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Art & Craft, DIY ideas and Tutorials – Craftbuds
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Make a Baby Onesie Quilt

  • Lindsay
  • Posted: June 11, 2015 - Updated at: November 13, 2022
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Onesie Quilt

Recently, I was inspired to make a quilt from my son’s onesies! This is pretty surprising because A) generally, I wouldn’t say I like onesie quilts, and B) I’m not wild about the process of making T-shirt quilts.

Onesie Quilt

On a side note, I have compiled in one article 3 free baby quilt patterns.

Although I LOVED the idea of having a keepsake from his first year (let’s face it… I was having a hard time saying “goodbye to all those cute clothes), I didn’t love the look of most examples I’d seen.

Until I stumbled upon this onesie quilt sewn by Kacia at Coconut Robot!

If you are new to quilting with knit fabrics, her tutorial is excellent. I made a few modifications to make the process quicker for me, which I’ll tell you about below, in this quick and dirty onesie quilt tutorial.

Make a Onesie Quilt

Materials:

– 28 to 42 onesies (sizes ranging from newborn to 12 months). Plan on more if you want a variety and fewer if you want a more cohesive-looking quilt with some repeats

– 3 yards of Pellon SF101 ShapeFlex (affiliate link)

– Binding and backing fabric

– 1 1/3 yard backing fabric and batting (should measure at least 40″ x 46″)

– 3/8 yard binding fabric

– Highly recommended: OLFA 6 1/2″ square ruler (affiliate link)

Onesie Quilt

Finished Quilt Size: 36 1/2 ” x 42 1/2″

Quilt Assembly:

Onesie Quilt

1. Cut a 6 1/2″ square of ShapeFlex with your square ruler. Since the ShapeFlex comes in a 20″-wide roll, you should be able to cut three squares per row.

Onesie Quilt

2. Use an iron to fuse the rough side of the ShapeFlex to the wrong side of your onesie, centering it on the design if needed. Unless the onesie snaps open like this one, you’ll need to snip your onesie open, usually cutting down one long side seam and sleeve.

Onesie Quilt

3. Once the ShapeFlex is fused to the onesie, use your ruler again to trim around the square. Adding fusible interfacing to the back is crucial for crisp, clean squares that will not stretch out of shape. You’ll notice that some of my stripes warped due to squeezing too many squares out of a single onesie. However, I didn’t mind this because I wanted to repeat most of my prints for consistency and design.

Generally, you’ll be able to center the cutout and repeat with the front and back of the onesie to get two usable squares from each one. I was able to do this with sizes from newborn to 12 months! In a few cases, I had to include a bit of bulky shoulder seam, but only enough that it would be easily hidden in the seams of the quilt.

4. I used 28 onesies (or baby items) for a quilt with 42 squares. I tried to get at least 2 usable squares out of each onesie (front and back). For the grey with yellow stripes, a 9-month jumper with shorts, I got 3 out of one outfit! I also creatively used a burp cloth (barely used) and velcro swaddle when I realized I needed a few more light-colored squares.

I needed to cut out the onesie and reapply it to another square for some of the appliqued onesies. For instance, if a zipper or seam line would be in the way. Be creative!

5. Once you have your squares fused and cut, have fun arranging them. I went with a checkerboard layout (light and dark squares) and faced all my stripes in the same direction. I used a few plain, white blocks to break up the design.

6. Sew your blocks together in each row using a scant 1/4″ seam. Press the seams open and join the rows. I joined the blocks in each row and then used my “tiny stitches method” to join the rows together and get perfect points! You can also pin if you wish.

Onesie Quilt

7. Baste your quilt and quilt as desired. I used a free-motion quilting stipple pattern, creatively avoiding the appliques. I made my own 2 1/2″ width quilt binding from solid navy fabric. This was my third try, and it was the winner!

Onesie Quilt

A homemade onesie quilt would make a great gift for a toddler mom . . . don’t you think?

