Make: Applique Onesies

by Designing Mom Liberty



What I've shown here is a group of onesies that I made for a moms group I belong to... The butterfly and helicopter were made with iron-on patches, but the car ones were really not much work and the payoff is great. As is my shtick, I love using scraps and stray buttons for the wheels... If you look at both cars, you can see the shape is not precise, but it's the wheels that make it super cute. I only make the ones with buttons for tiny babies that can't grab at them. Once they are at the grab-and-stick-in mouth phase, little felt circles work as well.

Step 1: Stick
I stick the appliqué one of two ways.
1- using iron-on fusible webbing - which you can get at any fabric store... (brief version is that you iron one side. Onto your fabric, draw the design, cut it out, peel off the paper backing and iron into place on your shirt)
2- I use Beacon's craft glue. My sister in law turned me onto this and I firmly believe every house in America needs a bottle! Beacon's is so great because it glues everything and is (drumroll, please) washable! When you use Beacon's, use small drops every few inches--be careful not to drip, it doesn't clean up well.

Step 2: Secure
Regardless of which sticking device you use...use a quick zig-zag stitch around the perimeter of the shape.

Step 3: Spice it up
If it's a car, add the wheels by sewing on buttons (be very secure with these, add a little drop of Beacon's) or stitching an "x" through the center of a felt circle. Or, like the onesie on the top left, use some Beacon's and a straight stitch to add some ric-rac around the edge of a square. This project is so easy that it feels silly writing a tutorial about it, but it's become a standby around here... And great for a quick shower gift with some handmade flair.