Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Super Simple Onesie Conversion Tutorial




We get asked often, "What kind of tops do you pair with your woolies?" I have found the best thing to pair with woolies is just a simple t-shirt. There is nothing extra to unsnap and getting down to business with a diaper change couldn't be faster with the combination of our pull on diaper covers and a t-shirt. If you are like me, you probably got about a billion onesies as baby shower gifts. Onesies are the best thing ever for keeping tummies covered, but they just don't work so well with cloth diapered babies. With the extra bulk of a cloth diaper, it is difficult to get the onesie over that extra bulk and often times the pressure from the onesie on the diaper area will force your wool cover to wick moisture through. They soon become the least treasured item of clothing and you end up with a big pile in the drawer and they are never reached for. So, you have onesies but need shirts like yesterday, so get your scissors out. Onesies are usually made from a great cotton interlock. Just cut straight across as you can see in the photo. Try to leave as much length as possible on the shirt. The cotton will not fray so you can actually stop here and say Voila! With washing, the hem may naturally curl which actually seems to now be "the thing" in many clothing items. If you are handy with a serger, you can set your machine to a rolled hem and run it along the bottom to give a ruffly edge (great for girly tops!). On this one, I went ahead and did a straight serged edge with navy blue thread to finish it off. If you are handy with a sewing machine and don't care for the "raw hem" look, you can always add a finished hem. As for the extra that I cut off, I am trying to decide how to recycle that piece. I may be saving that for another tutorial :).

I picked up this little onesie at a thrift store for today's tutorial. My daughter was appalled that I was looking through the baby clothes and wanted to know why with a raised eyebrow since no one is here that small. I haven't looked at baby clothes in oh.... almost 7 years now so I do admit the ovaries twitched just a little as I handled the little bitty clothes. But I am over it now.... don't get any ideas people. We are giving away this outfit to one of our readers (free shipping too!). The shirt is a Circo brand 18 month size and the shorties are a size medium. The shorties are made from a soft lambswool and have a rise of about 18 and an inseam of 3. Just post a comment here... something you like about wool, or if you haven't tried wool, just post something interesting. If you could post your first name and last initial or just some way that you can recognize yourself when I announce the random winner on Saturday.

And the winner is...... Julie S./The Dullmore Family! Congratulations! I will try to contact you but if you don't receive anything, please contact me at woollybottoms @ gmail.com.

41 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've been wanting to convert some onsies. Even when I didn't cloth diaper my older children, I was not a big fan of onsies! And the wool looks adorable!

Becca said...

I love our Woollybottoms and this would fit my DS!

Jennifer Wrage said...

I have a pile of onsies that I've always said I was going to make into t-shirts. Well, we're on our 3rd and final little baby, and I still haven't done it. :) You've motivated me - thank you! Jennifer W.

Sanddi said...

Hm.. I've always wanted to try this. Might have to give it a go! Sanddi L.

idnar82 said...

I love wool because it is super breathable and you don't have to wash it often! Plus, it looks adorable :-) Your wool creations are wonderful...Baby no. 3 doesn't yet fit into baby no.2's woolies yet, so...we may have to do something about that! Randi B.

cyap said...

I didn't realize it was that easy!!! Then again I'm not handy w/ sewing at all so this is perfect

c yap

nikolelgee said...

great idea! i hadn't thought of that. I love wool cause it is so easy to take care of. And i Love your wool especially.

Stephanie said...

I've wanted to convert onesies and now will have to try. we have some really cute ones that just sit in the drawer unused.
I love wool because it breathes, is so soft on my chunky little girl and is so much easier to care for than I first thought!
This outfit would be adorable on my nephew!
Stephanie J

Fred and Sarah said...

You make it look so easy! I love how easy wool is to take care of, although we don't currently have any wool for ds!

Anonymous said...

I love that wool is an all-natural, breathable diaper cover.

Crystal S.

EMeww said...

I love wool for overnight cloth diapering. I secretly want some footies for myself this winter (w/o diapers of course, lol)!

Nadine.McD said...

I LOVE wool! Its amazing no matter the seaon...its cute and fashionable...can't think of a better reason <3

Cissy Bennett said...

I love how bulletproof my wool is. My two year old can wear a woollybottoms soaker with a prefold underneath all night and no leaks! I also love how cute it is :-)

-Chrysalis B.

kathryn said...

