Onesies are just so adorable, right? Cute prints, lovely colors, ready from newborns onwards. They make very useful gifts for new parents, since babies tend to go through many of them. For such little people, though, the really pretty ones can get quite expensive to buy, especially considering how fast they tend to outgrow the outfits.
So what can we do? Get basic ones for super cheap, and prettify them ourselves with hand embroidery, of course!
You’ll need the following to embroider a onesie by hand:
- Embroidery needle
- Your preferred embroidery thread (I generally use DMC threads – you can separate the strands depending on the thickness of the design outline you want)
- Scissors or a thread cutter
- Water-soluble fabric marker to draw with – you can use tailor’s chalk too, but I find that bulky for this purpose (the fine tip of the marker makes drawing out the design much easier & neater)
- The onesie you plan to embroider (or a test piece of similar-weight cotton/linen to work with initially)
- An embroidery hoop big enough to stretch your material on (this is not compulsory, but it makes the embroidery work much neater!)
Stock up on simple onesies (plain, in your favorite colors, with no prints or very limited prints and no embellishments) – you can find many online for very cheap. Remember to buy them in various sizes so you’ll be ready to size up when the time comes.
Step 1
First, choose a simple design that you like. It can be a star, a flower, a heart, a mushroom, cupcakes – the list is endless! You can choose a gender-neutral design or something very feminine/masculine – it’s your artwork, so go ahead and be creative!
Step 2
Next, choose your placement of the design on the onesie (maybe a star at the center, or flowers at the chest) and trace it onto the onesie. Make sure you adjust the size of the design accordingly based on the size of the onesie – you don’t want to end up with a humongous single image that overwhelms the outfit. Let’s try with a simple star this time.
Draw the star out free-hand using the fabric marker. There are no fixed rules (it can be a shooting star, a thick one with rounded tips, a slender one with sharp points – let your hand draw it out)! If you’re not too confident of your skills yet, try drawing the design on paper first and then transfer it to the test fabric.
If you prefer to use the embroidery hoop, this is what you need to do:
- Unscrew the top of the outer hoop and separate it from the inner hoop.
- Stretch the test fabric or onesie out over the inner hoop and hold it in place – make sure the fabric is stretched tight over it. If it’s the onesie, put the inner hoop inside the onesie to avoid stitching the front and back together.
- Place the outer hoop over the fabric and inner hoop and tighten the screw.
- Draw out a simple 5-point star outline (without making the fabric droop) with the water-soluble marker.
Step 3
Cut off a length of embroidery thread based on the size of your star outline (if you’re not sure, you can just start off with a 10-inch length. Separate the strands of the embroidery thread (use 2 for a defined outline), thread your needle and tie off a knot at the end.
Step 4
If you’re a beginner, let’s start off your hand embroidery by using the running stitch. From under the hoop, bring your needle up through the fabric at your starting point (Point A). About a quarter-inch away, push the needle down through the fabric (Point B) and bring it up again at another quarter-in point (Point C). Repeat this all around the star design until the outline is complete, tie off a knot, snip the thread and you’re all set! As you sew, keep your fabric taut on the hoop, to make it easier to produce neat, even stitches.
As a beginner, the straight stitch is the easiest to try and master. Although super basic, when used correctly, it can brighten up any outfit. Once you’re comfortable with this stitch, then you can upgrade your skills and projects with other varieties.
If you’re keen to do fancier stitches, you can use a straight stitch, or even a stem stitch, instead of the running stitch, for the outline. You can also fill in the star design with multiple straight stitches. Using a different colored thread to fill in the design would also make a fun addition.
Now that you’ve got your test version done, do the same thing to the onesie (or any other item that you’re planning to embroider) – you just have to be careful not to accidentally piece both front and back pieces of the onesie together when embroidering, if it’s the slip-on kind. Maneuver your needle inside the onesie as you push it down and up again. Try it out!
A fun idea – make the same design in different sizes on different onesies and see how baby grows with each one.
Your personalized gift for that adorable newborn is now ready! And remember, when you’re gifted loads of plain simple onesies, or grab a bunch on sale, you can always spiff up your child’s onesie anytime yourself with these simple steps. Have fun!