for having me!!)! I am just entering into the tween sewing years and am so happy to have this new resource and look forward to gleaning information as well as inspiration from.  I am no expert but I would like to share some thoughts and some ideas that I have used to help make sewing for my tweens a success {meaning they wear the clothes I make more than once :)}

I have 6 kids. My boys are 18 and 14 but it wasn't until I had twin girls, who will be 9 soon, that I learned to sew.  I am a self taught sewist and my favorite thing to sew is vintage patterns.  I have always enjoyed making whether it was scrap booking, card making, crafting with the kids, quilting, or sewing.  When my girls were little it was all about me choosing the patterns, fabric, and design. Now that there are tweens in the house that is changing and the process is about what we can make together. Like the other guest posts before me, I have found that bringing my girls in to choose fabric and patterns is a key to success. Both of my girls like to draw so I asked them sketch up designs they would like to have made. This Easter dress is the result of one of my daughter's drawings. Collaborating together has provided lots of teaching moments to talk about clothes that are appropriate for their age, what kind of impression they can make with different clothes, and what kind of impression do they want to make. 

Part of growing up is finding your own style. The tween years can be difficult for kids as their bodies are changing, hormones are erupting, and it is so important to them to be liked and to fit in with their peers. My girls are working on defining what styles are "them" but they enjoy being involved in the sewing process.  During these tween years (and beyond) I want my girls' clothing to be comfortable, modest, a reflection of them, and to be something that boosts their self confidence not make them more self conscience. When they were little the more hand made clothes in their closet the better I felt. I have had to let go of that. I have found that if I choose something they love whether it is a pair of shoes, an accessory, or a cardigan and build a handmade item around that they are likely to love the outfit. Mixing store bought and hand made is good! I built this outfit around her boots that she was loving at the time and let her wear one of my necklaces. She loved it!

One of my twins is easy going and wears a wide variety of clothes. The other twin is, shall I say, a clothing connoisseur. She has a few favorite pieces and that is all she wants to wear. She likes labels and clothes that come with tags so she is the one I have been working with the most to become more excited about the sewing process. She is my sparkly girl so a glitter belt was a fun addition to this dress. She was very excited when I made this dress for her because she thought it looked like it came from the store.

 For this simple A-line dress we chose a large, modern floral print which looks more "grown up" than a smaller print would look in this silhouette.  Styling the dress with one of her cute belts for a more fitted look and a cardigan worked perfectly for her. My girl is tall and thin so making her clothes can often give her a better fit than ones purchased at the store.   

I earned a lot of brownie points for making her a matching clutch purse, too. Yes, my girls are big on accessories!

 This dress is the RollerSkate pattern from Oliver +S. To make it more tween friendly I put the casing on the outside using some vintage crochet lace that a friend gave me (Thanks Nicole!). 

 For us, using modern prints or a trendy color with a classic silhouette has given my girls the look they like and made me happy too. Thankfully fabric has come a long way in the past 8 or even 5 years. When I first began sewing the prints I liked were quilting weight fabric which was pretty heavy, did not have a great drape, and seemed to fade quickly. The manufacturers are now offering lots of options with great prints including cotton lawn, voile, flannel, velveteen, and knits. There are many quilting weight fabrics that now have a nice drape and are lighter than they used to be. My girls are all about fabric texture. When we are at the fabric store they want all of their clothes made from the silky fabrics and minky! With the many fabric lines that are available there are more options than ever before.

This season my girls are loving tops made of polyester. The fabric is what the older girls wear so it makes them feel grown up. Polyester is soft and they love that it is "flowy". It would not be a fabric that I would choose but since they like it I am going with it. The green blouse with the navy hearts on it has been the most worn garment this school year. Sew Cool For the Tween Scene has already inspired me to make more clothes for my tweens so using this blouse and the Roller Skate tunic pattern I have morphed a new pattern and am ready to cut out a blouse. Wish me luck as I haven't sewn with polyester before but if my girls will wear it, I will sew it :) !!

Why is Sewing for a Tween so Difficult?

Let me apologize in advance for my lack luster post. I've been in bed all weekend with a head cold and a fever...not very much fun on this long holiday weekend.

Edit--I should have said this is Sally...part of the duo behind this blog. Blame it on the brain fog from being sick.

So what was supposed to be a fun tutorial on how to make a boy's button up shirt into a feminine and cute shirt for my 10 year old, is now just a picture and a quick how to.

This project is reminiscent of my first sewing project that was 'me' driven and not something I had to do for 4-H...at least when it comes to clothes.  I was in 8th grade and it was inspired by something I saw in some teen fashion magazine.  It was simply a white button up shirt, cropped at the waist line and a big (4-5 inches) panel of lace sewn all the way around.  The sleeves were cropped to 3/4 length too. Once I found a shirt and some lace in my mom's stash, I sewed myself one and wore all through 8th grade and probably longer.

When I approached my daughter with this idea (just happened to have one of her brother's outgrown white shirts laying in the give-a-way pile), she asked for something other than white lace. I had this orange flowered trim (now that she's more grown up, her favorite colors are green and orange...I think as a way to 'distance' herself from her 5 year old sister whose favorite colors are pink and purple), which she picked out. We are also going to change out the buttons to something more colorful, pick out the collar but leave the collar stand and crop the sleeves to 3/4 length.  And she'll have fun, casual, but some what feminine shirt to wear with jeans or a skirt.

I'll post the exact tutorial, when I'm feeling better.

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Now I do have some questions to ask you and I would love to hear what you have to say.

Why do you think there is such a disparity in the amount of patterns when it comes to the up to 8 size and the tween sizes? 

Is it really because tweens are too opinionated and won't wear home sewn clothes?

Is it because their changing bodies are really too hard to draft for?

I'm curious to see if this mind set changes with the advent of sewing blogs.  It seems that most people that have started sewing blogs, started because they are sewing for their young children. Do you think as these kids grow up, they'll still want home sewn clothes?

Thanks for putting up with my lack luster post and let me know what you think!

And don't forget to link up to the linky party and keep on passing the on the word about us! We are amazed at the response we've been getting to this little venture!