Home made uniform?

[WoolyMama]

Is this an daft idea?
I really want to make most of dd's uniform when she goes to school - I'll probably buy shirts but I'd like to knit or sew the rest.

I'm quite a confident sewer and knitter and already make a lot of dc's clothes

The school uniform isn't super strict so they'll definitely be allowed and younger dc's are both girls so stuff can be handed down.

It depends on the school to a certain extent, our DC went to a nice village school and the odd DC had a hand knitted cardigan in the early years, I doubt anyone said anything. I would ask yourself why do you want to do it, is it for your DC's benefit, truly ? It cannot be for cost reasons.
One place were creativity has been admired through all of primary and several different schools in our case has been scarfs, gloves, hats and baby blankets for pregnant teachers.

I've had a bit of a hunt and managed to find almost everything she needs (m&s have a skirt and summer dresses, eco outfitters have a pinafore, john lewis is the only place with burgundy jumpers in cotton but they start at 3-4) so I'll buy them and top up with home made so she has a choice.

As I said upthread, if children at your DC's school are bullying Reception children for what they wear - the school has a SERIOUS problem.
My friend's son wore purple jeans to a school disco. Some boys told him they were for girls. He told his mum. She had a word with the head who pointed out to the year that clothes are for children not boys or girls and anyone who thought differently could deal with her.
THAT'S how you sort this out. Not by avoiding your children wearing anything minutely different.

I think it is really sad that people are discouraging OP. She knows her dd and she wants to give her handmade clothes to wear at school as well as at home. I am old enough to be aware of the "home made because you couldn't afford shop bought" stigma but at my primary school only about 1% of kids wore uniform everyone else wore 70's trendy, boys shirts with collars so wide they almost take off and a few families with clearly handed down clothes. I really do not remember any bullying on the account of clothes. I'm even wondering if there is a bit of inverted snobbery here, I think that if the op's dd likes hand knitted jumpers and OP wants to make them they should be allowed to get on with it. You have my vote OP.

it's not about 'inverted snobbery' it is about knowing what children are like, (often encouraged by their parents) about other children who look different.
In an ideal world it would be fine, but we don't live in one, do we?

So where do you draw the line?
Tell children not to choose what they like for a dress up day?
Not to take a book in that they like?
Should there be a set of acceptable hairstyles? No pixie cuts for girls?
If 90% of the girls wear skirts but your DD prefers trousers, do you tell her she can't?
Should boys not do dancing or girls football because it's too unusual?
Children should be free to do and wear what they like and if other children and parents don't like it they are the ones that need to change.
If everyone avoids anything different it says that it's not OK to be different so it is fine to bully those who don't choose to be different.

Please don't do it!!!!
They will be the laughing stock of the playground and the staff room!

Please don't do it!!!!
They will be the laughing stock of the playground and the staff room!

A tad harsh.

drspouse. I couldn't have put it better myself. At least I now know there is someone on the same wavelength as me!!

This is a really sad thread.
I am a Primary School teacher and have never, ever seen bullying take place over a child wearing home made clothes or hand knits. In fact the reaction is likely to be the complete opposite. We have had children come in hand knits and their parents have been inundated with requests and orders. Children in Nursery / Reception do not really notice differences in clothes hence the need to fucking label EVERYTHING because they will never be able to even find their own.
In my (20 year) experience, this idea of 'difference' doesn't originate with the children but the attitudes that they are growing up with. Any school worth its salt will pick up on bullying very quickly.
What are we raising here anyway? A load of identical clones without the facility for independent thought? What a load of nonsense.
To the OP I would say - if you want to make your child's uniform, if it fits with the uniform policy, if your child is happy to wear it then bloody well go for it and ignore the herd.

" Any school worth its salt will pick up on bullying very quickly. "

again, in an ideal world, but sadly we don't live in one.

At one primary my children had the misfortune to attend, it was the teachers who would lead the bullying. Then when Ofsted inspected it was categorically denied that any kind of bullying even existed.

My Mum knitted my jumpers. She was a great knitter.
I still got universally picked on as a result.
When she did the same for secondary, I actually took one from lost property that had no name on and used to chuck it in with the washing and blame a friend for leaving it in my bag. That's how bad the teasing was.
It's a lovely idea and clothes for weekends with you are fine but anything where she may see other pupils is just a no no.
Sorry!

