Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carters and the other lines that do mostly polyester blends pill the worst. Try to look for 100% cotton. I've found Gap and Old Navy to hold up pretty well, and Cat and Jack has always been good too, though some of the other Target brands look worn quickly. I definitely don't bother air drying all of my one year old's clothes, but absolutely separate the velcro stuff.

What are you buying from Carters that is poly blend? All of our Carters stuff is cotton knit, and I don't see it wear much differently from Gap, Boden, and Tea cotton knits. The only brand I find nearly impervious to wear is Hanna Andersson, but ultimately for toddlers in daycare I didn't find the cost difference to be worth it. Once it starts to look worn they're growing out of it anyway, and it's still in good enough condition to hand down to a sibling or friend.

Old Navy has a ton of poly in it these days, and Gap is starting to sneak it in too! Carter's has some polyester/blend stuff but it is still east to find 100% cotton items. I've yet to find anything 100% cotton from Cat and Jack. I'm a little obsessive because nothing aggravates my daughter's eczema like polyester!

We have a collection of used and new Hanna Andersson. The used items are found on eBay/Swap/Thredup, while we buy the new pieces when HA has big sales (summer and Black Friday). They wear better than any of the Carter's/Gap/Target items we own.

PP here. I put everything in the dryer except cloth diapers. No one has time for drying.

I love Baby Gap, J Crew Crewcuts (I have used the pants for almost six months each with two different kids), Baby Boden, Hanna Anderson and Janie and Jack. I wear a lot of Carter's, but the pants are too short for my tall kids.

Anonymous wrote:I'm amazed with all of the people who have the time and space to hang dry all of their kids' clothing.

+1
Baby clothing, no less. That's like 100 items per load.

Probably 80% of my 7-month-old's clothes are from Carter's, and I haven't had issues with fraying or fading. And I machine dry everything. We do have a lot of clothes in rotation thanks to grandmas, though, so they're not worn a whole lot before she outgrows them.

Anonymous wrote:Who has time to line dry clothes? My kids wear Old Navy and Gap. I wash that stuff on Normal/Warm (2 rinses), and dry it on hot, lol. Not a pill in sight. I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old -- I'm always washing. I always buy 100% cotton stuff -- are your clothes part polyester?

Me too! Warm wash and medium dry. I want to zap those daycare germs! Plus we have shared laundry in our building, so I don't want to have to pay another buck if the clothes are still slightly damp after a "low dry."

Some of our Carter's hand me downs are slightly pilled, but they've probably been washed hundreds of times.

My favorite (and most used) item of baby clothes is a pair of reversible sweatpants from Baby Gap. So much washing and they still look great!

Anonymous wrote:Hanna Andersson - yes, it's not cheap, but there's also an outlet in Williamsburg. I like that our handmedowns are now on their third family - so almost ten years of usage. Can't say that for Target or Carters.

Is the outlet the same quality as the stores or a cheaper outlet brand?

Hanna and Boden on ebay

Hanna Andersson - yes, it's not cheap, but there's also an outlet in Williamsburg. I like that our handmedowns are now on their third family - so almost ten years of usage. Can't say that for Target or Carters.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carters and the other lines that do mostly polyester blends pill the worst. Try to look for 100% cotton. I've found Gap and Old Navy to hold up pretty well, and Cat and Jack has always been good too, though some of the other Target brands look worn quickly. I definitely don't bother air drying all of my one year old's clothes, but absolutely separate the velcro stuff.

What are you buying from Carters that is poly blend? All of our Carters stuff is cotton knit, and I don't see it wear much differently from Gap, Boden, and Tea cotton knits. The only brand I find nearly impervious to wear is Hanna Andersson, but ultimately for toddlers in daycare I didn't find the cost difference to be worth it. Once it starts to look worn they're growing out of it anyway, and it's still in good enough condition to hand down to a sibling or friend.

I was going to say Hanna Anderson too, but it is really expensive.
I don't usually notice the pilling/fading/stretching of clothes week to week, but then I go to get it out for the next kid or to give to a friend, and I notice that only about 20% of the clothes look good enough to pass on. The only brand I don't have an issue with at all is Hanna Anderson. My 4 year old probably wore those dresses 20-30 times last spring/summer/fall, and when I pulled them out again this spring to wear with leggings, they still look great. The stuff from carters is trashed.

Anonymous wrote:I'm amazed with all of the people who have the time and space to hang dry all of their kids' clothing.

Yeah, I throw everything in the dryer. I don't have time to let stuff hand dry when I'm down to one outfit that doesn't have poop or spit up on it! And my stuff from Carters have held up well. He outgrows it before it falls apart. I've noticed that Gerber clothing seems much cheaper and does have loose threads, etc.

Anonymous wrote:Carters and the other lines that do mostly polyester blends pill the worst. Try to look for 100% cotton. I've found Gap and Old Navy to hold up pretty well, and Cat and Jack has always been good too, though some of the other Target brands look worn quickly. I definitely don't bother air drying all of my one year old's clothes, but absolutely separate the velcro stuff.

What are you buying from Carters that is poly blend? All of our Carters stuff is cotton knit, and I don't see it wear much differently from Gap, Boden, and Tea cotton knits. The only brand I find nearly impervious to wear is Hanna Andersson, but ultimately for toddlers in daycare I didn't find the cost difference to be worth it. Once it starts to look worn they're growing out of it anyway, and it's still in good enough condition to hand down to a sibling or friend.

My kids have all kinds of clothes - Carter's and Old Navy and much fancier brands too. The cheaper clothes actually wash better IMO. Never use anything special to wash.

Who has time to line dry clothes? My kids wear Old Navy and Gap. I wash that stuff on Normal/Warm (2 rinses), and dry it on hot, lol. Not a pill in sight. I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old -- I'm always washing. I always buy 100% cotton stuff -- are your clothes part polyester?