Tutorial: Bib Onesie

I love baby onesie.  They are so practical for little babies, and they can be awfully cute as well.  A plain white onesie on a baby is plenty cute, but add a little lace, and a few well attached buttons, and it's irresistible.

This little bib onesie was made to accompany a box pleat baby skirt.  and wasn't difficult to make.

You'll need:

Baby bodysuit
Scrap of fabric ( I used a knit)
Fusible sewable web (I used wonder under)
1 yard or so of trim
18 inches of matching piping
3 small buttons
Coordinating thread

3-6 Month Bib Template for Carter's Bodysuit

First, you'll want to make a template.  This can be done by placing a piece of paper over top of the onesie, and carefully transferring the shape of the neckline to the paper.  You'll also want to feel out where the shoulder seam, and envelope neckline are, so that you can shape the bib to fit nicely under the overlapped pieces.  Decide how far down you want the bib the extend, and how wide you want it to be.  Extend the upper tabs of the bib up, to extend up beyond the shoulder fold by about an inch.  These little tabs will slide in between the neckline, and fold to the other side.

 At this point I fold my paper in half, and cut out the shape of my bib, making it symmetrical. 

Apply a layer of fusible web to the wrong side of the main bib fabric.  Cut out the bib.

Turn the bib piece over, and position four lengths of lace trim on the bib front. I left about an inch and a  quarter in the middle of the bib for button placement.  Pin the trim in place, and stitch down to the bib.

Attach piping.  To do so, you can align the raw edges of the piping with the raw edges of the bib piece.  Stitch close to the piping stitching line.  If needed, you can use a zipper foot to work around the bulk of the piping. For a more detailed look at attaching piping, visit my piped pocket infant skirt tutorial.

Turn the raw edge of the bib/piping under so that it is hidden beneath the bib.  Position the bib on the onesie, and using a hot iron, adhere to the bodysuit.

You will tuck the tabs inside the envelope neckline, and press.  While you're at it, trim that obnoxious thread on the trim of the bib. Stitch along the piping/bib seam, the neck tabs, and around the neckline, to secure the bib to the shirt.  I recommend using a ballpoint needle to do this.

Once your bib is securely attached, position your three buttons, and using a needle and thread, or your sewing machine, attach the buttons to the onesie. You're done. (Learn how to attach buttons with your sewing machine).

Next, add an adorable box pleat baby skirt to go with it.  

Baby Hat and Pants from a T-shirt

I spent last week tackling my upcycle clothing pile, which was getting too big.

I selected about eight pieces of clothing that needed to be turned into something new, and worked my magic.  One of those articles of clothing was a gray turtleneck that was never worn, but was in great condition.  It became a new pair of baby pants, which happen to be one of my favorite little things for baby boys, and an adorable top knot hat with a Mom Tattoo Applique (another of my favorite things).

For the hat, I printed off Prudent Baby's Top Knot Hat Pattern.  I aligned the original hem of the turtle neck, with the hem line on the pattern.  Cut out the hat, leaving the side seams of the turtle neck intact for the baby pants.

I followed her instructions, minus the cuff on the hat, and the hat was finished in no time flat.  Then, just to dress it up a bit, I added a small  Mom Heart Tattoo Applique.  I love it so much more than I ever did the turtle neck.

 As I mentioned, I preserved the side seams of the shirt, and cut out my infant pants using the existing hem as well.  I added a faux fly, crotch and leg seams, and the casing, and these were done in minutes also.  So easy.  I'm thinking that I need to make at least one more pair of these.  Do you want a tutorial?

Then, just for good measure, I whipped up a Mom Tattoo appliqued body suit to complete the look.

You can find my PDF file applique template here.

Thanks for reading, and I have more upcycled goodness to come.  It was a productive week.