It seems like some of y'all were interested in a tutorial on the appliqued baby onesies, so here it is! Y'all are really going to like this because there is NO sewing involved at all (unless you want to do some of the extras I did)! This was totally unexpected on my part but I ended up buying the wrong kind of interfacing...which apparently is so sticky you can't sew on it! I was in a huge rush at an unfamiliar store I popped into on my break at work and I was trying to be fast. I thought I saw the right type of interfacing, but I got this NO-SEW kind and by the time I noticed it, I was at home with fabric cut out all around me and the iron ready to go. There was no way I was going to make another 30-45 minute drive back to Jo-Anns or Hancock for the other type of interfacing. I really like the look of the stitching around the applique, but I am very happy with the way these came out and they were so easy! Unfortunately, I made a major boo-boo in the process though and ruined them! If you are going to use the NO-SEW interfacing, make sure you wash them in very cold water (on a delicate cycle if possible) and either line dry or put in the dryer on the absolute lowest heat setting you have. I just washed and dried them as usual and they began peeling up on the sides when I took them out of the dryer. I guess the heat melted the glue, so learn from my mistake if you decide to go down this route. Although they are baby onesies, they are now decorated and need to have very special care taken. If you end up going the SEW interfacing route, I don't think you really need to worry about heat melting the glue because it is sewn down. I wouldn't wash and dry them on hot, but I also think a normal cool setting should be fine. All that introduction to get to the tutorial, sheesh! I am going to explain the baby onesies that are NO-SEW and SEW at the same time.
Materials:
- baby onesies
- bunches of pretty fabrics!!!! (really you only need scraps of fabric, so if you get it cut at the fabric store...a 1/4 yard will give a lot to work with. If you go somewhere with quilting fabrics, they have a lot of fabrics already cut into 1/4 yards which are called Fat Quarters. They run between $1-3 a piece and you will have leftovers!)
- thread in matching colors for those choosing SEW onesies
- Interfacing (it has paper on the back side because it is gluey on both sides. The NO-SEW has red directions and the SEW has purple. Ask the salesgirl where the type you are looking for is and get it cut into however much you think you might need and she will cut you some directions with it)
- Fray-Stop OPTIONAL (go to your local fabric store and ask them where it is! It is this little clear liquid that you put on the edges of the cut fabric so it doesn't fray. I think it is vitally important if you choose to make these NO-SEW. For the SEW ones, it is up to personal preference if you like the frayed look after a couple of washes)
- Rick-Rack or Ribbon OPTIONAL (I decided I wanted to do something cute on the bottom of the onesies, so I added rick-rack and grosgrain ribbons. This is totally optional and requires sewing, but I think it is super adorable)
- Wash all onesies and fabrics to ensure that they have done all shrinking and fading before making the onesies. Do NOT use fabric softener. I don't know why, I just keep reading that on the internet.
- After everything is dry and ready to go, cut out your fabric in the desired shapes. If you are an artist, you can draw them yourself. If you aren't you can find tons of templates on the internet through google searches or you can even try clip-art since all you need is the outline.
- Cut out the same shape in the interfacing.
- Put your cut out fabric and interfacing on the ironing board in this exact order: interfacing paper side down on the ironing board, fabric right side up with the wrong side touching the gluey side of the interfacing. Iron over that for like 15 seconds or until they are stuck together. I am not exactly sure what temp setting (I just used the hottest) but the directions tell you. I just ignored them and used hot without knowing if that is what I was supposed to do. It worked for me!
- Once the fabric/interfacing pieces are cool, apply Fray-stop to the edges if you so choose. Let dry for 15 minutes or so.
- After everything is dry, peel the paper off the back of the fabric/interfacing pieces and position the onesie where you like it. Iron over that for about 15 seconds or until it is stuck together. Let cool.
- Now, if you are making NO-SEW onesies, you are completely finished. Put them on the cutest baby you know and ooooh and ahhhh over them! If you are going to make SEW onesies, keep reading!
8. Get your sewing machine set up with the thread you choose. You have a few choices when it comes to deciding what stitch you want to use. The main ones I have seen done are straight and zig-zag. It's up to personal preference which you should use. I say if it is a busy fabric or design, use straight stitches.
9. Put your onesies on the machine and stitch the outline of the shape. Be careful if using zig-zag not to go over to the white onesies fabric. All stitches should be completely on whichever fabric you chose for the shape.
10. If you don't plan on doing a rick-rack or ribbon bottom, you are finished!
11. Here is my own little brainstorm that I think the cutest part of the entire onesie! It is also the most complicated, but totally worth it. The Rick-Rack bottom!
12. Cut your ribbon or rick-rack to be about 1.5 times the width of where you are going to position on the onesie bottom. I found that when you are sewing the rick-rack on this stretch cotton, it tends to stretch under your presser foot and you need to have some extra in order to make it all the way across.
13. Turn the onesie inside-out and pull out the side seam threads so the onesie is open from the waist down. Don't pull out the stitches on the leg holes though because it isn't necessary and would be a lot of work to sew back together.
14. Turn right side out again and line up your rick-rack or ribbon. I tried being meticulous and pinning it all down, but truthfully I didn't have a hard time just keeping it straight without all the mess in my way. Use your judgement on what you think you need to do to make sure they come out relatively straight.
15. Starting on one edge and sewing to the other, sew down your trim.
16. Turn onesie inside-out again. If you have a serger, serge the sides back together. I don't so I pulled out my overcast foot and picked my overcast stitch and sewed the sides together again like that. If you have a more basic machine, a straight stitch will work fine as long as you reinforce it a few times.
17. Turn right side out and admire how amazingly cute the onesies came out! Take them to your fave prego soon-to-be mommy's shower and get ready to soak up the compliments!
Here are some of the baby boy onesies I have made over the past month.
And some baby girl ones!
If you have any questions whatsoever, feel free to email me or to leave a comment with your email so I can answer your comment! I hope y'all enjoyed the tutorial!!! I actually have to get back to work on some MORE onesies for my future MIL for a baby shower in her office. Talk to y'all later!
