Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Baby Boys (and girls!): Newborn shirt re-do

When I get ready for a new baby, I make a lots of new clothes, blankets, and room decor. In order to get more bang for my buck (which is more about time than $$), I like to take existing (hand-me downs usually) clothes and just put a new twist on them. You can see this on the following girl and boy tutorials:
BOY PANTS, BOY'S Oxford shirt re-vamp, Girls herringbone leggings, French dotted baby shoesTuxedo dress, and many more!!

Why? It takes less time, and I can still feel like their clothes have a special "Katie" touch to them! Then I can spend more time making special pieces later. And in that spirit, here is my latest "Preparing for baby BOY??!!" shirt re-vamp tutorial. Its easy! Its fast! DO IT!

 What did I do exactly? I added bias tape to the top of the shirt, and velcro for better coverage/ less weird bunching. (And I dyed the green one obviously!)

Materials:
-kimono tops from the hospital (I had these from my 2nd baby's birth) or I believe carters and gerber make them too...
-bias tape  (I used single fold, but just use whatever you have that will cover the original shirt trim.)
-sew-on velcro--about 1- 1.5 inches.
-RIT dye (if you want to dye it first)

(YOU CAN DYE IT FIRST IF YOU LIKE--see my tips for dyeing here)
1. pin the bias tape around the existing hem of the shirt, making sure to tuck under the raw edge of the bias tape at the ends.
2. Top stitch it to the shirt 2 times, as you can see in the above photo. Be careful as you go around any snaps you are covering!
3. I find these newborn kimonos to be frumpy and easily disheveled, so I added velcro for stability. Make sure you bring it in from the edge, so that now velcro edges will touch the baby's skin and irritate it!

And that's all folks! An easy newborn shirt for boys (or girls!)




5 comments:

Lesley said...

you amaze me! i have made NOTHING for baby girl. hmmp. these are so sweet!

Tricia said...

Cute cute. I love the pop of color on the white one. I really like that you used single fold bias tape, that way the soft knit is still closest to their skin. Cotton tape can be a bit stiff. Great job.

Between Blue and Yellow said...

That green color is so pretty. can't wait to see pics of the new baby boy!

3girlsmom said...

so cute, as always. and i still love what you did to the hand me down we gave you. (tuxedo dress) so cute!

Jerri Washam said...

I really like the idea of repurposing clothes or simply upgrading them. We know how pricey it is to raise a kid, with all their needs and some wants. Doing this is just practical, if we can reduce expenses even in this aspect. Plus, it gives a maternal touch to it. The clothes might not be new, but they sure are special. :)