What to sew from muslin when you have it at home? Or do you like some muslin fabrics but don't really have an idea what to sew for kids? Today, I'm here to help with an article where I'll give you tips on patterns and pieces you can sew for your children.
If you've never sewn with muslin before, I'll refer you to my older article, which is very popular and has good tips on how to sew muslin. Muslin can be a bit tricky, and it's good to know a few rules. Due to its loose weave, it can deform and stretch incredibly, so it's best to tame it right from the start.
You can find the article about sewing muslin here.
These are the rules for cutting and sewing muslin, which you can also find in the older article. But I'll include them here just in case.
Rules for cutting muslin:
- iron before cutting
- sharp scissors that don't pull threads, not a rotary cutter, as it pulls threads
- iron straight lines before cutting and check if they are without stretch
- if they stretch, the fabric needs to be repositioned
- necklines that you sew according to patterns for elastic materials must be enlarged
- do not sew cuffs into necklines; they tend to fray and deform the fabric
- necklines must either have a closure or be gathered with elastic
- necklines, sleeve caps, and bias-cut parts of the pattern should be reinforced and stabilized
- reinforce with either fusible interfacing or fusible stabilizing tape
- you don't need to reinforce the entire piece, just the bias-cut parts
- reinforcing these bias sections strengthens them and prevents them from stretching out
- you must do this before sewing, otherwise, you will stretch out those bias sections
Rules for sewing muslin:
- seam allowances on a single-needle machine should be wider - about 1 cm
- always use needles suitable for classic cotton - standard needles with a slightly rounded tip
- pin well before sewing
- do not pull on bias edges to prevent further stretching
- if you are gathering fabric on a machine, first secure the edge of the gathered piece with an overlock stitch to prevent the gathering thread from pulling out and running through the weave
- it is necessary to secure the edges to prevent fraying
What to sew from muslin for children?
1. Chloe Dress
Dresses are probably the first thing that comes to mind. The Chloe children's dress has a wrap-around pattern and is relatively easy to sew. You need to know how to hem. You can do simple hemming using an attachment on a regular machine or with an overlock and a regular machine. These dresses are beautiful, girlish, and perfect for muslin.
See how to sew it step by step here.
2. Rozi Kids Summer Romper
A beautiful summer romper for babies, whether sitting, crawling, or running. This pattern is amazing for girls because it is incredibly flattering.
This pattern is relatively very economical and also suitably simple to sew.
You don't need anything special to sew this pattern. The straps are sewn as a strip folded into thirds. If this is still too complicated for you, I recommend using a 2 cm wide cotton ribbon instead of sewn straps. The snap closure at the bottom between the legs is very easy, and you'll sew it in no time following the instructions.
4. Julio Loose Muslin Summer Top/Blouse
A loose muslin blouse for summer? Absolutely, it's a must-have and not that difficult to sew. The Julio blouse is wider, with simple integrated dolman sleeves.
The neckline can be sewn in a simple elasticated style or you can bind it and gather it into a casing. For finishing the muslin blouse, I recommend a simple finishing hem.
4. Sun Kids' Muslin Bermuda Shorts
Sew Bermuda shorts from muslin for your children. Thanks to the long and loose cut, they will have a larger area of their legs covered (especially suitable for first sun exposure, on vacation to prevent children from getting sunburned immediately, or for sensitive children with eczema and fair skin).
Muslin behaves very well with this pattern; it doesn't twist, and there are no awkward bias cuts that would make sewing difficult. You will need elastic for the waistband. You can find out what length of elastic for the waistband here.
5. Maro Kids' Beach Poncho or Pareo
A proven and simple pattern for the Maro children's poncho, which you can sew in several ways. Muslin, which is perfectly suited for this beach item, will help the child dry off or protect against the sun when it's shining brightly.
Sewing is not difficult, but it requires some knowledge of working with muslin (see the link above to the article dedicated solely to this topic of sewing muslin).
You can either hem the edges of the poncho by folding and stitching twice to prevent fraying.
Or you can slightly round the edges compared to the pattern and completely bind all edges with a strip folded into thirds. With an attachment, it will be done in no time.
6. Jacob Kids' Muslin Cap with Neck Flap
Among the simple accessories that will help you use up muslin scraps is the Jacob cap.
A sun cap is necessary, especially on hot summer days. I recommend choosing three-layer muslin for sewing, as it better protects small children from dangerous UV rays and does not allow as much penetration as very fine and thin muslins.
You can sew the cap to be adjustable for multiple seasons. I recommend measuring the child's head circumference and sewing the size that corresponds to your circumference at the lower end of the range.
And that's all from me in this article. Finally, I've prepared a list of my favorite muslin retailers, where I love to buy muslin myself for myself or clothes for my girls.
latka.cz (note, this is an international shop and there are higher delivery fees)
