Sewing Jeans (Kids)

I'm not all that new to sewing jeans anymore. Afterall, I sewn the Mountain View Jeans by Itch to stitch, the Kelly Jeans by Rad Patterns, both Adult jeans patterns too. So kids jeans should be easy. Right? 

Well, thankfully, it is! Small sizes are slightly harder to make cos smaller pieces of fabric are just harder to manipulate at the sewing machine but other than that, the jeans making went really smoothly! 

All it takes is proper needles (I used jeans needles (for jeans, schmetz 90/14 for construction, Topstitch schmetz 100/16 for topstitching with jeans thread which are slightly thicker than the normal thread) and going slow - take ur time!! 

I made 2 different types of jeans for my kids. There's a pull on pair with faux fly and elastic waistband for my youngest and a 'real jeans' with zipper and proper metal snaps for my eldest. Both patterns are from the very lovely pattern company Designs by Call Ajaire. They participate in Project Run and play which releases curated pattern collections for children that are really beautiful and I learnt about them when testing another pattern for them quite some time back. 

Let's talk about the first pattern here: Prancer Pull on Jeans:

As the name suggest, this is a pull on pair of jeans which is great for those that want an easy on easy off option. Both jeans pattern goes from newborn sizes to 16 year old which is perfect for us to make many many pairs for our kids as they grow up. 

I especially like that it is a pull on because it helps her with her independence phase - i want to put it on myself mummy! 

The leg on these pair of jeans is 'stove pipe' legs. There's also a skinny jeans option that comes with the pattern which of course would be more fitted but seeing as my kid is still learning to put pants on, stovepipes were my ideal choice. I love the fit on her and I think she loves it too. 

The denim I chose for her is about 450gsm stretch pink denim with a stretch of about 20%. The stretch ensures that she's comfortable wearing the jeans all day and it has enough stretch for her to run and play and jump in these too. 

I like that the pockets are a good size for her and she enjoys stuffing her little hands in the pockets all day long too. 

Making custom jeans also means that we can do whatever we want for the topstitching and of course I took the chance to play around with my sewing machine fancy stitches with a line of hearts and another 2 lines of your usual v shape. I love how the topstitching gives the jeans a professional touch. 

And for my boy, I wanted him to practice his motor skills, zipping and unzipping his jeans zippers and buttoning his jeans himself. So a pair of "real jeans" it is. 

Now, it is very very worthwhile making jeans for this little guy because as you probably can tell, he is very very slim and really tall too. It's near impossible to find retail wear jeans that would actually fit him. Most of the time, jeans that fit him in the waist will be inches too short and also too tight around the crotch. And jeans that are long enough would frequently be too big at the waist, even those with adjustable waist are too baggy for him. 

I have long given up buying jeans outside for him.. so I am more than happy to make the Bacca Bootcut jeans for this little guy. Don't get me wrong, it's still a lot of effort to make jeans for him. His waist, hips and height falls in 3 different sizes spanning more than 4 sizes apart. Blending takes a lot of effort and time and experience to get right. (Thankfully, following the instructions carefully really helps in this aspect!)

For my first attempt with the Bacca Bootcut jeans pattern, I would like to think that I did really really well don't you? The fit is a bootcut so it is slimmer at the knee then flares out just a touch at the bottom. I happen to think that this is a very flattering cut on my boy - he looks even taller than he is! 

While I technically could use jeans buttons for him, I decided that he is better off using metal snap buttons which I installed with a hammer and anvil. I also happen to like how the metal snaps look with the almost black denim. and I used proper metal jeans zipper also for a professional look - you really can't tell that this is mum made! 

For the topstitching on his backpockets, I went for his initials since it is so custom-made, I doubt I could pass it down to anyone's kid once he is done with them - I don't know anyone else with kids so tall and slim! Again, I went with stretch denim with about 20% stretch but this one is slightly lighter in gsm - probably closer to 400gsm. 

Comfort level 100% 💗

I really do enjoy the fact that I can sew my kids clothes that fit them perfectly and they look really good as a result. It also builds their confidence up knowing that their clothes fit properly and they are not too thin or too tall but just right. 

Thank you for reading my post on sewing jeans for kids. If you want to try your hand at sewing some jeans for your kids, i highly recommend both jeans patterns from Designs by Call Ajaire. Depending on your kids, you can chose either the Prancer pull on or the Bacca Bootcut and you know you are going to get really good professional finishes either way. 

The waistbands and finishes of both patterns are interchangeable which means if you like the fit of the stovepipe (Prancer) but also want proper zipper fly (Bacca), it is really easy to switch it up! Just get both pattern and use the relevant pieces! In fact, the bundle is on sale now so it is really worth it!

Here are the links to the patterns again:

Bacca Bootcut jeans

Prancer Pull on Jeans

Pattern bundle

Candy Castle Box of Chocolate and Jawbreaker Joggers

Every month, as Candy Castle's brand ambassador, I get to sew up one of their patterns and this month's pattern is the unisex Jawbreaker Jogger pattern. I find that Candy Castle Pattern's drafting block is well suited for slimmer children (u will need to grade/blend between sizes for children who fit in different sizes) 

My girl has many Candy Castle dresses that I made and she's average size though much smaller than her age (She's almost 4 years old but still in the 2 year old size!), my boy doesn't have many candy castle outfits but so far the outfits that I made for him fits him beautifully. This time round, since the pattern of the month is unisex, I really wanted to make him an outfit this time, so i did!

