Vintage Tea Dyed Onesies

I originally shared this post at Mother's Niche but just in case you missed it, here it is for you too.  Here's how to made these darling, vintage, tea dyed onesies.  They are classic, simple to make and are perfect gifts for a newborn.  

You'll need some white onesies to get started.  I used a variety of onesies that were my grandsons.  Follow the instructions below to doll up those boring onesies. 

The first step is to tea dye the onesies which is a good way to hide any stains which a previous baby left if you're using a refashioned onesie: 
See photo 1 - Place black tea packets into boiling water.  Let the water turn dark brown.  Drop the onesie into the boiling water and gently stir with a wooden spoon. (I used 6 packets to dye 4 onesies.)
See photo 2 - Rinse onesie in really cold water for about 15 - 20 minutes.  Next, throw in your drier to heat set the dye.

The next step is to decorate the tea dyed onesies with lace and buttons.  I wanted my daughter to help with this, so before I left for my flight to her home, I gathered a few supplies like lace trim, left over lace remnants and buttons and tucked them into my suitcase. So, gather your supplies and get creative as you decorate your onesies.  

To form the lace skirt, cut the lace into a rectangle.  Along the bottom edge of the lace, add trim - see photo 3.  Now place a gathering stitch along the top edge and pin the lace in place onto the onesie.  Along the top of the lace skirt, pin on lace trim, making sure you tuck the unfinished edges against the onesie. Zig zag those layers onto the onesie.  If you want some bum ruffles, this is a good time to make those - see photo 4.

If you like the look of the random buttons, pull out a variety of buttons - this is a great way to use all those spare buttons you've collected, or even the extra buttons that are attached to newly purchased clothing. Now with a washable fabric marker, place dots evenly about 1/3" above the top of the lace.  These dots are your placement marks to sew the buttons on evenly.  Now, thread two strands of thread through a needle and fold that thread in half so you only have to sew through the button, twice per hole. Securely sew your buttons in place.

That's it! Your vintage tea dyed onesie is good to go!

 xoxo Grandma 

NEEDED FOR THIS PROJECT:

                                                                                                                          
Linked to: Lou Lou Girls , Nap-time Creations , Project Run and Play, Creating my Way to Success

Baby Clothes Refashioned into Doll Clothes

Just in case you didn't see this post that I created for Mother's Niche on turning baby clothes into doll clothes, today I'm going to show you how to easy this is to do.  These two outfits designed for American Girl Dolls are super easy projects for beginner sewers.   

To get started, you'll need the following: scissors, seam ripper, thread, a needle or a sewing machine and baby clothes of course.

Project #1: Baby Top into a Doll Dress
Skill Level:  Beginner
Need: A baby shirt preferably one with a 1/2+" casing along the neck

I decided the appliqued apple was too large for this doll so I unpicked it.  Hopefully you won't need to do that step.  Follow the steps below:

Project #2:  Onesie into a Doll Sized Maxi
Skill Level:  Intermediate  
Need:  Infant onesie - I used a 6 month size  

Follow the steps below:

To finish up this maxi dress, add about 1 1/2" velcro to both sides of the back opening (see step 7). Turn your dress right side out, iron it and be amazed that you can make doll clothes without spending hardly anything.

Are you ready to dig out those old baby clothes and see what you can do with them?
Trust me, your child will think you are amazing when you tell them that their "new" doll clothes were once things they wore.  - xoxo Grandma

Make a Baseball Cap - a Refashion & Free Pattern

It's refashion month over at House of Estrella and today I'm joining in the fun by showing you how to make a baseball cap from a onesie or a tee shirt. Speaking of refashioning, the white sundress you see here on my granddaughter has also been refashioned.  For more details on the sundress go HERE.

To make your own baseball cap, grab a onesie or tee shirt that your child has out grown. Next, download the free pattern HERE - this cap pattern was sized to fit a 2-4 year old. Follow along as I show you how to sew your own toddler size baseball cap. 

Supplies needed:

Heavy weight interfacing, thread, scissors, seam ripper

1.  Trace the downloaded pattern onto your onesie using a washable fabric marker.  Now cut out all pieces. Unpick the ribbing because this will become the trim for the cap's brim and the back opening on the cap.

2.  Sew using 1/4" seams all the panels together.  Sew the short seam of the back panels together. 

3.  Top stitch 1/4" from the seams.  This keeps the seams down inside the cap.

4.  This is a close-up of top stitching the seams.

5.  Sew the ribbing (which you unpicked from the onesie) onto the back "U" shaped opening.

6.  Sandwich the interfacing between the top of the brim and the back of the brim.  I found that the brim looks great if you want to use a different fabric for the back brim.

7.  Sew on ribbing to the outside of the brim.

8.  Top stitch along the ribbing's edge - as close as possible to the edge of the ribbing.

9.  Pin the brim to the center of the hat's outside edge.  Sew all layers together.

10.  There are two ways to finish the back of the cap.  Take 1 1/2" x 5" of leftover fabric and fold in half lengthwise.  Stitch to form a casing.  Turn right side out.  Thread 2-3" of 1/2" elastic through.

12.  Sew close to the edge, extra wide seam tape to finish off the edge of the cap.  Sew a casing by stitching near the top of the seam tape.

13.  Insert about 2-3" of 1/2" wide elastic into both sides of the casing.

14.  Stitch the ends of the elastic.

15.  Cover a button with a contrasting fabric.

16.  Sew the button to the center of the cap.

Have fun refashioning!  xoxo Grandma

Shared: Threading My Way, Creating My Way to Success, Frances Suzanne - Free Patterns

GUEST POST At Mother's Niche Making a Lace Sundress Refashioned From a Skirt

Hi, today I'm over at Mother's Niche with details on how to make this white lace sundress. For my fabric, I refashioned an adult skirt.  Please join me HERE.  Below are a few extra photos of that sundress - I know you want to make one so hop on over and let me know what you think.

 

xoxo Grandma

Guest Post - Vintage Tea Dyed Onesies - at Mother's Niche

I originally posted this at Mother's Niche with complete instructions on how to make a vintage looking tea-dyed onesie.  You can also find this post HERE.  These onesies are so easy and fun to create!  

So hop over and learn this technique so your baby or grand baby will look adorable too. 
xoxo Grandma

Guest Post - Mother's Niche

Hi, I'm excited to announce that every third Friday. I'll be over at Mother's Niche with a post. Today's my first guest post and it's two downloadable tutorials on how to turn baby clothes into doll clothes.  You won't want to miss out on this post, so please join me HERE.

- xoxo Grandma