Capsules for my kids are always so much easier than coming up with capsules for myself! My daughter likes her wardrobe to be bright and bold, and typically doesn’t match at all, so hers are super easy, hahaha!! My son is much pickier; he is heading to a new school with a uniform this coming fall, and really doesn’t need any new “play clothes”, but I will show you two that I made him previously!
My daughter has a school uniform right now, but they have one day a week for free dress, AND she does a full wardrobe change after school every day before she hits the playground with her little neighborhood squad. Your capsule needs will vary depending on the child you’re sewing for – likes and dislikes, sensitivities, preferences, favorite colors, etc. Since my daughter always wants to wear dresses, I kept it very simple! I just used Bonny for all four pairs of shorts, and made five different dress styles! Of course, if you want more variety for bottoms, we also have Lucy, Skylar, Mila, many rompers that can be hacked as separates, Lexi & Lou, and more!
For dresses, I made her: Blythe, Eloise, Nevaeh, Adeline, and a modified Mya tunic. I didn’t have *quite* enough unicorn fabric length to cut on the tunic line, so I cut it right around top length, and then just cut a rectangle, gathered it, and attached. Super easy way to get closer to your desired length! She still would have preferred a true dress I think, but the ruffles are enough to give her the feeling of a dress. 🙂
We are getting ready for another big move this summer, and I’m excited that she can toss these nine pieces in her suitcase and be just about set for a whole week! I’ll add a few more solid Bonny shorts and dresses, plus a layering piece and a pair of long pants, and she’ll be all set to travel! She likes to pick out her own outfits and get herself dressed, so this makes it nice and easy for her to do.
I’ve made her other capsules before, too! I made this one for a fall/winter capsule when we lived in North Carolina. I loved the colors in this one! This particular one had more than nine pieces – I did six tops, six bottoms, and three layering pieces. I made a short sleeve Nina (gray w/ sequins), a sleeveless Holly (teal floral), a short sleeve Holly (pink bodice w/ cream floral), Tara (cream), a 3/4 sleeve Nina (burgundy floral), and a modified Joy (white w/ burgundy floral/leaves). For bottoms, I included a tutu, Olivia bloomers, a three pairs of Bonny leggings. Finally, I added a sweater knit Isabel, an infinity scarf (not practical – only wear with supervision and for photo ops!!!), and a free Faux Fur Vest.
She was a little under 2 at the time, so I definitely didn’t make her model all the outfits, haha! I went through my old pictures and found a few “in the wild” photos that show some of the pieces, though:
I also made her a spring/summer one! I used Bonny (pink and striped leggings) and Olivia (navy and gray bloomers) for the bottoms, and a modified Joys for the cream floral, teal birds, and mint floral ( I shorted the bodice a bit and added gathers instead of pleats). For the other three pieces I was just winging it, but you could use April for the navy floral, Mya for the butterfly tank, and Jamie for the cardigan.
She was about 18 months here, so same thing – we didn’t model all the combinations, but I have snapshots of some of them from every day life:
My son is pretty particular about his clothing, so the capsules I’ve made for him have a lot of repeats! This particular capsule featured Rowan Raglan, P4P’s Little Loungers in knit, and a modified free Faux Fur Vest. We made one one of the Rowans short sleeved, so he could layer it over the other long sleeve raglans. If I were to create this same type of capsule today, I would also include Dylan, Lexi + Lou, Skylar, and the Lee Raglan. He also doesn’t mind wearing zippers now, so I could make him a Go-To Jacket as well.
Here are a few snapshots of some of his pieces out in the real world:
This capsule was a spring capsule when my daughter was about 2 1/2. For this capsule, I used Catherine, Nina, Kourtney, and Joy for tops (dresses), Olivia (one knit and one woven), Bonny, and a pair of Lexi & Lou shorts for bottoms, and finally, a Darcey cardigan for layering. She didn’t really have a preference for shirts vs dresses at this age I don’t think, but dresses = longevity because kids grow so quickly!! Of course, do consider the child that you’re sewing for! If they don’t like dresses, I wouldn’t sew up dresses of course!
We definitely got lots of use out of this capsule, and added a few more pieces to it as well:
Finally, here’s the most recent spring capsule I made for my son. I loved this one so much! He gots TONS of wear out of these pieces. I made Dylan with the side panel removed, Dylan WITH the side panel, Rowan, a Rowan hoodie, and Lexi & Lou long shorts. If I were to make this today, I’d change up the tops and add a Logan hoodie and a short sleeve Rory.
Katy also always has great pieces for her best guy, too, and I LOVE the capsule she made for him in 2017. I can’t wait to see what she’s worked on this year! Check out the details over on her blog.
We have been loving all of your capsules so, so much! We can’t wait to see the finished products this coming week. Don’t forget to share your makes on FB/insta and use the #sewminicapsule hashtag so we can find you!
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