I love sewing merino wool! It is breathable, antibacterial, moisture-wicking, and odor-resistant. Merino wool is soft and lightweight, and makes the best base layers, tops, leggings, baby clothes, hats, and more. In this post, I want to share tips, tricks, and inspiration on how to sew merino wool clothing for babies and kids. Making merino wool clothing yourself takes time and practice, but it is well worth it!
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Why Merino Wool?
Wool is a wonderful natural fiber that provides warmth while also being highly breathable. Wool is moisture-wicking and stays warm even when wet. It is an excellent choice to help regulate body temperature, which is wonderful for little babies as well as people of all ages. Wool is naturally flame retardant.
Did you know that children’s pajamas are sometimes treated with flame retardants? The impact of these chemical flame retardants on the skin is still not fully known. Any loose-fitting pajamas for children made in the United States MUST be treated with flame retardants. This is why you don’t see cotton or flannel nightgowns anymore. Choosing tight-fitting pajamas made of organic cotton or merino wool is a great way to avoid these flame retardants.
Wool is a sustainable and natural material. It comes from sheep, which makes it a renewable resource. It is biodegradable, so it reduces environmental impact by not contributing to landfills.
Supplies for Sewing Merino Wool Clothing:
A serger/overlocker machine -A serger is best for sewing knits, especially fine merino wool knits. There are ways to sew knits with a regular sewing machine, it will just take a little more research and practice to learn the right stitches and techniques. If you can’t make the leap to a serger yet, I’d recommend using a sewing machine that has good stretch stitch options such as a triple-stitch.
An Iron – You’ll need an iron for sewing. Pressing the seams in between steps helps give a very professional finish. Just be sure to keep the heat setting a little lower for wool. Most irons have a “wool” setting.
Sewing Scissors or Rotary Cutter – Scissors are great when you’re starting out. Once you become proficient, it is helpful to switch to cutting everything out with a rotary blade. I hardly ever use scissors on fabric anymore, I just freehand with a rotary blade when cutting out the pieces. Choose very sharp fabric scissors or a new blade in your rotary cutter. You don’t want a dull blade snagging on the wool fibers.
Thread – I buy all my thread from Wawak. I love them! They have great prices for the quality and insanely fast shipping times. Far better than JoAnns. Their Maxi-Lock thread is excellent for sewing with a serger, and I love their Gutermann Mara 100 for regular sewing machine thread.
Pins or Sewing clips – Be careful using pins for merino wool because it is a little more delicate than cotton. If I use pins I keep them within the seam allowance only. But sewing clips are really the best way to go!
My Favorite Sources for Merino Wool Fabric
All of the fabrics on this page are considered merino wool jersey, except one is interlock. This is knit/stretch fabric, not woven wool fabric, such as you’d see for coats or pants.
Thrifted garments are a great way to practice before moving on to nice fabric!
New Zealand Merino and Fabrics – One of my favorites over the years, I have bought many beautiful yards from here, including most of what is shown on this page.
Nature’s Fabrics – They have a small selection of merino jersey, as well as some wool interlock fabrics. I have felted and dyed their wool interlock fabrics to make cozy vests and diaper covers. They run sales from time to time.
Knit Fabric.com – occasionally, they have 100% merino wool jersey knit at a low price. Keep an eye out!
Fabric Store Online – The best of the best! I like to watch for when they offer sales on wool, because their fabric is a little pricier. But it is SO nice. I love their 200gsm merino wool.
How to Care for Merino Wool Fabric
Merino wool can be a little more delicate than cotton, but I have had it hold up very well for children with just a bit of extra love. Machine wash the merino wool on cold/delicate cycle and lay flat to dry or hang to dry. I prewash the fabrics and hang them to dry on a line before sewing. Then care for the garments the same way. However, these merino wool jersey fabrics shown do not shrink significantly, and I have accidentally dried them in the dryer, and they are okay. The dryer is not recommended as it will wear out the fabric much faster and reduce the silkiness.
