Fabric and patterns for sewing kids clothes

If you have any little people in your life that you enjoy making clothes for then I’m sure that this post will give you lots of ideas and inspiration. I’m going to focus specifically on stretchy/jersey fabric for this post. This is by far my favourite type of fabric to work with when I sew clothes for my kids. It’s quick and easy and more importantly, the clothes are really comfy to wear which means they will almost certainly be worn by the lucky receiver (who probably won’t realise how lucky they are to have beautiful handmade clothes!).

You can hear me chat about these fabrics in my latest youtube video and see them up close. Read on to see links to examples of all the different fabrics I mention along with pattern suggestions.

We stock a lovely range of what we often call ‘novelty’ or more fun prints that are often aimed at children when our suppliers show us them, but it’s all down to a matter of taste isn’t it!? Kids big and small like different things! As well as these more cutesy prints, we also have a large selection of stretch and jersey fabrics that are plain or perhaps a bit more floral or more abstract and primarily aimed at adults, but absolutely could be used for kids clothes as well.

So I’ll split the post up by the different fabrics types within the stretchy/jersey umbrella term and explain what each one is like and what it is useful for with specific examples using the kids patterns we stock. You can use that advice when you pick any type of fabric and it will help you work out what will be a good pattern - fabric match.

The traditional style paper patterns that we stock in the shop for kids and babies are the Poppy and Jazz range and the Ikatee range. Having said that, there are so many different brands that offer kids sewing patterns out there. A lot of them are only available as pdf patterns. I have used the Brindille and Twig patterns a lot myself. Megan Neilsen and True Bias also offer ‘mini’ versions of their patterns as well but once you start having a look around you will find lots of options! Remember we have our PDF pattern printing service if you don’t want to stick together a pattern at home, but as most kids patterns are small by nature there often isn’t that much to stick together anyway!

Fleece-backed sweat-shirting fabric

This type of stretchy fabric is on the thicker heavier side and is characterised by having a soft fluffy, brushed like backing. It feels nice and soft next to the skin and is the cosiest of fabric to wear.

It’s easy to sew with as the thickness makes it a bit more stable. You can easily sew it on a regular sewing machine using a stretch stitch and a jersey (ball point) needle.

This fabric is perfect for jumpers, hoodies, cardigans and thicker trousers.

French Terry /loopback fabric

This fabric is characterised by having lots of little loops on the reverse/back of the fabric. These are created as the fabric is being knitted/made. The loops make the fabric a bit thicker than regular t-shirt weight jersey, but usually not quite as thick as the fleece-backed sweat-shirting. It is

It’s easy to sew with as the thickness makes it a bit more stable. You can easily sew it on a regular sewing machine using a stretch stitch and a jersey (ball point) needle.

This fabric is perfect for lighter weight jumpers and cardigans, all in one’s or dungarees, thicker t-shirts, dresses and trousers. It’s probably the most versatile fabric as it crosses easily between styles that are meant for the thicker sweat-shirting fabrics as well as styles that are mean for the lighter t-shirt weight fabric.

Cotton jersey

This fabric is what you might imagine a classic t-shirt weight to feel like.

It can be a little tricker to sew as sometimes the edges can roll as you try to pin and sew them, so you just need a little bit more time and patience to control the fabric. Putting the pins in at 90 degrees to the cut edge can help to minimise the rolling edges. You can still sew it on a regular sewing machine using a stretch stitch and a jersey (ball point) needle.

This fabric is perfect for t-shirts, long sleeved tops, dresses, Pj’s, lighter weight trousers and is also good for patterns that require two layers of fabric, for example a lined hoodie or reversible dungarees.

Quilted style ponte fabrics

We currently don’t have a huge selection of this type of fabric, but it is a nice one to use for kids clothes as well. It is made up of 3 layers of fabric. Two thinner layers of stretchy fabric with a fine sort of wadding in the middle, held together by this quilted effect that gives really nice texture to the fabric.

It’s easy to sew with as the thickness makes it a bit more stable. You can easily sew it on a regular sewing machine using a stretch stitch and a jersey (ball point) needle.

It’s good for jumpers, cardigans, hoodies tops and could be used for trousers as well.

Ribbing fabrics

These fabrics are very stretchy and are specifically for using on cuffs, neckbands and waistbands (along with elastic in that context). You wouldn't use them for the main part of a garment, just those specific sections.

We have two types that have a different texture. One has more obvious ridges on it and the other looks a bit flatter but when you look closely and stretch it, it does have ridges on it too. In terms of function and stretch they are the same, the only difference is their appearance.

You can easily sew it on a regular sewing machine using a stretch stitch and a jersey (ball point) needle.

If you can't find a colour that matches or tones with your main fabric, you can just use the main fabric for cuffs and neckbands instead.

The following patterns are ones that have cuffing can be used in