A Baby Gift

A family at church is about to be blessed with their first child--a little girl.  We are so excited for them.   For her shower, I thought I would try out one of the ideas I saw on Pinterest.  {If you haven't heard of Pinterest, it is a site for finding/sharing great ideas.  I have a few invitations left on my account, if you want one, please email me :)}

I used buttons to embellish some onesies that I picked up at Wal-mart, and then I made some cute little skirts to go with them.  I originally saw THIS cute design on Pinterest.  You can see my version on the left.  I used pastel buttons for two reasons--this was for a girl, and Wal-mart was out of packages of primary colored buttons.  I did use a dark blue button for the head.

To make this, I arranged the buttons the way I wanted them, and then held one of them in place and put the others back on the table.  I used embroidery thread (DMC floss) to sew the buttons on.
You can use any type of thread.  I used the embroidery floss (this is the same thread that people use to make friendship bracelets) because it has six strands of thread together, and so it is much thicker.  You get very noticeable stitching without having to sew as much.
Just thread your needle, tie a good knot to start, and sew on your first button.  I like to make the X shape with my thread, but you could make yours parallel = if you wanted to.
Once I sewed the button on, I laid the other buttons back on the shirt to make sure that I was keeping the design I wanted.  Then I held the next one in place, picked up the other buttons and sewed on the second.  I just kept doing that until I got to the end.
After sewing on so many buttons, I found that it is easier to just keep sewing on the buttons with the same thread, rather than tying a knot after each button.
I used a backstitch with dark embroidery thread to make the little antennae.  Link for backstitch video (in case you need it--I promise, it's really easy.  If you can sew on a button, you can do this.)

The next onesie I made had a rainbow on it.  Yes, it's a rainbow.  The mother-to-be recognized it, but not everyone else has.  Take it for what it's worth.  I found this greeting card on Pinterest that had a button rainbow, and I figured if you could put it on a card, it would go on a shirt.  (That's what I keep telling you--take an idea and make it your own!)  I added pom-poms for clouds, which seems to help people identify the rainbow.  The sewing technique is the same for the buttons.  The hardest part of this one was sewing the pom-poms on.  You have to get your needle through the center of the ball so that the thread won't pull out.  It's not really that difficult, but it is harder than sewing on a button.

My third design was a candy cane.  The baby is due this month, and what baby doesn't need something cute for Christmas?


There you have it--three personalized onesies (or t-shirts) for someone special.  A nice gift without having to spend a fortune {and since I am looking for a job, I don't have a fortune:)}

I also made some little skirts to match.  This was my favorite part.  I wanted to keep them.  Really.  They are very simple, although you would probably want to use a sewing machine. 

I liked this skirt best.  Don't you want to make one now?














As this post is already rather long, I decided to try something new (for me).  I did make a tutorial for the skirts that I made, but I posted it HERE.  Please keep in mind that I write this blog with the idea that anyone can do the things that I post, even if they've never tried similar projects.  I wrote my tutorial in hopes that someone who has never sewn anything before could still follow it (although I don't know if I succeeded).

If you need a cute gift for a baby, these are great.  I hope you try them!

I love to hear from my readers, so let me know what you think!