I love love love wool! I love it because it is so easy to care for and oh so cute! Kathryn S.

Shannon said...

I've been cutting the onesies, one by one!! They work great with the wool soakers....I love woollybottoms!- Shannon P.

Julie said...

Thank you for this!! I just started wool and my little guys bum has never looked better :).

Anonymous said...

I love our footies for our cold Colorado winters! Julie S.

CourtniB said...

I have been wondering how to convert my onsies!! I also love Woollybottoms :)

amie said...

My life would be a complete nightmare/disaster without our woollybottoms! And now I can do something with our piles and piles and piles and piles (did I say piles?) of onsies!!!

Jennifer said...

I love using wool. This summer I have been sewing lots of kid's clothes for my 3 children... And really enjoying it.

Jennifer Sch

dcnm said...

I love that wool is a breathable natural fiber. My daughter has always been rash-free in wool covers combined with bamboo fitteds. Bulletproof against leaks too! I'll use this idea to convert all the onesies we receive as gifts into tees. Thanks! Dana C.

Lisa said...

Absolutely love our woollybottoms! This set would fit our little man perfectly.

Kelly said...

I just converted a onesie last week and was worried about it fraying - glad to hear that it won't! I love wool and wish I hadn't waited until my second child to start using it. My son has been in wool every day since he was born and I will definitely use wool if/when we have a third :) Kelly S.

Nahiq said...

I love wool because it always smells good even after being soaked with pee, and it's all natural.
The onsies often became too short very soon. Now they can last longer if converted to T-shirts. Great idea!

Melissa said...

I love how cool wool keeps my daughter's bum! I really wish I'd tried it sooner - last summer when she was little we really struggled with heat/yeast rashes in her diaper area and I'm sure wool would have helped her to be more comfy! ~Melissa S.

Bailey said...

What don't I like about wool?
It's antibacterial, antimicrobial, flame retardant, hypoallergenic, cute, easy to care for, renewable, soft, breathable, temperature regulating, and the perfect cloth diaper cover. Rebecca B.

Anonymous said...

I love my woollybottoms and all wool clothings. This onesie will fit my son perfectly :)

Anonymous said...

I love wool because it is the ultimate nighttime solution! I love woollybottoms because they are so well made :)

Unknown said...

I love woollybottoms! I love the footies in the winter keep little tootsies warm & no lost socks! I'm so looking forward to my new little one come December and getting to have woolly's all over again!

Danielle said...

What a great idea! I have tonnes of onesies I could do this to, since with the cloth diapers I am putting my 3 month old son in 6-9 month onesies! A great way to get more use out of all the cute onesies and show off the super cute cd in this crazy heat! Danielle M.

HisWifeTheirMom said...

I have never used wool. With my previous 2 I used prefolds, pins and rubber pants. Very interested in wool this time around and your recycle idea is even more of a plus in my eyes. :) -Averi P

Natalee said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Natalee said...

I love how dependable wool is! And how you offer so many color options that we can match just about any shirt (or re-purposed onesie) with our stash of WB. Oh and I love the smell of my mailbox when a new piece of WB arrives. YUM!

*deleted and reposted b/c of spelling error. :)

Belinda T said...

I have knitted a wool cover, but still trying to learn how to lanolize it. I would love my baby to wear wool.

Belinda DT

Jeff & Emily said...

I have a bunch of onesies to do this too - thanks for the inspiration! The shorts look awesome - I love wool because it's SO soft and breathable!

Tara said...

would love this!
tara e
taraz9 at excite dot com

Tannis said...

I like wool because it's breathable and if I'm right, it's antibacterial too?
Tannis W
tannis_z at excite dot com

chelsK said...

Wool covers have made cloth diapering enjoyable for my DD and myself. Other covers have caused nasty rashes after only one day of use, but one month of wool under our belt and no rashes in sight! <3 -Two very satisfied customers of Woollybottoms

Marsha said...

I love love wool covers. I cant wait to try out the skirtie I finally got! Marsha F.

Shannon Foster said...

And the random winner is.... The Dullmore Family / Julie S! Congratulations :)

Shannon/Woollybottoms

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this tutorial!:)I am currently working from home as an import export home business owner and I sew as a hobby. This tutorial was really fun, thanks.