Pattern Making for Kids' Clothes by Carla Hegeman Crim

Barron’s 2014

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I bought this publication on pattern making as I was looking for a book about fashion design for kids. The book promises information about designing, adapting and customising patterns. In this particular case, the term designing means creating various designs based on basic slopers for kids’ wear provided by the author.

QR code with printable patterns

There are QR codes for different outfits inside that provide downloadable pattern templates. You definitely need them to be able to work with this book. When I bought it, the QR code led to a non-existing site, so I contacted the publisher via email and after a few days the link started to work again.

Use the QR codes inside to book to download the printable pdf patterns.

Great for beginners in sewing

Before buying this book I had sewn only a little, however, it was still enough to follow the tutorials included in this publication. It is well-written and easy to understand and the modifications recommended are easy to follow. As I did not want to construct the patterns for my kids from body measurements, the printable templates proved a very good starting point. All I needed was a home printer and glue to put together the individual pages of the patterns. I have sewn girls’ dresses using the patterns from the book. One with a heart applique and one with small flower appliques.

Girls' dress with flower applique - stitch and slash fabric manipulation technique creating a faux chenille effect.

Girls' dress with a heart applique - stitch and slash fabric manipulation technique creating a faux chenille effect.

The patterns in the PDF files are not labelled with sizes. Since there are practically no labels along with the patterns, it is necessary to use the guide you find at the very beginning of the book that enables you to work with the patterns. So far, I have sewn several dresses based on patterns from the book and I am pleased with the results. Of equal importance, however, is that my children are happy too.

I recommend this book to anyone with basic skills in sewing for kids or adults and also has essential knowledge regarding finishing interior seams, hems or attaching facings. It is of help even for more advanced dressmakers who can do different pattern modifications. The downloadable patterns add great value to this publication.