Materials for a child interested in dressmaking

[Elderberrier]

Hi, I wonder if any experienced seamstresses could advise. DD who is 9 in a couple months is keen to learn about making clothes. She’s always chopping up any old clothes she’s allowed to. For Xmas I want to get her a dressmakers dummy and some fabrics. Im
working on teaching her hand sewing and I do have a sewing machine in a cupboard that im not too handy with but think we can learn together.

I was looking at dummies there and child sizes seem to go up to age 10-12. DD is tall (around 142cm) and wears age 11-12 clothes just now. Wondering would I be better getting an adult female size 6 or 8? Would that last her through the next few years?

Also any advice about teaching hand sewing, any other pieces of kit that would be really useful for her? Thanks.

If you look on eBay for adjustable mannequins/dummies you should be able to find something that can grow with her. I'd say an adult size one going from size 6/8 upwards would give more longevity.

However as someone who occasionally makes clothes I've never owned a dummy because I just try things on as I go, in a pinned state then when roughly attached, then tweaking as I go.

If I were new to sewing and building my supplies stash the essentials for me would be:

Cutting mat at least A2 size
Proper cutting ruler, they are heavy, thick, have measurements on them
Rotary cutter
Pattern weights
Dressmaking pins
Magnetic pin holder I like the ones like snap bands that fit round your wrist
Good quality thread
Elastic thread - smocking is a great skill for new dressmakers for an easy waist band and detail that can be whipped up quickly on the sewing machine and give a really effective finish.
Good scissors a pair for fabric and a pair for pattern cutting, easy to distinguish between them and never use the fabric ones for paper (they go dull)
Seam allowance magnetic tool for the sewing machine, along with a button hole foot and if she will be sewing multiple layers or shiny slippy fabrics then a walking foot is helpful.

Wow what a great answer and a helpful list for me to look through - thanks so much @InfoSecInTheCity . I think DD loves the idea of a mannequin so a small adult size may be the way to go.

I don't think she will use a manequin. I make plenty of clothes and never use one. They are only ever useful if you are making a new pattern totally from scratch by draping fabric which is pretty advanced. They are sometimes useful if you are making clothes for yourself and want to make adjustments or do alterations on existing clothes but again, there are usually easier ways to do this.

She doesn't need a mannequin. The joy of making clothes as a child is that fitting is so easy - no curves!

She needs sewing machine, thread, scissors (thread + shears), pins and some polycotton. Everything else can come with time if she sticks at it.

How lovely that she wants to sew and you want to support her. A good book for new sewists is Make it Simple from Tilly & the Buttons (winner of Sewing Bee a few years ago). It's got things like pyjamas, playsuits and t shirts patterns and the instructions are super clear and easy to follow. Might not all be hand sewing suitable but might inspire her.
I think the patterns start at UK size 6.

When my dd was a similar age i taught her to sew (it was lockdown and I figured it was a good life skill)

Could you dig out your sewing machine and buy a load (say 200) of very cheap patwork/quilting squares off ebay and some good quality thread? And just practice sewing them together - initially it won't be perfect with all the corners precisely alligned but will soon improve. But its a great way of gaining confidence on a sewing machine, figuring out seam allowance, etc. You can then turn them into a quilt, or apron or tote bag once you have enough squares together.

The only time i use a dummy is when attaching appliques to leotards/dance dresses.

Don’t know if you’re looking for fabric suggestions, but poplin is a relatively cheap, easy to work with fabric that comes in lots of fun prints.

Dalston Mill is a good place for cheapish poplin, but I’m sure there will be others too

I agree about holding off on the dummy for now. A good pair of scissors would be more use. Though if you absolutely must get a dummy your adult 6-8 plan is sensible. I do use mine, a lot, but that’s because of the sort of sewing I do (historical costuming, where outfits have quite a few layers, or tailored things like coats and jackets.) These are all quite a long way off if she’s just starting out so it could be several years before she needs it.

Ive just seen all your replies, thank you! Interesting about the mannequin points. She is one of these kids that wants to do it all her own way - often wants to do her own thing when baking and insists it’s delicious when she’s made her own dubious looking creation!

I can imagine she’d be displeased with a load of patterns when she imagines herself draping away. She did get a ‘my first sewing machine’ book a while back. She was inspired watching vids online of Max Alexander, if you’ve come across him - if not have a look, how amazing what he does. I’m expecting maybe similarly with baking that she will want to experiment a bit before she finds out for herself that precision is needed for better results.

@ApexDragonfly I did give her some squares with the sewing machine book, and they all got pinned and stuck to various teddies etc. Her hand sewing is pretty rudimentary so far. Definitely sewing some straight lines with the machine a good start, I thought maybe some scrunchies.

If she wants to make clothes by draping she’s better off with a doll than a mannequin because there’s more scope to experiment and go wrong without wasting a lot of fabric. If she wants to make things that are full size and wearable without falling apart she needs to learn some skills and techniques and the way to do that quickly is to make a variety of smaller things.
I learned by doing dolls clothes and dressed soft toys when I was past the age of actually playing with dolls.

Tote bags, cushions, bunting, drawstring bags for Christmas etc are all good beginner projects to help you learn your way around the sewing machine. Skirt, shorts or pyjama bottoms are good for easy garments. You wouldn’t need a mannequin for any of those.

Yy.
And machine smocked tops to wear with them, as per the excellent suggestion by a previous poster.

Hmm yes that’s a good point. Maybe I could get her started like this before Xmas to see how she gets on, before buying one. She’s interested in making clothes for soft toys anyway so that would be a more achievable win for her to start with.

To add to the other useful tips keep an eye on charity shops for cheap duvet covers and curtains, they adapt well into clothes and cost very little, especially if you explain what they are for. Or bin end bargains in fabric shops of offcuts are often cheap if you have a shop nearby. I’d also ask on social media, most sewists have lots of bits of fabric that they would pass on, I certainly do!

Concur with using a doll, IRL you can explain designers create 1/12sized models ( maquette) of the item they are thinking of making. I mock up 1/12 th sized models to check if a design for something bespoke I am working on hangs together before drafting and committing to a full sized pattern layout. That really matters as I get paid for my textile work and design. Some of the fabrics I am asked to use cost £200 or so a yard. Look at eBay for fabric off cuts, try ends of patchwork cotton to test smaller scale designs etc. And encourage her to learn some handsewing ailing skills too. they make the difference between haute culture and off the peg.

I'm not sure about a rotary cutter for a child? They are useful but you can always use scissors. I also made a lot of dolls clothes at that age. A biggish doll say 18 inch would allow for reasonable detail.

You can even buy dress patterns for dolls and Barbies if she wants to have a go at trying out following a pattern.

And if you go with dolls, look for remnants of finer and lighter fabrics rather than heavy ones as they will work better on a smaller scale, and ones with small patterns rather than large scale. (This is probably obvious to you but just in case it’s not!)