4th of July Onesie Dress

The 4th of July is one of the BEST Holidays!  I'm SO proud to be an American!  Not only is it a great day for the country, it's a great day for me.  It's my birthday!  I'm going to be 27 this year!  Gettin' old... LOL 

 The fabric I used to make this onesie dress comes from the American Valor  line by Timeless Treasures.  I used Hot Chilies So Fine Thread.  I also added some 3/4" Red Ric Rac for the trim and the bow.

Supplies

Pre-washed onesie

1/2 yard Fabric for the dress

1/4 yard Fabric for the ruffle

2 yards 3/4" Ric Rac

Coordinating Thread

3/8" Elastic

Vanishing Marker

Scissors or Rotary Cutter

Measure your baby's waist and double it.  This will be the WIDTH of your fabric. 

 My baby's waist is 17" so the width of my fabric was 34".

The next thing you will want to do is figure out the length of the dress. 

 First you need to decide where you want to attach the dress on the onesie.  

Example: you could make it look like a shirt and skirt by attaching the dress very low on the onesie.  (Which would use less fabric).  

I wanted to attach my fabric as high on the onesie as possible this time, so I put it right below the sleeves. 

Mark the onesie where you want to attach your dress with a vanishing marker.

I actually put my baby in the onesie after I marked it because it is so much easier for me to see how long I want the dress to be from that point when it's on.

Measure from the mark you made on the onesie to where you want the dress to fall on your baby.  Add 2" to this measurement to account for the top and bottom hems. 

This will be the LENGTH of your fabric. 

 SUBTRACT 2" FROM THIS MEASUREMENT IF YOU PLAN ON ADDING A RUFFLE. 

 I made this dress to go past my baby's knee. * I  wish I would've made it shorter because she has a hard time crawling in it.

Fold the onesie in half to find the center.  Mark the front and back center with the Vanishing Marker.

 Use a ruler and draw a straight line across the onesie (front and back).  If you look closely at this onesie you can see that the sleeves are WAY uneven.  Annoying!  LOL  I had to draw the line lower because of this.  Because I used the Vanishing Marker it wasn't a big deal and know one will ever know. :)

Set the onesie aside and make your ruffle.

For my ruffle I doubled my width measurement.

 My width measurement for the dress is 34" so I made my ruffle 68".

I made my fabric strip 4"x68".  I did have to sew two pieces together to make it 68" long.  There is a seam, but it isn't noticeable because it's ruffled.  I folded it in half and added a decorative stitch along the bottom fold.  (You really have to look close to see it).

Sew along the raw edges of your strip with the LONGEST STITCH AND THE TIGHTEST TENTION.  This will automatically ruffle your fabric. 

Do not backstitch at either end.  That way you can still adjust the ruffle exactly the way you want it.

Attach your ruffle to your piece of fabric.  Make sure you attach it width ways.  The width of your fabric will be longer than the length, so keep that in mind when you are about to pin the ruffle on.  Put the ruffle right sides together pin and sew.  The ruffle actually doesn't have a wrong side so you can put it either way. 

After the ruffle is sewn on, fold the dress in half  (inside out).  The fold will be in half width ways.  Sew the edges together creating a " fabric tube".  (Shown above).   

Make a double fold at the top of the dress and iron it down.

Take a 3/4" piece of elastic and cut it to your baby's waist measurement.  My elastic was 17" long.

Sew it to the dress (at  the seam) making sure to backstitch.  I used a zig zag stitch.

Stretch the elastic by pulling it tightly as you sew.

Pull the elastic until it meets the other end.  Continue to sew over the elastic where you started and backstitch to secure.

Line the seam of the dress up with the back center mark you made earlier.  Pin on the line you drew.  

Such an easy way to make sure it's straight!

I sewed it on using a zig zag stitch.

If you want to add a flower or bow you can use the front center mark.  I didn't add anything this time and put a bow at the neckline instead.

I added 3/4" Red Ric Rac at the ruffle seam to add character.  I love ric rac!

I took some more Red Ric Rac and tied it in a bow for the neckline. 

I sewed it on with Hot Chilies Thread going through all the layers of the center except the top layer.  (Shown above).  I took the needle through quite a few times so it was nice and secure.

There are many ways to make a onesie dress, but that is how this one was made.  :)  As always if you have any questions let me know! :)

Learn how to make the Firecracker bow she is wearing Here.