Sewing back to school clothes for your children and grandchildren can be a fun and rewarding experience.  Even inexperienced sewers can make simple tops and bottoms.

Modern children’s styles range from playful to stylish. Involve the child in choosing a look they like.  For smaller children, who may have difficulty making a choice from several options, keep the choices simple.  Pick just a few patterns that you like and have the child choose from them.

Older children will love browsing through a sewing pattern catalog.  Make sure you set up some guidelines on what will be appropriate for school.

Older kids may also enjoy helping you sew the garments.  Have the child help you lay out the pattern. Show them how to follow the pattern lay out and have them help you place the pattern pieces and pin them.

A child age ten or up may also be ready to learn how to sew seams on the sewing machine.  Let him or her watch how you operate the machine and keep your fingers safely away from the needle.   Then let the child practice sewing several seams. Give them some fabric scraps to practice on first and make sure you carefully supervise the process to avoid injury from the needle.

Many good books are now available on teaching children to sew.  Some patterns from Simplicity are also aimed at young sewers.

Cotton prints and solids are great for year-around children’s wear.  Denim is great for both cold and warm weather, while fleece and corduroy are great for chilly days.