Remember this adorable girl? We fostered her in the spring… {and we are working on ADOPTING HER!!!} Please pray for us and her during this time of waiting!! Anyway… I used her as a model to make some really cute Onesie Dresses… I like this version because the dress is long, but it’s still snaps like a onesie and stays on great. Today’s Onesie Dress Sewing Tutorial will show you how to make your own.. and its EASY!
I made a dress with a store bought onesie and some fabric, and a second one with a homemade onesie and fabric. This second option allows greater coordination of fabric and colors, but I think both are really great.
Ok, so you need to grab a onesie… or make one! This Onesie Pattern from the Lullaby Line {affiliate link} is a great one… easy to make and lovely directions too… It runs premie-4T, which is great! You also need a 1/2 yard of fabric for the skirt.
Cut your onesie in half.. You want to cut it about 1″ below the sleeve.
If you are making your own, make the full onesie first, then cut in in half. 
You want the stretch of the fabric to go from side to side like this…
I wanted my skirt to be as long as the onesie. You can make it longer and shorter depending on what you are looking for. I lined up the bottom of the bodysuit and then left about 1″ below for the hem. Cut the top even with the onesie. You want the skirt to be about 3x the width of the onesie. This will make it fit around the front and back, plus give some extra to gather a bit. You can make it wider if you want more gathers.
Sew the skirt into a circle but sewing up the short side seams. This will be the back seam. Hem the skirt with a zig-zag or double needle to maintain stitch.
Gather the top of the skirt {opposite the hem} until it is just slightly larger than the width of the onesie.
Now, you need to create a onesie dress sandwich. Start with the bottom of the onesie right side out, place the wrong side of the skirt to the right side of the onesie lining up the tops. Now, add the right side of the onesie top matching up with the right side of the skirt.
Sew around this mid section of the onesie dress. I added a tag to the back middle. And your skirt is done! Yeah! You can stop here or go on and add fun long sleeves to a short onesie.
Want to add sleeves to coordinate with your skirt? This is a great way to make the store bought onesie more personalized. Lay the sleeve on a piece of paper and draw out a sleeve shape. You can trace one you already have. Make sure the length is correct.
Cut out your sleeve on the fold.
Hem the sleeve.
Sew up the sleeve.
Pin the right side of the sleeve to the wrong side of the onesie sleeve. Sew from the top side.
Ta-Da!!! A pretty, long onesie dress!! Let me know if you have any questions or comments on this tutorial.
Here are a few other free baby sewing and tutorials…
Free Romper pattern 0-9 months
Free pattern: Infant and Toddler Skirt
Anne says
August 21, 2014 at 9:20 amAdorable! Both the model and the clothes. Just wish I had a little girl I could sew this for!
Emily says
August 22, 2014 at 12:32 amI know! Having only boys for years makes sewing for girls hard. I love having foster daughters to sew for ;o)
Dianna L. says
August 21, 2014 at 2:49 pmAH! Best of luck in the adoption process!!! I’ll be thinking of you and your family. Be sure to let us all know!
Emily says
August 22, 2014 at 12:32 amthank you for your prayers! You know I will be shouting it from this blog when we finally bring her home ;o)
gloria says
August 21, 2014 at 8:16 pmshe is absolutely adorable and the clothes too!
I pray for you!!! Good luck!
I adopted my twins 20 years ago! love them!
Emily says
August 22, 2014 at 12:31 amthank you so much! I love hearing other adoption stories and I hope ours works out ;o)
Kelley says
August 22, 2014 at 1:09 pmGreat tutorial and a great idea. This would be a great way to upcycle old t-shirts.
Antionette Blake says
August 23, 2014 at 12:44 amCongratulations and thanks for sharing at the #WWDParty
Elise @frugalfarmwife.com says
August 26, 2014 at 12:10 pmI love this! So pretty and simple. I happen to have some of the exact same blue with pink floral fabric. How cool is that? 😀
So excited for you and your adoption process. I hope we get the chance to adopt eventually.
Emily says
August 28, 2014 at 12:11 amhow fun to have the same fabric!! Its one I really love! I’ve upcycled it a few times to keep it going ;o)
Helen Gullett says
August 26, 2014 at 12:38 pmThis is super cute tutorial! Thank you so much for this 🙂
Vicky says
September 9, 2014 at 10:22 amQue conjunto más tierno!!! Y las fotos geniales!!!
Chelsea says
September 24, 2014 at 3:30 pmLove this!! I cant wait to try it. I’m a newbie sewer though so the gathering step is confusing. Any tips? Never done that before 🙂
Emily says
September 26, 2014 at 1:28 amHere is a tutorial with some tips! http://widicreations.blogspot.hk/2014/01/how-to-and-not-to-gather.html
Chelsea says
September 26, 2014 at 11:56 pmThank you!!!
Diane G. says
September 27, 2014 at 2:30 amThank you for this tutorial, such a cute idea and I am going to make this for our new grand daughter as her coming home outfit. By the way, any news on the adoption? I hope it all is going great!
Diane G. says
September 27, 2014 at 4:49 amI just made this for my new grandbaby and ended up having to make it twice 100% cotton and the dress part just didn’t look right to me (more like a A-line skirt) so on the second one I multiplied the width of the fabric 4 times instead of 3 and it turned out perfect. Thanks so much for this because it is just the cutest dress.
Emily says
September 27, 2014 at 8:16 amyeah!! SO glad it worked for you… YES! depending on the fabric it may be best to have more gathers! I’d LOVE a photo!!! You can e-mail it to me at Nap-timecreations@hotmail.com
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Jeanmarie j says
October 21, 2014 at 4:38 amI hope that the adoption went (or is going) smoothly! Did you use stretch/jersey fabric for the dress? Do you think that non-stretch fabric would work too?
Emily says
October 21, 2014 at 9:32 pmI think non stretch fabric would work.. you just have to make sure you can get it around your child.. I would look adorable!
Anne says
December 18, 2014 at 7:44 pmAwww, looks good. Thanks for this tutorial. It’s simple and clear.
Ryan's mommy says
December 30, 2016 at 2:25 pmHi! I’m a new mom & begginer at sewing. Thanks for the tutorial! I made my onesie dress but need more advice please. What stitch do you use for the midsection? I used a zig zag stitch for stretch. I think it wasn’t long enough. The seam feels thick & uncomfty :(. I want to make another onesie dress. Should I do a zig zag stick for the middle again or try another stitch? Thank you 🙂