Here is what the final product looks like:
Supplies:
- onesie (you can get them for $3.99 at the craft store or $2 at Walmart)
- fabric & matching thread
- heat and bond
- iron & ironing board
- cricut machine or scissors
1. First you want to make sure you wash and dry your onesie/t-shirt and your fabric for your applique
2. Next, decide how big you want your shape to be. I took a ruler and placed it on the onesie and figured out I wanted my star to be 3.5 inches tall.
3. Then I cut a piece of heat and bond about 4 times as big as I wanted my shape so I had extra space in case I messed something up.
4. Follow the directions on the packaging and iron your heat and bond to your fabric. Then cut away excess fabric.
5. If using a Cricut machine, I found the best way to cut out shapes is to place the fabric with the heat and bond side down on the mat. I tried it with the fabric side down, but it doesn't stick as well and moved all around when I was trying to make my cut. Insert the mat into the machine and position the blade on your fabric. I used the following settings: blade = 6, speed = min, and pressure = high. I tried having the pressure on max but had issues. Then I selected the shape and size and pressed cut. Don't be upset if it takes a couple of tries to get it to cut. I found that the machine would mess up if my cut came too close to the edge of the fabric. So I had to position my blade about 1/2 inch away from the edge.
If not using the Cricut machine, trace your shape onto the back of the heat and bond. Use scissors to cut out your shape.
Here is how mine turned out after a couple of tries:
6. Peel the paper backing off of your shape
7. If you want your object centered, like I did, fold your shirt in half and press gently with your finger (or you can iron a crease).
8. Unfold and center your shape on the crease (or place in arbitrary position if not centering).
9. Set your iron to medium heat setting and press your shape to your shirt and hold for several seconds. The heat and bond package says 6 seconds, but I did it until I felt it was secure.
10. Turn the shirt inside out and iron the shape again.
11. Once your shape is ironed on, you'll want to top stitch the edges to secure them. This will fight against fray and also help your item hold up better in the laundry. Some people use a tight zig zag stitch around the edge for an embroidered look, but I just wanted a simple straight stitch. Do whatever you feel comfortable with or what you think would look best.
You'll want a free arm machine to do this so your shirt can move easily around the base. My machine has a storage compartment that slides off to enable free arm sewing.
For my project, since I decided on a straight stitch, I needed to figure out a good place to start. I started in the middle of one of the sides because the points of the stars were too small and wouldn't feed properly under the foot.
When you go around the corners and points you want to stop at the corner with your needle down in the fabric, lift the presser foot up, and then turn your fabric so you can proceed to sew. The picture below shoes the presser foot lifted with the needle in place. The arrow shows that the foot is not touching the fabric.
12. Sew all the way around and over your beginning stitches. Then back-stitch a few times to secure your thread. Snip off any excess thread.
13. You don't have to do this, but I ironed my shape one last time to help the heat & bond adhere to the thread for added security.
