Chapter 37 - Children’s Clothes

Children's clothes are constructed like adult's clothes, but there are certain special points it is wise to consider. Sizes are usually chosen according to chest measurement, not age. Pattern sizes range like this:

Children's sizes, 6 months to 4 years

Size                  ½         1          2          3          4          6
Hip                   20        21        22        23        24        26
Chest               19        20        21        22        23        24
Waist               19        l9½      20        20½     21        22

Girls' sizes, 5 to 13 years

Size                  7          8          10        12        14
Hip                   27        28        30        32½     35
Chest               25        26        28        30        32
Waist               22½     23        24        25        26

There must be plenty of room for freedom of movement. Simplicity is the keynote for good-looking children's clothes. Make plenty of provision for growth by taking deep hems; putting in gathers and tucks which can later be let out; and adding tucks to shoulder straps which can later act as an extension. Children of very young age should be encouraged to develop independence, by giving them openings down the front and buttonholes large enough for them to handle. Plackets should be large and easily accessible. It is a good idea to reinforce points of hard wear, such as extra stitching around arm-holes, self-patches on elbows and knees, stay pieces under pockets.

It is a good idea to make outdoor clothes very colorful so that children are visible to motorists and to mothers looking for a child who is temporarily not where he is expected to be. The best fabrics are soft, smooth cottons of firm and even weave. Durability is vital. Use flat, smooth seams and finishes in construction. No irritant should be allowed. Line any article that might possibly rub or create friction.

Babies need very fine soft materials and flat, non-irritating seams. Allow room for growth and movement. Almost all children's clothes should be washable and easily ironed. Watch for color fastness and shrinkage control. Avoid a lot of fussiness; decoration should be neat and serviceable, usually in narrow lines for best effect. Do not use deep yokes and very wide embroidery edgings. When making party clothes, consider your time, for the number of times this type of garment is worn is usually very limited. Therefore, don't finish seams as carefully, and try to use short cuts.

Don't cut down adult clothing for children without a thought. Children's clothing should be becoming and suitable. If the fabric is definitely a grown-up one, then don't use it for children. Develop proper attitudes towards becomingness, neatness and suitability of clothes in your children early in life, and the habits will stick.

A Self-help Bib for a Small Child

The simplest yet one of the most useful and indispensable items of a small child's wardrobe is a bib for use at mealtime. The process of learning to eat brings many mishaps, and clothes need to be well protected with bibs designed for the purpose. Makeshifts, such as towels or napkins tied or pinned about the neck, roll up in the way and are an actual hindrance.

A bib should fit up well about the neck, hang straight and smooth across the entire front of the dress or suit, and cover the lap. The best material is absorbent but not bulky, and like other materials recommended for little children needs to be soft and comfortable in texture. Cotton ratine and lightweight terry cloth are examples of suitable material.

A bib can be even more than a protector of clothes. If designed so that a child can put it on and take it off with little or no help it can be just as effective in teaching self-reliance as is learning to handle a spoon or cup.

The self-help design shown here is cut from a piece of cotton ratine 18 x 12 inches, making it possible to get three bibs from one-half of a yard of 36-inch material. The neck is cut deep and round so as to fit closely.

First, the sides and lower edge are bound with a strip of bias binding; then the neck is finished with another strip of bias, which extends into strings about 19 inches long at each side. After these have been stitched, each is run through an eyelet on the opposite side and a wooden bead or ring attached to each end as a pull.

As the bib is put on, the neck opening can be pulled out so that it slips easily over the head. Then as the child pulls on the beads the bib is drawn up to fit. There is no troublesome tying of strings, no bothering with bib clips.

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