How to Design and Sew a Baby Capsule Wardrobe 

Babies need SO many things! Simplifying their clothing options with a capsule wardrobe is one way to help new parents stay sane in those early weeks. A newborn capsule is a sweet gift for expecting parents or a super satisfying project during your own pregnancy. 

But the journey of designing and sewing a full capsule wardrobe can feel overwhelming. Where do you start? What patterns and fabrics should you choose? What about a color scheme? 

We’re here to help. 

First Step: Patterns 

The first decisions you’ll want to make will be around the patterns you’ll use. There are so many different types and combinations of patterns out there, especially for babies, and it can be easy to feel paralyzed by choice. Here are our favorite types of clothing for newborns and a few suggestions of patterns, quantities and combinations. 

Bottoms: footie pants and leggings or sweatpants

Footie pants are great for babies because you don’t have to worry about losing socks. We also love separates for newborns to allow plenty of breathing room around the belly for the umbilical stump. 

• Vagabond Stitch baby footie pants (free)
• Brindille & Twig cuff pants 
• Made by Rae baby leggings (free)

Tops: Wrap tops and bodysuits with foldover cuffs

The wrap style is essential for newborns and small babies, especially when diaper changes get messy. Most (all?) babies hate having something pulled over their head, and it’s much easier to snap clothes on and off when dressing a floppy, sleepy squish. And those foldover cuffs! Newborn fingernails are shockingly sharp and foldover cuffs are key to prevent them from scratching themselves (or you). 

• Brindille & Twig wrap bodysuit and shirt
• Peekaboo Pattern Shop kimono kid
• Purl soho newborn wrap top (free - designed for woven fabrics)

Gowns 

Newborn babies do three things: eat, sleep, and poop. Gowns are perfect at this age because they keep them cozy to sleep and make diaper changes easy. Foldover cuffs here, too!

• Jaykaiy Designs knotted henley gown 
• Peekaboo Pattern Shop lullaby line knotted gown

Coveralls & footie PJs 

Dressing baby in a single garment simplifies getting dressed (and all new parents crave simplicity). Coveralls with easy diaper access and cozy footie pjs with a two-way zip are gamechangers in the early weeks of parenting. 

• Brindille & Twig essential coverall 
• Brindille & Twig footie coverall 
• Lowland Kids Raglan Romper

Hats, mittens, booties & bows 

As a new mom, I was surprised how important hats are for newborns. The more hats the better! Mittens are another useful accessory, along with booties, that help keep babies warm and scratch-free. Bows are just cute, what can I say. 

• Brindille & Twig banded beanie 
• Little Earthlings pixie hat
• Patterns by Luba knot bow headband (free tutorial)
• Peekaboo Pattern Shop lullaby line hats and mitts

Bringing it all Together

Here’s how I might start planning out a basic newborn capsule. 3 hats in different colors and/or styles; a wrap top and two bodysuits; 1 gown; 1 coverall and 1 pair of footie pj’s, two pairs of footie pants and a pair of cuffed pants. 

Patterns shown, from top left: 

• Brindille & Twig band beanie (x3) 
• Brindille & Twig wrap top and bodysuit (3 versions) 
• Knotted baby gown by Jaykaiy Designs 
• Brindille & Twig Essential Coverall 
• Brindille & Twig Footie Coverall
• Vagabond Stitch baby footed pants (x2) 
• Brindille & Twig Cuff Pants

Second Step: Fabrics & Colors 

A great way to start your color palette is by picking a print or two you love that will serve as the center points of the capsule. Choose your mains from that print (and your coordinates as well if your print has more than 2 colors). 

Finding fabrics that coordinate can sound like the hardest part - so I’m going to offer you a formula that hasn’t failed me yet: choose 2 main colors (1 light and 1 dark) with 2 accents (1 light and 1 dark). 

Here are some examples based on our Winter 2020 collection of fabrics:

Taking our See You at Six Clouds print as inspiration, the Mineral jersey is the “light main” color; Ponderosa french terry is the “dark main”; Apricot Brandy jersey is the “dark accent” and off-white rib is the “light accent”. 

Using the same method with Elvelyckan Designs rocky print jersey, the Mineral jersey is once again the “light main” color; Cloud9 fabrics interlock stripes is the “dark main”; Birch Fabrics dusk rib knit is the “dark accent” and off-white rib is the “light accent”. 

Here’s how some of these combinations could work with the patterns we chose above:

Third Step: Quantities  

Now that you know what fabrics and colors you want to sew with, how much do you need for a capsule? When I started sewing for my kids, I was shocked by how little material I actually needed to sew a pair of pants or a sweatshirt. These little pattern pieces are truly small! 

My favorite cut of fabric for these capsules is a fat half. This is a yard of fabric cut in half along the width of the fabric, so you get the length of a full yard but only half the total amount of fabric. This gives you enough to make bodysuits and footed coveralls, which usually need the 20-36” in length but much less in width. And you can get at least two pairs of pants and simple tops from a fat half. 

We recommend 6 fat halves (three prints or stripes and three coordinating solids) and at least 2 coordinates. 

For coordinating fabrics, ¼ yard or a fat quarter will get you pretty far in cuffs, neckbands and binding. Our capsule bundles have been planned out with just the right types and amount of fabrics for these capsules - all the above examples could be made with a Half Capsule in the Explore or Garden sets. 

Fourth Step: Sew! 

Now you’ve gathered all your patterns, chosen your fabrics, picked sizes and cut everything out - it’s time to sew! Tips for sewing knits and completing steps is a whole topic of its own (here are a few tips in our post on sewing baby pants), but feel free to reach out if you have any questions!