Am I making my children 'uncool' by making their clothes myself?

[pastabest]

They are 2 and 3.

I love designing and sewing funky leggings and hoodies etc for them but I suspect there is a time limit on how long they and society will find this acceptable.

In my head I'm going to be this cool mum who can whip up a fairy dress or a dinosaur hoodie whilst they are small and move onto creating the latest fashions In the seasons colours for them on a whim for a night out as they hit their teens.

In reality I know wearing homemade clothes would have been social suicide for me from age 5+ when everyone wanted to fit in and wear Nike or look like a spice girl in clothes sourced from New Look.

I've always been a bit awkward (and weird) so don't know if home clothes making is currently still a complete no no or if it's more acceptable these days.

I don't think it's home made clothes that could be the issue, more the style.

Some of the sewing groups I'm in have a few mums who make lovely clothes but they're very much in the exceptionally bold, semi-scandi style that I can see not appealling once children get to 6/7 years old.

Depends on the child. My 14 Year old would fly to the moon before she wore something homemade. If it’s not from Urban or Brandi Melville she won’t wear it. My other dd would get out the patterns and start sewing too as very into fashion and quirky style

Sadly you are probably right OP. I make stuff for my grandchildren but doubt they will want my creations much beyond the age of 6.

Take your cues from your DC, they'll likely let you know one way or the other if they want some shop bought clothes or items that blend in a bit more. For now enjoy unleashing your creativity on them!

But I will add that your children will have brilliant dressing up clothes and panto costumes.

I’m so jealous, if I had the skills to make my children clothes I would !

Hmmmm...I don’t see why you can’t make clothes for older children. You can get patterns more suited for older kids. I can’t see a 6 yr old turning up her nose at a nice denim dress or corduroy dungaree dress and you could have fun choosing iron on embellishments or transfers. Teenagers I can see it would be hard for. I sew for my little girl and I see girls of 6-10 in the park wearing the usual dresses and skirts and leggings that I can make.

Mine loved the dressing up sewing plus special bedclothes and duvet covers. They would still wear a custom hoody - mine never really got into brands though and some do

Keep doing it for as long as you enjoy it and your children like what you make them! I think it’s cool, nobody would have the same outfits as them. Xx

Depends - my dd loves quirky so at 10 I taught her to sew, she's made dresses, tops etc. even an evening dress, and makes patterns

My mother spent most of my childhood converting clothes of hers into things for me. Looking back, they were probably nice enough creations but I spent the last few years of primary school getting the piss ripped out of me like you wouldn’t believe. There was definitely a time to stop Long before that happened

As an adult I only wear grey and black and have the most Conservative wardrobe you will have ever seen your life

Conservative with a small c that should’ve been. I don’t dress like Maggie Thatcher or anything

I knit rather than sew but in my experience they get more demanding and specific about what they want as they get older and get accustomed to what you can do

Why wear a nice Nordic style jumper when he can request a tasteless one with a picture of a dinosaur fighting a shark instead?

I suppose I'll have to wait and see what happens when he hits his teens. Could go either way...

Two very cool young girls in my office make/modify their own clothes

Just take your cue from your kids

You sound super cool! I'm sure you could make things more on trend when they're older? I think it's a wonderful thing you're doing

My mum has knitted jumpers for DD and at 14 she still wants them.

My mum used to and I loved it - beyond the age of 5, although I think I got more fussy. Obviously you should stop before they are teenagers. But I was very happy as a six year old in a princessy style dress and wellies.

I am also very jealous of your skills. I can just about hem trousers (with wonderweb)

Also, and I know its less interesting for you, but don't underestimate the usefulness of a mother (you will never be cool when they are teenagers but you may be useful) who can fix burst seams/sew on buttons etc. Plus teach them about how to assess the quality of clothes etc (even if they are not interested in making their own clothes being able to tell if something is going to go baggy within an hour of wearing it, or how something that is bias cut is likely to hang is incredibly handy when shopping.)

my mum made my clothes out of necessity (we didn't have much money) - I hated it from about the age of 6 (basically as soon as I could work out that the other girls were laughing at me) - I distinctly remember at the age of 9 wearing home made jeans when all the girls were wearing Levis ....

@MsTSwift

Depends on the child. My 14 Year old would fly to the moon before she wore something homemade. If it’s not from Urban or Brandi Melville she won’t wear it. My other dd would get out the patterns and start sewing too as very into fashion and quirky style

😂🤣 howling

I went to a grammar school with a uniform bought from one specific shop.
Some mothers attempted to knit school jumpers in not quite the right colour/yarn thickness and the children stood it as different and were vaguely pitied.
However, summer uniform was a set material, but could be made up into whatever dress pattern you wanted (within reason/knee length)
One of my friends had a very skilled seamstress mother who made sophisticated and well fitted dresses and we were all a bit jealous.
So you may end up being sought after, but no guarantees.

@LolaSmiles

I don't think it's home made clothes that could be the issue, more the style.

Some of the sewing groups I'm in have a few mums who make lovely clothes but they're very much in the exceptionally bold, semi-scandi style that I can see not appealling once children get to 6/7 years old.

The style and level of skill - I know a couple of adult women who make their own clothes and you feel obliged to compliment it all because they're very proud but the truth is that they do look very home-made and not in a good way - but I think it's because they can both do a few things well but it's not necessarily what you'd choose from a full range of options, e.g. skirts tend to be button through and made of stiff fabric. I think it's quite different and the clothes are less likely to stand out as 'uncool' if you're able to actually make what you want rather than having to tailor what you want to what you can do.

Just as long as they don't look like that kid off About A Boy.

There are so many YouTubers and Instagrammers sure you could find a niche they would like be it Scandi/vintage/whatever iteration of punk/goth/emo/skatergirl becomes fashionable.