Bab is a one-woman business run by me, Sarah, from my home studio in south Birmingham, UK. As a business, Bab is driven by the belief that kids’ clothes should be not only comfortable and practical, but also lovely to look at, locally made, and built to last. I use a combination of organic, second-hand, and deadstock materials, along with minimal waste cutting methods, room-to-grow features like double-length cuffs, and careful scrap repurposing, to create timeless, gender-free garments that can be worn and loved for far longer than anything you might find on the high street.

The story behind Bab begins in 2018, when my daughter was born. As a parent, I found it impossible to get hold of clothing for kids that was affordable, durable, and ethically-made, particularly in colours and styles that appealed to me. In frustration, I turned to my sewing machine, and soon found that the things I made not only met my aesthetic demands, but outperformed pretty much everything I’d bought off the shelf. Some of those original items are now on their fourth child, and still going strong. Drawing on this experience, and inspired in part by the surviving clothes from my own childhood in the 80s and 90s, each item of Bab clothing has been thoughtfully designed for comfort, praticality, and longevity. And, of course, style!

Bab clothes are colourful, combining patterned, solid, and embroidered fabrics in ways that appeal to children and their grown-ups. Each piece is made with an eye to its future as a much worn and much loved family heirloom, to be passed on from child to child, generation to generation, regardless of gender or changing fashions. I take care to avoid the palettes and styles traditionally associated with children’s clothing, particularly when it comes to gender stereotypes, and work hard to offer a range of different looks, from clean and simple colour blocking to outrageous pattern clashing to scrap-busting quilted details. I especially love working with customers to create custom one-off items and coordinating sibling/cousin/friend sets, and giving new life to fabrics that have special meaning to people, from family tablecloths to beloved old shirts. I see the clothes and accessories I make as a way of honouring each child’s individuality and right to freedom of movement and expression, while also protecting their future through a commitment to durable construction and design, low-impact and repurposed materials, the promotion of careful consumerism and garment care, and minimal waste.