I thought it was about time I shared one of my favourite kids’ makes from last year: the Longline Loop-back Sweater from Ottobre Magazine.
This make hit the Minerva blog back in August, but in case you missed it then I thought I’d better link it here. Also, I like to have a record of everything I’ve made on my own blog. The full write up is over there, but I’ve got some more thoughts to add here.
Gabriel loves this top and pleasingly he’s wearing it right now, with no prompting from me. In fact, I’d only just put it back in his drawer clean yesterday, so this is definitely an item of clothing in regular circulation. That’s definitely what you want with kids makes as they grow so fast, it seems a total waste to make something they only get to wear a few times before they grow out of it.
I’ve definitely started to see the value of capsule wardrobes in terms of kids clothes. My previous approach to getting clothing for my kids has been to acquire a mix of hand-me-downs, second-hand clothes and the odd shop-bought or me-made item very much on a whim. What tends to happen then is the kids have a few outfits that go nicely together and suit them, and then lots of random bits a pieces that don’t really go with anything.
That means I end up going out shopping for more things to go with the stuff I’ve bought/acquired without much thought. For instance, having to buy a pair of plain tights to go with a patterned dress that clashes with all the tights Lauren already has.
From now on I’m going to be giving the same thought to the kids wardrobes that I do to my own, as I’ve learnt the value of having a collection of clothes that go together. I won’t really be able to do this for Daisy as at 14 she likes to go out and choose her own clothing (mainly from Primark, sadly!), but I can still for the younger two.
Gabriel looks really good in black, grey, yellow and red, so I think those will be his main colours along with navy. He’s particularly fond of yellow and black together, and red makes a great accent colour. You can see this combination in the following picture:
I’ll be sharing some more makes in Gabriel’s colour palette soon, and I’m really looking forward to adding to his and Lauren’s wardrobes in a thoughtful way in future. Even if that does mean buying some stuff!
The deets
Pattern: Longline Loop-back Sweater from Ottobre Design Magazine 1/2019
Size: 110
Fabric: French Terry and Stripe Tubular Ribbing from Minerva.
Modifications: Knit interfacing used to strengthen pocket.
Anyone else tried a capsule wardrobe approach with kids?
Coming Friday:
The oldest (and probably least worn) of my unblogged makes for me: the Citrus Leggings from Tuesday Stitches in a gorgeous stretch velvet. I love these, but wow, they’re a wardrobe orphan!