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Underwear, panties for Sensory issues in child.

15K views 20 replies 21 participants last post by  zacharysmom  
#1 ·
Dd (3.5) has some sensory issues (as do I) and I can't find underwear that don't bother her. I've tried the Hanes tagless ones but the lacey stuff at the waistband itches her and the crotch seam is raised on the inside. In fact, I find the raised crotch seam on almost ALL panties I have bought for her. WTF? What genius decided that the bumpy seams should be on the inside right on the most sensitive spot on the body? To remedy this short term, she wears 90% of her panties inside out, but there has got to be some that will work.

I saw Hanna Andersson's unders have flatlock seams but at 2 for $28, I just can't afford them.

On a sidenote, I can sew some basic stuff so perhaps someone knows of an EASY pattern for panties.
 
#2 ·
Have you tried making your own pattern? You can try starting from a pair that she likes the fit of (other than the bad seams part). If you don't want to trace them out, just sacrifice a pair and make that the pattern! Consider where you want to put the seams and how you want to do them. At the seams, you can overlap the two pieces flat together (the right side of one to the wrong side of the other) and just sew a couple of straight (or zigzag) seams through both layers, if you don't have a serger with a flatlock stitch.

Consider the fabric, it will have to be super comfy stretchy. They have stretchy cotton in the swinwear section of fabric stores. Alternatively you may want to order specialty stuff online.

Consider the elastic, too. You might have to find a specialty fabric store or order it online. They have plain, soft foldover elastic (FOE) if you think it won't bother her, or you could simply use a casing to keep that elastic covered.
 
#3 ·
Here is a thread on pantie patterns http://www.mothering.com/discussions...php?p=15055648

Also my dd prefers her gerber trainers to her "big girl panties" because they dont have those seams and dont have elastic that digs into her legs or waist. Im not sure though if the padded crotch would bother your lo.
 
#7 ·
I didn't make my daughter wear underwear until she was ready/okay with it - at about 4. Any earlier and it was either too uncomfortable (similar complaints to what you describe) or it resulted in her having a pee accident from thinking she was wearing a diaper (she PT at 3.5 yo).

I still let her have the option. These days she almost always chooses to wear the undies. But the pants will get washed after one day's use anyway, so I don't see the real need for undies if she doesn't want to wear them.

I also let her be naked at home as often as she wants, which is usually at least a few hours a day. I also see no reason to make her wear clothes when we're home since they tend to get on her nerves after being in them most of the day.

That seems to be a somewhat radical solution based on the PPs' replies, but it's just what made sense to me and worked for us collectively.
 
#8 ·
yeah my now 5 year old refused to wear underwear for about a year until we found hanna unders. they ARE super pricey but i saved for a few months and bought at the annual sale around Dec 15th. She's worn them for 2 years now and still has room to grow and will pass them on to her baby sister. Those seams in the crotch were her issue too and I always used to hear how they were in her butt. So she just didn't wear undies for a long time. We adopted the rule that she had to wear leggings under her dresses or jeans or capri's and that was fine and worked for us.
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#13 ·
Janelle doesn't have sensory issues (well, in this area) but she has latex issues, not a true allergy but just minor rashes most likely a cross sensitivity left over from when she was allergic to bananas as a baby... Anyway, fruit of the loom has underwear with no exposed elastics, it's just a soft cotton waist band, no lacey stuff, nothing.
 
#15 ·
I don't have nay good advice, but I had to say my daughter is exactly the same way. it's drives us both batty! I sympathize (I'm super picky too) but wow is it hard to find anything she likes!
 
#17 ·
this is a great thread. We have recently given up on making dd1 wear underwear because she used to hide in her room while getting dressed in order to avoid putting it on. Maybe we'll try some of the suggestions here or the boxer briefs. For now we're okay with letting her go without (so long as she's not wearing a sundress or skirt, lol!)