In the photo above, you can see 2 of Candy Castle's patterns: The top is Box of Chocolate in top length with the sleeves lengthened by about 2 inches (The original sleeves were shorter and he preferred longer short sleeves - this is an easy hack!)

The bottoms are Jawbreaker joggers (which is this month's pattern of the month!). This jogger pattern has many many options included in the pattern and I selected the in set pockets - his preferred type of pockets and for a fun detail, i chose to follow the tutorial instructions on how to add a 'reverse applique' where i added a cute spaceman onto the insides of the joggers then cut away the main fabric to reveal the spaceman applique. So fun and easy! 

Doesn't it look cute? To be honest, i was a little scared when i started cutting the fabric away to reveal the spaceman. But I'm glad I tried this cos it elevated the otherwise boring black pair of joggers! 

There's also instructions on how to make knee patches (moto-style), slashed pants, contrast patch pockets etc etc. And Candy Castle instructions are always so so thorough so any beginner will be a great hands!. 

This boy is pretty proud of his new set of spaceman outing wear =)

Goober Pea Designs Quadra Jacket

This little one needed a light jacket for childcare. They finally renovated and the airconditioning is working at long last. 

That means she needed an extra layer at nap times so i thought it was a perfect time to try the new jacket pattern from Goober Pea Designs - Quadra jacket!

This is flannelette from a destash and it's so soft inside and out that, i knew it is perfect for an unlined light jacket. 

It's also super cute with all the kitties ❤

I love how fast it came together even with the separating zipper. She's wearing this over a normal top and there's enough ease to be comfortable.

She's also very capable to zipping herself up properly. Yay to self-dressing kiddos.

Look at that proud face 🥰

The Quadra jacket has pocket and colorblocking options but i skipped all those since it's just for using in childcare for nap times. 

In future though, it will be so useful for jackets meant for wearing in cold countries - when we can finally travel again 😅

Sinclair Kids Cloudberry Tee

I've raved quite a bit about the size chart for Sinclair Pattern's kids patterns and here is Sinclair patterns Cloudberry knit raglan top for kids!

As usual, I made it for my slim boy who fits beautifully in Slim J without any need for blending. Slim J doesn't refer to slim fit. It means my boy is slimmer than children his height and J is the size his height indicates he is in. 

I had a rainbow beaked toucan CL and I paired it with a cute rainbow CL cos that was the period of time tt he wanted all things rainbow like his sister and I was happy to oblige cos rainbow on kids is fun and happy.

I like how banding everything makes my life so much simpler. I am not fond of hemming, are u? 

Thank u for visiting and see u again soon! 

Sinclair Kids Blueberry Tee

When Sinclair patterns started making kids patterns for slimmer kids, I jumped at the chance to test for her. Of the companies that I have used for adult patterns so far, they have proven to be a great company for well drafted adult patterns so I had high hopes for great children patterns too. And Sinclair patterns really delivered!

This is the blueberry tee in a thin low stretch knit. Look how good it fits my very slim boy without blending!

I usually have to blend for this boy as much as 3 sizes for some size charts and that makes some pattern not work as well and it's also just a little more troublesome to make. With the slim size chart, I can pick a size based on height and go for it and it looks great!

He's really happy cos his wardrobe has had plenty more tees now that I've got Blueberry pattern. It's made it so much easier to make tops for him so I did. 

Spamming some more photos of this cutie pie 🥰

And cos I'm pretty proud of the insides of the tee, i wanted to show 1 photo of the top hung up. See how pretty the back of the neckline is? 

And finally, 2 more photos of another blueberry tee...

My instagram has more blueberry tees if anyone's interested! 

Fintastic Plushie by Little Sewist Studio - the time when we sew a plushie together!

My 6 year old is incredibly proud of himself cos he made that shark all by himself. (His father thinks it is a whale cos of the color )

We used Little Sewist Studio Fintastic plushie pattern which is a specially designed pdf pattern meant for kids. He is still learning to read and doesn't have enough vocabulary to understand a full set of pdf pattern instruction. Thankfully, the fintastic plushie pdf pattern also comes with full video instructions so he could follow the video instructions to do this himself.

 
Look at the little guy at work! 

I gave him free choice of all my fabric stash and even though the pattern was meant for knits, he chose wovens and since tt might make it easier for him, i went with it.

 
We used the projector file but since i wasn't gg to allow him to use the rotary cutter, he used it for tracing then cut the fabric with a pair of scissors - it was good scissor cutting practice!

 

He pinned all by himself and didn't prick himself - another great achievement! Then proceeded to "scream-sew" agonisingly slowly on my machine on the lowest speed. It was kind of cute watching him sew and make so much noise as he was doing it

We had to gut an existing pillow because this mummy didn't want to go out and buy stuffing. But the kids had a field day unstuffing the pillow then stuffing this shark.

 

The only part i helped with is the last part - ladder stitching it close. I'm a proud mummy and we had a really good mummy-child bonding time!

He's been hugging it to sleep every night. I'm so happy he stuck with this till the end. Especially since i spread out the whole sewing experience over a few days, just 1 hr each day so we (mostly me) don't get too tired.

The pattern is on sale at Sew PDF Pattern Showcase if anyone wants to let their kid try it! It’s a really well done tutorial and very suited for little ones!

https://sewpdf.com/.../fintastic-plushie-little.../ref/58

This little one watched her brother do the whole shark and she insisted she wanted to sew one too. 

But since she is still really young, doesn't quite have scissors skills (we have been practicing!) and can't focus very long yet, I only allowed her to choose the fabric and sit on my lap while I do the sewing. 

She loved this so much, she is currently using it as her bolster! 💗