Crocheting for children is a good way to save money, and a fun way to dress them in things nobody else has.
For boys it is admittedly a narrower field – hats, scarves, sweaters and socks, mostly. For girls you can make dresses, all sorts of tops, bags and purses, belts and other accessories.
Why it is worth doing
Children’s clothes are expensive relative to how long they fit. A child grows out of a garment in months. Making it yourself means the cost is yarn rather than retail.
They are small. A child’s sweater takes a fraction of the yarn and time of an adult’s, which makes garment-making a realistic project rather than a season-long commitment. It is a good way to learn garment construction at low cost.
They wear what you make. Younger children have no self-consciousness about handmade clothes and are usually delighted by something made specially for them.
You can make exactly what they want. The particular colour, the particular character. That is not available in shops at any price.
The practical constraints
Four rules, and they matter more for children than for anyone else.
Machine washable, always. This is not negotiable. Children’s clothes are washed constantly and often hot. A hand-wash-only garment will be worn once.
Soft. Test yarn against the inside of your wrist rather than your fingers. Children will simply refuse to wear something scratchy, and they are right to.
Nothing that can come off. Embroider features rather than using safety eyes or sewn-on buttons where a small child is involved. Weave ends in thoroughly.
No cords near the neck. A hat that fits properly does not need a tie under the chin.
Sizing for growth
Make it larger than they are now. Children grow through sizes in weeks, and a garment that fits perfectly on the day you finish it has a very short career.
Extra length is more useful than extra width – sleeves and hems can be turned up and let down. A cardigan with generous sleeves lasts two winters instead of one.
What works best
Hats, mittens and scarves are the reliable wins: quick, always needed, always lost.
Blankets get carried around for years and often outlast childhood entirely.
Garments are more work and more rewarding. A simple cardigan is a good first attempt – it is forgiving of fit in a way a fitted dress is not.
And the toys
A crocheted animal made for a specific child, in colours they chose, is one of the very few handmade gifts that reliably becomes important to them.
