how to applique a onsie or t-shirt

Onesie/T-shirt Applique TUTORIAL {from Lil Mama Stuart}

Hi there Craftaholics! I’m Mindy from a {day} with lil mama stuart and I’ve been hooked on Craftaholics Anonymous since I came across Linda’s “You know you’re a craftaholic when…” post. I could totally relate to what SO many of you said! I get my crafty fix from photography, DIY projects, party planning and recipes. Today I have a DIY appliqué t-shirt tutorial for you…

You’ve all seen the adorable Your Home is Where the Heart Is prints from etsy shop Lily Gene, right? Those prints inspired my DIY birthday gift for a 2 year old boy. And when I was done, I couldn’t resist making a matching onesie for his sibling in momma’s belly

I am no expert sewer, but manage to crank out simple sewing projects with the help of my sewing machine’s manual. You can do it too! Let’s get started with the appliqué tutorial, shall we?

Materials

T-shirt or onesie
Scrap fabric for your state
Template/pattern of your state (easily found via Google)
Heat’n Bond Lite (fusible web/interfacing found at the cutting table)
Puffy/Fabric Paint (not pictured – ahhh brings me back to my cheerleading days J)

Time – 30 minutes

Instructions

Wash fabrics. Right when you get them. Even if you’re not working on the project that day. I hate when I want to craft right. this. second. But my materials aren’t prepped!
Cut out your state template (mine is on computer paper).
Cut a piece of Heat’n Bond big enough for your state.
Cut a square of fabric the same size as the step above.

Iron fabric for your state to Heat’n Bond (following the instructions that came with it – wrong side of fabric first!).
Flip state over to trace mirror image of pattern (“P” in picture) onto paper side of Heat’n Bond (“H” in picture). Cut state out of fabric (“F” in picture).

Remove paper backing and adhere state to t-shirt (following the instructions that came with the Heat’n Bond). Your state should be the correct image now.

Pick an appliqué stitch on your sewing machine (#11 for me). Adjust your stitch width and length as desired. (Test it out on some scrap fabric to see what you like.)
Sew all the way around your state. Make sure you don’t sew the front and back of shirt together. Removing those stitches = not fun.

Paint a ♥ with puffy paint where your city is. Done!

I like how the onesie matches the colors of Chicago’s flag.

But anything’s cute when it’s a mini version, right? J Hope this helps you Craftaholics. Thanks for having me Linda! I can’t wait to see your new home when you get an internet connection!

Mindy @ a {day}with lil mama stuart