Nautical Onesies

I recently got a fabric bundle from Raspberry Creek Fabrics filled with cute fabrics for boys, and I have to admit that the fabric has really inspired me to create some cute, boyish projects.  Having my sweet Eli also brings on a desire to create cute things for boys.  I am usually a girly girl and lover of all things pink, but let me tell you...this fabric is amazingly cute!  The bundle contains a great assortment of fabrics from the Ready Set Go Collection By Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman.

Yesterday I shared this necktie T-shirt/onesie tutorial with a necktie applique made from Robert Kaufman Remix Argyle Fabric in chocolate brown.

 For today's project, I used the same argyle fabric from the necktie T-shirt/onesie tutorial, other cute fabrics from the Ready Set Go Bundle, and the teal and green circle dot fabric by Kellie Wulfsohn for Riley Blake also from Raspberry Creek Fabrics.

Today's project is a...

Supplies

• pencil and paper
• protractor (optional)
• fabric (Depending on your fabric choices, these nautical designs could be made for boys or for girls.)
•  T-shirts or onesies
• scissors for sewing and paper (You never want to use your good sewing scissors to cut paper.  This and other great sewing tips can be found here.)
• iron
• sewing machine
• matching thread for both the fabric appliques and the onesie or T-shirt
• seam ripper
• heat set applique glue
• thread end glue

Directions

1. I always make my patterns by drawing on computer paper or card stock.  Hey, it works for me.  Sailboat Applique: I used a protractor to draw a half circle on paper and cut off the bottom to make the boat part of the applique.  Three different sized triangles were drawn and cut out to make the sails and a flag.  The first sailboat pattern I made had the ends of the sails even with the ends of the boat, but I redid it and felt like it looked much better to have the sails extend beyond the boat.

2. Whale Applique: I drew and cut out a basic whale shape along with three tear drop shapes to use for the splash of water that might be coming out of the whale's spout.  The shapes are basic and pretty easy to draw.

3. I planned out which fabrics I wanted to use and pinned the pattern pieces onto the desired fabrics.  For the sails I used the same fabric but pinned the sail pieces in a way that would change the direction of the pattern for each sail.  You could easily use a different fabric for each sail though.

4. Cut around the pattern pieces to make your appliques.

5. Coat the back of each fabric piece with an even layer of heat set glue paying close attention to edges and corners.

6. Position the applique pieces onto your onesie or T-shirt.  Place a piece of paper inside the onesie or T-shirt to keep the glue from seeping through to the back.

7. With the iron set to the wool or cotton setting, iron over each applique until it is dry to the touch.  This activates the heat set glue thus permanently adhering the appliques to the onesies or T-shirts.  Iron carefully so that the applique pieces don't shift before bonding with the onesie or T-shrit.

8. Straight stitch along the outside edges of each fabric piece separately.  Use a thread that matches the onesie or T-shirt for the bottom bobbin and a thread that matches the fabric applique for the top spool changing thread colors as needed.  (I was able to keep white thread in my bottom bobbin the whole time since I used white onesies, but I had to change my top spool from white to brown to turquoise depending on which applique piece I was sewing.)  Do not backstitch at the start and finish and do not snip the excess threads yet.

9. Once you finish sewing, you will have a lot of threads hanging from each applique piece.

10. Use a seam ripper and some gentle tugging to bring all of the threads to the inside of the onesie or T-shirt.

11. Tie the threads for each applique piece together into a knot.  I usually knot it three or four times.

12.  Snip off the excess thread and dab a little thread end glue onto each knot.  Iron over the appliques one final time before gifting it or using it for wear.

Happy Sailing...I mean...Sewing!