Me and my brother wore knitted cardigans (for me) and jumpers (for him). This was the 90's. We were the only ones in the entire school to not wear the logo'd jumpers.

We looked bloody adorable in the school photos

Feel free to knit them, but once she wants to wear the normal ones let him.

My gran used to make mine. I had a pinafore up until p7. The jumpers and cardis weren’t bad but I had the piss taken out of me relentlessly for the pinafores.

I am sure you’d make something nice but I’m not sure how you could be arsed and it will work out much more expensive in these days of supermarket clothing.

Your DD may be an I credibly clean and tidy, but the other children in her class most definitely will not be! They'll be waving whiteboard markers around, spilling food and drinks, splashing paint around, you get the idea! DS is very clean and tidy but came home filthy most days in reception. Then there were all the holes cut in jumpers by accident with scissors...

Plus they grow incredibly fast at that age, so I doubt it would be cost effective vs supermarket uniform. Maybe sew a nice drawstring PE bag? All of our mums used to do that when I was in primary school.

My son wears partially home made uniform (he's slim, eco outfitters slim fit isn't really slim, so i had to alter them significantly, his shorts are trousers that with the knees gone). nobody cares

My mum used to make my summer dresses when I was in primary school. That was fine: lots of other girls had home made dresses. In fact, I'm not sure you could buy them in the shops because the material wasn't the standard blue or green gingham. Quite a few mums and grandmas took commissions for making them!

However, by the time I was in Y3 I hated my scratchy home-knitted cardigan and was desperate for a machine-knitted one as most other people had. All the cool kids had M&S or BHS cardigans and the saddoes had knitted ones.

It isn’t the fault of the victim but there’s no point in making your kid a target unnecessarily.

I agree with this. I didn't have home made uniform but my mum always bought me different shoes and bags. All I wanted to do was fit in and wear what everyone else did.

As an adult I now don't give a shit what I wear and whether I fit in, but school can be brutal enough without being different.

I also didn't tell my mum I was teased about these things as I didn't want to hurt her feelings as she'd bought them, just to bear that in mind.

BigBlue, but I don't think Op's dd will be a target for bullying. They really don't care what others are wearing in reception.

my mum always bought me different shoes and bags
Oh no, call social services! Different shoes and bag! Could it possibly get any more cruel??!

The cheap nylon stuff is a lot easier to get the black pen and paints out of. Also all of the school dinners are orange and stainy. The stuff just slides off the nylon school logo jumper!

I don't think any reception kids care or notice but by Y3 your kids will have opinions. They may well love it or hate it.

At our very middle class village school those who sent kids in home knits were those trying to make a statement. Sadly true. It is not about thrift it was very much two fingers up to comformity. It's not fair to use your kids to make a statement. I say that as a generally non conforming person who has changed because the kids wanted her to.

It sounds like a great idea to make a few pieces so that she has a choice. Really sad to hear so many people believe that it would lead to bullying.
With many handmade items people would have no idea that they were handmade anyway.

At primary school we made our own smocked gingham summer school dresses. I loved my dress and was devastated when I grew out of it. Can also remember wanting to make items for secondary school, and certainly making a few skirts or trousers. Don't remember ever getting bullied for it.

Was very sad to lose a lovely school cardigan my mum made when I was about 4 or 5. Not as sad as her though, think it had a more intricate pattern which had taken her ages to make! Some children at school had been envious of it so think she believed it had been stolen.

Oh no, call social services! Different shoes and bag! Could it possibly get any more cruel??!

Were you bullied at school @drspouse? It's fine to be different if you want to be, but as a child who was already teased it was just more ammunition for them to be awful. It's ok to want to fit in.

I was as it happens.
I know what it's like.
I was bullied for things that made me different but that were not possible to change and I was also bullied for things that are not differences. E.g. OMG you've got a bra/did well in a test/did badly in a test/sit at the front/side/back/have a NAME how dare you.
You are not bullied because of who you are or what you are like. It is nothing to do with the victim and everything to do with the bully. They bully people they don't like and think up and excuse.

*an