Alternatively, you can hand wash your merino garments in a basin of lukewarm water, using a wool-specific detergent. Gently squeeze out the garment flat between two towels and reshape it, laying it flat on a clean towel to dry. This is how I care for my handknits. I don’t typically take this much care with sewn merino wool garments, but if you want to ensure the longest life possible for your garments than this is recommended.
With kids clothes I typically just machine wash cold/gentle and hang to dry.
Tips for Sewing Merino Wool Fabric
- Use a Serger/Overlocker Machine
When I began sewing knits 12 years ago, I knew I wanted to have that professional look right from the start, which is only achieved with a serger/overlocker machine.
It doesn’t have to be expensive. I found my serger on Craigslist for about $300. It turned out to be the best purchase I’ve ever made! I’ve never felt like I needed to upgrade, and it has made so many garments over the last 12 years! Try watching FB Marketplace for sergers/overlockers; they come up often.
I recommend a mid-range brand such as Bernina or Janome. Brother sergers are cheaper and I see many people later wanting to upgrade. Babylock are pricier and have some nice features that many people really like. I haven’t felt them to be necessary yet, I’ve been totally happy with my mid-range serger.
2. Use a sewing machine with good stretch stitches
Sewing knits with a regular sewing machine is possible as well. I recommend using a machine with good stretch stitch options, such as a triple stitch. To make this stitch, the machine goes forward and back in the same spot 3 times, adding more durability for flexing fabric. Some people use a zig-zag stitch for knits as well.
My Favorite Patterns for Sewing Merino Wool Children’s Clothing
Any pattern designed for knit fabric can be used to make merino wool clothing. If you have a serger/overlocker but not a Coverstitch machine, you will want to choose patterns that have cuffs rather than hems – cuff pants, shorts, hoodies with cuffs and a band on the bottom.
Here are just a few fun pattern ideas to sew merino wool clothing for babies and kids:
The Treasure Pocket Tee (shown at the top in gray stripes/green sleeves) – this is a fun shirt for kids because they love the pocket! You can also omit the pocket and use it as a basic raglan style shirt.
Nori Wrap Dress – This dress pattern takes a little more skill and needs a Coverstitch machine, not just a serger.
T-shirt Dress – This simple dress is so cozy in wool! I especially love it in thicker wool knits.
Free Movie Night Pajamas – Perfect for making merino wool base layers, this pajama pattern by Sew a Little Seam is free with a code found in their Facebook group. The fit of this pattern is so nice! I love these pjs on my kids ages 2-12.
Lowland Kids Patterns – Lowland Kids has many patterns which are great for wool clothing. Try their Cozy Footies, FREE Ribbed Leggings pattern, or their Nap Tee
River Wrap Romper by Sammantha Marie Design – make the coziest little one-piece out of merino wool! I love this pattern on my babies.
Fireside Beanie – This simple beanie makes such a great gift and is amazing made with merino wool
Merino Wool for Summer Clothes
Merino wool is not just for winter! It is excellent for summer as well! Lightweight and breathable, it makes the most beautiful dresses or tees. I made these dresses out of light merino wool jersey knit, 150-200 gsm fabric. The purple mountain print is 100% merino wool, and the rainbow print is about 70% merino wool and 30% nylon. Nylon combined with merino wool adds a little more stability and durability.
How sweet are these dresses?! I sewed them using the Nori Wrap Dress pattern in tunic length. They are very floaty and light – perfect for summer!
You CAN learn to sew beautiful merino wool clothing
I hope this post has given you inspiration and encouragement on how to sew merino wool clothing for babies and kids! Sewing your own clothing is so satisfying. It’s worth taking the time to learn a skill. I love encouraging mamas to put down their phones and learn something new! Don’t wait until you have all the perfect tools; grab a used machine, watch a few YouTube threading tutorials, and get started. It’s more about just jumping in and DOING IT than anything else. You will make some mistakes and ugly garments the first few times, but sooner or later, you’ll find yourself sewing beautiful clothing you are so proud of!!
Do you want to try your hand at knitting merino wool clothing as well?
Check out my post about favorite knitting patterns to make for baby boys
Or 10 Best Knitting Patterns to Make for a Baby Girl
This post was all about how to sew merino wool clothing for babies and kids.
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