DIY baby onesie decorating tutorial

It was a very last minute decision to have a onesie decorating station at my cousin’s baby shower. I started thinking about it the day before (talk about last minute), and then realised it wouldn’t be as tricky to organise as I first thought. I bought a onesie for each guest and then they had the choice to do a design using either fabric paint, or appliqué. My decorating station was just part of the evening so I premade all the stencils for speed, if you wanted to make a whole night of it, you could get everyone to design their own stencils.

Here is what you need:

Equipment

• A variety of stencils made out of thick card. Mine were drawn freehand and cut out with a craft knife. I did arrows, feathers, birds, fruit, animals and hearts.
• A onesie for each guest. I bought mine from George at Asda and they were between £2.75-£5 for 3. I bought a variety of sizes.
• Fabric paints. Mine were DYLON. I bought the three primary colours, plus white.
• Paintbrushes
• A variety of fabrics
• Plastic cups for mixing colours
• Bondaweb
• Scissors
• Iron
• Sewing machine
• Cardboard, or a paper bag to protect the back of the onesie when painting
• Newspaper to protect the table
• Fabric pen

Method

1. In preparation, lay newspaper on the table and set a onesie at each place. Have the stencils, fabric, paint and all other supplies readily available. Set up the iron and ironing board.
2. Only two guests chose to do an appliqué, all the other guests chose to do painted stencils. Both need to choose a stencil, and both are very straightforward.
3. For the painted stencil – place cardboard or card behind where you are going to place the stencil, then place the stencil in the correct place and hold very still as you paint the stencil. It’s best to do this slowly, and use lots of paint so that it doesn’t turn out blotchy. Then let dry for plenty of time.
4. For the appliqué – trace your stencil onto your chosen fabric using a fabric pen, or chalk. Cut out your shape using fabric scissors, and iron onto the onesie according to the Bondaweb instructions. Secure with machine stitching (I did this afterwards).
5. …and voilà – you are done!

I took the onesies home, washed them, ironed them, machine stitched around the edge of any appliqués, and then wrote the guest who designed the onesie in a fabric marker on the inside somewhere. I thought it would be nice for her to remember lots of her friends as she dresses her bundle of joy.

E xx