Sunday, October 25, 2009

Skinny Minny


I have small children. Yes, they are small as in young, but they are also small as in small when compared to other children of the same age. My son (whom I'll refer to as "Slim" in this post,) at age five is wearing 3T shirts and 4T pants - as long as they have an adjustable waist. I've got to pull that elastic in as small as it will go to get the pants to stay up on him. Remember that Peter Pan costume? I made him the size 3T with the 4T length so I knew it would fit - and even then he can still wear a pair of blue jeans underneath.

My daughter, (also known as "Legs") is not quite as skinny as her brother. She's three and wearing 3T shirts, but she's tall so she needs 4T pants - again with an adjustable waist pulled way in. Needless to say, dressing these two can be a challenge sometimes...

Lots of little girl pants these days don't come with an adjustable waist. I know I could hand sew in button holes and create an adjustable waist, but that would take oodles of time which I'd rather spend doing something else. This little fix seemed better to me. I just zig-zagged in a piece of elastic in the back of the pant to pull the waist in. Hooray! A pair of 4T non-jeans that fit her little tummy. It's like a whole new world of fashion has opened it's doors to her. Look out stretch pants - here she comes!

4 comments:

kate said...

Been there, still there!

Slim fit pants are the saving grace for an older boy. He is 9 and wears a size 8 pant. But only slim fit or a really good drawstring/elastic waist. Old Navy and the Gap both make a good slim fit pant. I try and hit them when their sales are ono that I can get a couple of pairs. Shirts aren't so bad, he's pretty much at age with those.

Allie said...

Wow what a great solution - my boys are extremely tall, but very thin, and it's a challenge! I always wore a size two but needed a 36" leg. Talk about hard to fit. Um, I don't wear a size two anymore. *cough*

Monique said...

Am hearing you Liz. I have ridiculously slim children too. They struggle to float at swimming lessons because they have no body fat to keep them afloat! The problem doesn't just lend itself to shirts and pants either. Just tried to buy my 4 year summer sandals. We went to 5 stores and could not find a pair that would fit his slender feet and ankles.

I love your elastic idea and will definitely try it the next time I need a smaller waist.

PS The slim gene is not from me. I wish!

Anna said...

Great idea. I've been wondering how I was going to try to make some pants fit my youngest daughter, she's so tiny in the waist. Love your blog!