Onesies®

     My friend's daughter is having her first baby.  That's all I needed to hear.  I decided to embellish some Onesies®.  The mom-to-be is a Pennsylvanian.  She and her husband live in the state of Washington now.  New Jersey is dear to the couple's hearts because they became engaged in Ocean City.  Onesies® come in a three pack, so I decided to applique each garment with the shape of one of these states.
     I bought white Onesies® since I don't know the baby's sex.  Next, I shopped for fabric to make the appliques.  These colors also had to be generic.  I got a blue print that looked like flowing water.  It represents the ocean at the shore.  I appliqued it with sand colored thread.  I found a yellow, black, and grey print that made me think of arches.  Pennsylvania is the Keystone State.  The third fabric was brick red with an apple design - Washington apples, of course.

Sand and Surf

Arches?

  

   

Apples

     I'm no artist, so I went to Google Images to find outlines of the states.  After adjusting the size, I printed the shapes and cut them out.  I pinned my paper patterns to the fabric and to some fusible webbing, Pellon Wonder-Web®.  The webbing is the glue that holds the applique to the Onesie®.  I layered the Onesie® on the bottom, the webbing in the middle, and the applique on top.  I covered it all with a damp white rag and pressed with a steam iron (wool setting) for ten seconds.  The Pellon product worked, but it would have been a little easier if I used a paper backed webbing.  This video demonstrates how to use the paper backed product:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1OahzmtM50

Here's how I did it:

These are the paper patterns

Place the fabric cut-out on top of the webbing, then place these two pieces on the front of the Onesie®.

I inserted a piece of white paper into the Onesie® just in case the glue penetrated the fabric.  The paper prevented the front and back of the garment from sticking together.

The last step was to sew around the edges of the applique.  If you don't have an applique stitch on your machine, a zig-zag stitch works just fine.  Be sure to  put some paper under your fabric.  You can use the same paper from the pressing step.  The paper ensures the knit fabric will go through the sewing machine without stretching or catching.  The paper pulls off easily when you are done.  Any little pieces remaining will dissolve in the wash.

These things are too stinking cute!