Clothing for Children: Chapter 3, part 1

I am going to do a series of posts on Chapter 3 of Clothing for Children because each section deserves its own emphasis. This is perhaps the best chapter in the book. It discusses standards, layettes, diapers, various pieces of clothing, etc.

The first section of the chapter is titled Standards for Infants' Clothing, pages 103-104. Most of the information is still relevant today and designers should keep these things in mind when designing. If you have an opinion or question of how these standards apply today, please leave a comment.

1. A baby's clothes should be made of material that is soft, pliable, and absorbent. Garments worn next to the skin, especially, should not be irritating.

2. The material should be durable, easily laundered, and, whenever possible, it should not require ironing.

3. The clothing should be light in weight but sufficient to keep the body at the normal uniform temperature of 98.6 degrees. The material and garment should both be constructed to allow ventilation.

4. The design of the garments should make them easy to put on and to remove. If you plan to make the garment, the design should be one easy to make.

5. The garments should be comfortable and allow freedom of movement.

6. The clothing should be well constructed with smooth flat seams and have easy simple fastenings.

7. The design, as well as any decoration, should be simple. Trimming should not add to the bulk of the garment. Baby's clothing should be attractive, but this does not depend on elaborateness.

8. The garments should be designed to allow for growth and development of muscles.

9. The garments should be safe.

Most of the standards seem pretty straight forward and practical. You can read my blog entry on Clothing for Children, Chapter 9 for my opinions about standard #7. I am not sure how to take standard #8. Most of the designs I have seen that allow for growth (such as an extra deep hem, tucks, etc), have been ugly. Plus, by the time a child has grown, the garment is worn out. I would like to see a practical solution to allowing for growth.

From a practical stand point, #2 is true for the majority of children's clothing sales. But as your price point moves up, the more likely that your customer may be willing to buy a dry clean or hand wash item. A higher price point customer expects specialty fabrics and they are willing to buy them despite special care. Still, I think higher-end designers tend to go overboard with feather boa trimmings and sparkles. There is a happy medium somewhere.

The point of #3 is that babies need to have their temperature moderated. Not too hot or too cold. It would be easy to assume that babies need to be bundled up all of the time, but it is better to remove or add layers as needed.

Finally, the authors give some sage advice. They suggest buying minimum amounts of clothing before the baby arrives. It is hard to know the size of the baby until born, plus babies grow fast. It is wiser to invest in clothing as needed. At baby showers moms are overwhelmed by lots of clothing sized 0-3M. If you do buy clothing to give, try buying clothes sized 6-12M as that size is mostly overlooked.

Neckline Finishes Examples

A friend asked me about the typical neckline finishes on childrenswear. There is a difference in the type of finish between adult and children's clothing. Adult clothing utilizes either linings, facings, and occasionally a bias binding finish. Children's clothing eliminates most facings, unless they are top-stitched down. Facings get in the way of dressing a child and roll out frequently. Another option is to have a full, flat lining usually seen on special occasion dresses. The majority of neckline finishes on children's clothing consists of bias binding.

There are several advantages to using bias binding. It is inexpensive and relatively easy to apply - you eliminate extra pattern pieces and reduce fabric usage. A bias facing is relatively flat and smooth, which may increase comfort. A bias facing can be made of self-fabric or contrasting. It can become a design element.

Here are just a few examples:

This is a typical example. This button-front, velveteen dress has a bias facing made of the same fabric as the collar. Usually the facing is made of the same fabric as the collar, rather than the body of the garment. This is so the facing appears to blend with the collar and not show from the front. If there were no collar, the neckline would still be finished with a bias facing, but the color would match the dress instead.





This is a sweatshirt style jacket. The bias facing is made of a cotton broadcloth that matches the decorative stitching. This is a good example of how the facing can be a design element. It also disguises an otherwise unsightly seam.





A bias facing used on a knit style top that has a back zipper opening. The end of the bias is turned under near the top of the zipper. No need for a special facing pattern to deal with the zipper.






This is an example of a poorly executed use of a regular facing. The facing is much too narrow and floats up. The seam is bulky because of the ruffle sandwiched between the facing and the neck. This is a size 3-6M top and the facing and bulky neckline seam could be an irritant. The neckline seam should be serged together to reduce bulk and the facing should be top-stitched down. A bias facing would probably work better.

Clothing for Children - a book review

I just received a book I requested through inter-library loan called Clothing For Children by Henrietta Mary Thompson and Lucille E. Rea. I had seen used copies of this book on Amazon, but I wanted to peruse a copy before deciding to buy. The book is a college level textbook written from the perspective of Home Economists. It was published in 1949, and contains many attitudes and philosophies from the time.

There are many interesting things in the book, which I hope to share with you. One curious chapter (about 75 pages) is devoted entirely to planning the child's clothing budget. It compares what clothing to buy for each age level, gender, and income level. While the numbers are amusing, it is not really of much interest. Does it matter that an urban family with a yearly income of $500 spent $26 a year on clothing for the WHOLE family? Maybe it does. Some of the numbers are surprising, and perhaps low (comparing a Gen X'er to a Baby Boomer). It certainly demonstrates a completely different attitude toward money and a clothing budget. (BTW, I have no idea how to adjust 1949 dollars for inflation and time, so it would be difficult to have a meaningful discussion anyway). It is safe to say that the modern consumer thinks of clothing as a disposable item. How many modern parents buy clothes allowing for growth? Do we really have hand-me-downs anymore? How many of us throw away clothes with treatable stains or repairable tears? As land fills over flow and raw materials become more expensive, perhaps we need to return to this type of thinking.

Here is a breakdown of the chapters:

1. Clothing and the child - psychological theories mixed with lots of opinions.

2. Planning the child's clothing in relation to the family budget

3. The infant - Standards for infants' clothing, safety & health, and other interesting things.

4. The Creeping Age - Design ideas for toddlers

5. Clothing the preschool child (2-6 years) - interesting section on "made-overs" or using adult clothes to make new clothing for children.

6-7. Clothing for the grade school girl and boy

8. Texture and Design

9. Trimmings and decorative stitches

10. Care and storage

Appendix - Factory methods in home sewing, sewing equipment, and some shortcuts.

I will probably cover chapters 3-5 and the appendix. If there is anything else that looks interesting, or perhaps you would like to know more about, be sure to leave a comment.