EDUCATIONAL FASHION DESIGN ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

Your children wear clothes from the day they are born, so it’s important to discuss fashion with them as soon as they are developmentally ready. Here are some simple, educational ways in which you can start incorporating fashion into your child’s daily lives:

***Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, and if you decide to purchase anything from suggested links or companies, I may receive a commission. Recommended products are either things I love using or think would be helpful for you. Making your purchase using these affiliate links helps keep this site running, so thank you kindly!

• Start by allowing your child to pick their own clothes by offering them two options to chose from. This way, you won’t have to fight over clothes and it encourages their independence as well.
• Include kids in the process of buying clothes. It helps them develop their style and be themselves.
• Teach them how to take care of their clothes. Show them how to load the washing machine, how to hang washed laundry and how to fold and put away dry clothes. We use the KonMari method for folding and organizing clothes in drawers according to colors.
• Play dress-up games. Children love scarves. Challenge them to make outfits using one. If you don’t have one, you’ll fancy these Djeco Silk Painting Playsets. They come with real silk scarves which you paint. The outlines are designed to keep the paint inside the lines. 

1. Djeco Silk Painting- Japanese Playset
2. Djeco Silk Painting – Butterflies Playset
3. Djeco Silk Painting- Peacock Playset

• Have your child paint or draw on shoes, scarves or clothes they can wear. Alternatively, this company can print your child’s artwork onto clothes.

T-SHIRT ART DESIGN ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS

• Put cardboard inside a white T-shirt as pictured. This way color will not bleed through to the back.
• If your child wants to paint/draw on the back as well, make sure they wait for the pigments to dry before turning everything over.
• Use any non-toxic paint or markers you already have – you don’t need to buy anything specific, but whatever you have must be permanent – otherwise it will wash off. If your child is using pigments that are not safe, I suggest they wear child size gloves.
• If you are looking for fabric markers and paints, then here are some child-safe products which inspire us:

1. Fabric Markers 12 Pack
2. Fabric Markers 20 Pack
3. Fabric Markers 24 Pack

1. Party Dimensional Fabric Paint 20 Pack
2. Scribbles 3D Fabric Paint 20 Pack
3. Fabric Paint 3D for Glass, Canvas, Fabrics, Wood, etc. 24 Pack

• I suggest using a new T-shirt intended for this activity (not one that your child already owns). I gave Adèle one of my white tees because the paint could not be washed off and I also wanted to wear her creation. (Had she painted on her own clothes, there would have been big emotions related to impermanence which I wanted to avoid.) She was happy to see me wear her art, so that was an extra bonus.Here is a long-sleeve shirt that Adèle designed for her grandma. For this one she used the Fabric Markers 12 Pack.

Has your preschooler tried drawing or painting on clothes or shoes? If so, remember to tag me on Instagram as @Rainy.Day.Sunny.Play and use the #Rainy.Day.Sunny.Play hashtag. We love seeing your creations!