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About

I started Sewing in BeTween because as a seamstress who sews for a tween girl, I was disappointed in the number of sewing blogs with information about sewing for older girls. I would see tutorials and reviews, but they would always stop at around a size 6 or maybe an 8. My point of this tutorial is three fold:

1.) I want to encourage sewers (the ones that sew, not the tunnels underground :) ) to keep sewing for their kids even as they get to the tween sizes!
2.) I want to encourage pattern designers to develop patterns for size 8-16 girls (and boys!). There is a market out there and we want to sew for our kids too. Don't let the lumps and bumps scare you. I want my tween to be as unique as she wants to be.
3.) I want to document this year of sewing for my daughter. This year, she and I are fabric shopping, pattern shopping and she is even helping to design some of her own clothes. This one is purely for the two of us, though :)

To try to achieve those three goals, I have embarked upon The Handmade School Year Challenge.

This challenge is that I will make all of her clothes this school year on the days she doesn't have to wear school appointed clothing. In our case, Fridays are spirit wear days and she will wear a school shirt and jeans. There are also other special days throughout the year that the school selects special clothing to wear like Homecoming Week, Holidays and the End of the School Year. Also, if we have school holidays at home, she won't be required to have a new outfit. 

Isn't that wasteful? No! She will have the option to keep any item that is made throughout the year. If she does not select that item, it will be donated to a local charity so it can live on! AND even if it isn't donated now, it will likely be donated once she outgrows it.

Why go to this extreme? To get attention for this cause. Every day, I will be bringing focus to new patterns, tutorials and just generally trying to encourage anyone interested in sewing for the size 8-16 age group! 

If you have any suggestions or patterns you would like to see - don't hesitate to let me know! I have 180 school days, of which most will have an outfit! I am completely open to suggestions! Let me know who your favorite pattern makers are. Or let me know what you would like to see for your tween. I am designing some on my own and I work with a number of pattern designers doing pattern tests. Let's work together and get to sewing for our tweens!

Thank you for stopping by!

4 comments:

  1. I've enjoyed seeing the many outfits you have been sewing! I think it's really special that you are doing this project with your daughter, and it's great that you are highlighting tween patterns. My oldest is 4, so hopefully by the time she is a tween there will be as many patterns for her size as there are now:)

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    1. That is my goal - to keep people sewing for their kids as they get older and to encourage tween pattern design growth! I am also looking into the possibility of working with my daughter to design some patterns for tweens in sizes 8-16 after the new year! Thank you so much for your kind words and for stopping by the blog!

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  2. I'm jumping on this train! I have a tween girl as well. I sewed a lot for her when she was little but stopped. When we hit a warm spell here in GA and went through her summer items we discovered she had outgrown 75% of her summer clothes. Uh oh! Go shopping? Nope! Start sewing? Yep! I am digging into your blog and already took a trip to Hancock to get some patterns in styles that she likes. I already have enough fabric in my stash and I also like to upcycle. Sew here we go!

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    1. You are so sweet. Thank you for your kind words. And I am so happy to hear you are getting out there and sewing for your tween. We are in Georgia, too. Hope you are enjoying this warm weather. If you post any pictures of your creations, send me a link. I would love to see them!

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