I'm back with a tutorial! It's about time, right? Well, a couple months back I was contacted by an old friend who asked if I could do a custom order for her brother and his wife who are expecting boy and girl twins. Of course I said sure and this is the little set I came up with for the soon-to-be parents. I thought you all might enjoy making this set or just one of the onesies - it seems like there are lots of babies expected over the next six months around here!
Click HERE to print the applique pattern pieces.
Supplies:
Two onesies
Two coordinating fabrics
Fusible interfacing (such as steam-a-seam lite or wonder-under)
Several yards of coordinating ribbon (for ruffle booty on girl onesie)
Ric-Rac
Thread
Embroidery thread (optional)
Wonder-Tape (optional)
Tie and Ruffle Top pattern pieces (click HERE to print)
Directions:
Select your two coordinating fabrics. I chose these two from Sandi Henderson's "Meadowsweet 2" line. I thought these were perfect for spring and so cute for little babes.
You will need some fusible interfacing for this project. Use whatever brand you like, but make sure you choose the lightest version available.
Place your pattern pieces on one side of the fusible interfacing to gauge how much to use.
Peel back one side of your fusible interfacing and iron it to the wrong-side of the fabric (meaning the side that is intended to be the back).
Lay your pattern pieces on top of the fusible interfacing and trace your pattern. I like to use washers from the hardware store to weight down all my patterns.
Do the same process with the pattern piece for the girl onesie. You can make this pattern piece much larger if you are making this shirt for an older child. I just didn't want the ruffle top to overwhelm a 3-6 month old baby.
Iron bib pattern piece in place on girl onesie.
Cut your fabric for the ruffle out of coordinating fabric. I cut my ruffle 2.5" wide x 18" long. If you decide to alter the bib pattern piece and make it larger (say for a 2, 3, and 4 year old), cut your ruffle 2-2.5 times as long as the outside of the bib.
Fold the ruffle piece in half with the wrong-sides together and sew both ends.
Once both ends are sewn, clip the corners to remove bulk and turn the ruffle piece right-side out. Press ruffle piece in half.
Next, run a gathering stitch down the ruffle piece on the raw edge of the fabric. Make your stitch length as long as possible (mine is 5.0) and stitch all the way down the ruffle. Do not back-stitch or the ruffle will not gather.
Gather your ruffle by pulling on the bobbin thread. Once gathered, pin your ruffle in place around the bib. You could certainly serge or run a tight zig-zag stitch along the edge of the ruffle to clean it up a bit.
Stitch ruffle in place. I really should have started on the other side, but oh well. It takes some work getting your onesie all situated under your presser foot, but just work with it and you'll get it.
Next grab your ric-rac. Cut enough to cover the edge of the ruffle - about 9". Peel off one side of the paper backing on your Wonder-Tape and apply to the back of the ric-rac. Wonder-Tape is probably one of my most favorite sewing products EVER. I won't go into it too much, but basically it is a double-sided tape that disappears in the wash. It doesn't gum up your needle and makes holding trim in place a breeze. It is found in the notions section of your sewing store. If you don't have this, you can certainly use pins, but trust me, this will make your life much easier!
I used Wonder-Tape for my "Little Love Bug" outfit for the Project Run and Play Valentine's day challenge. It held my ric-rac in place nicely down the center of the jumper.
Peel off the other side of the Wonder-Tape and place ric-rac over the raw edge of the ruffle. Make sure to tuck under both ends of the ric-rac.
Stitch ric-rac in place with coordinating thread.
If you plan to add the ruffles to the booty of the girl onesie, measure the back of the onesie and cut your ribbon 2-2.5 times as wide as the booty. Turn the ends under and stitch in place.
Run a gathering stitch down the center of each piece of ribbon (as described when making the bib ruffle). Gather by pulling on the bobbin thread.
Pin in place and stitch down the center of each ribbon. Make sure to back-stitch well that the beginning and end of each ribbon.
For the tie onesie, you want to zig-zag stitch around the entire outside of the tie to prevent any fraying. Test out your stitch on another piece of fabric to check for the size of the zig-zag that you prefer. I like to use embroidery thread for my main thread on applique. I find it lays nicer and has a little bit of sheen that looks really good.
Stitch around the entire top piece including across the center of the tie to give the applique more definition.
If you have any trouble with your zig-zag stitches not laying flat, check your tension and reduce. Additionally, I have to stitch fairly slowly on my machine in order to have uniform stitching when doing applique.
Add zig-zag stitching across the top of the bib on the girl onesie as well. This will prevent any additional fraying and will secure it in place nicely.
I added a set of three burp cloths to this gift set. These are simply rectangles of fabric that are backed with white minky dot fabric and are serged on the edge with coordinating blue thread.
Add your labels to the gift set to finish each piece. If you don't have some, I highly recommend purchasing some - see post HERE where to purchase. Wrap up your gift set and you are all set for the arrival of boy and girl twins!
Cottage Mama's Note: You can use any onesies you like - look for them at Walmart, Carter's, Target, ect........any one will do.
If you end up making either of these onesies (or any projects from tutorials on the blog), I would love if you would add them to The Cottage Home Flickr Group:
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