Onesie Quilt

Have you ever made a onesie quilt or T-shirt quilt? I hope you enjoyed this tutorial that inspires you to try something new!

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Lindsay

Hi, I’m Lindsay Conner, an author, modern quilter, editor, and founder of the Lindsay Sews blog. I’m a Baby Lock ambassador and Stash Books author who loves writing modern sewing and quilt patterns for beginners and weekend sewists! I live in Indianapolis, Indiana with my husband, son, and two loveable cats, Murph and Chloe. I’ve been crafting for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I saved my dollar bills for trips with my mom to Jo-Ann Fabrics, where I’d find new floss for friendship bracelets or mini cross-stitch kits. Because my mom has always shared my love for crafting, she bought me my first sewing machine, a Hello Kitty Janome.

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21 comments
  1. Lucy Daniel says:
    June 12, 2015 at 7:16 am

    This is the best tutorial. I have 5 grand kiddos and plenty of LOVED ONESIES by them. Thank you for this tutorial. XO

    Reply
  2. becky m says:
    June 15, 2015 at 4:11 pm

    This is so cute! and your little guy is so adorable! I fused and cut my onesies probably a year ago. I need to pull them out and make some sense of them. My boy is 3 1/2 now….

    Reply
  3. Sigi G says:
    November 6, 2015 at 7:28 am

    What a treasure quilt. So cuddly and cute and special! Beautiful!

    Reply
  4. Kacia says:
    November 12, 2015 at 11:29 am

    thanks for the kind words and link back — the quilt looks awesome!!

    Reply
  5. Frankie says:
    January 19, 2016 at 2:46 pm

    I love what you have done here. It just makes me sad because I already sold or gave away all my son’s cute clothes and so it’s too late for me to do this!! I will be sure to tell my friends with younger babies to hang on to theirs! This is a lovely idea.

    Reply
  6. Jen says:
    March 6, 2016 at 1:04 pm

    How do I take an applique from one onesie and put it on another square? (I have an applique design from one of my girl’s preemie outfits…of course I can’t get a 6 1/2 inch square from it!) But it was the first outfit we put her in so I want to use it!! 🙂

    Reply
  7. Monica Richardson says:
    June 5, 2017 at 8:28 am

    Hi Lindsay

    I had just finished reading Kacia at Coconut Robot post regarding the onesie quilt and I thought I did’t need to read anything else. However, curiosity got the best of me and I clicked your link and I’m so glad I did. You addressed the problem that I had with the applique clothing. When I sorted through the clothes there were so many cute appliques but a zipper or a snap was in the way. So now I know how to handle them. Thanks so much. Monica

    Reply
    1. Lindsay says:
      June 5, 2017 at 10:56 am

      I’m so glad! Good luck with your project, and let me know if I can offer anything else to help! I have a new book coming out on the topic: https://www.ctpub.com/the-t-shirt-quilt-book/

      Reply
  8. echo says:
    January 2, 2018 at 11:27 pm

    how big is the quilt?

    Reply
    1. Mary says:
      January 4, 2018 at 9:34 pm

      Finished Quilt Size is 36 1/2 ” x 42 1/2″.

      Reply
  9. Bonnie says:
    January 13, 2018 at 1:13 pm

    Lindsay I have done t-shirts quilts and know how to price them but have someone wanting one made of onesie and not for sure to price it can you help me with this.

    Reply
    1. Lindsay says:
      March 20, 2018 at 10:50 am

      Bonnie, that’s a tough one! It will probably be smaller than a t-shirt quilt, so I’d try 50 to 70 percent of what you’d normally charge for a bed quilt.

      Reply
  10. Suellen says:
    January 22, 2018 at 1:24 pm

    I just stumbled upon this and I love it! Of course, I may be a bit biased because I recognize many of my son’s clothes in your quilt!

    Reply
  11. Martha says:
    April 20, 2018 at 5:40 am

    [email protected] Hi, this is my first time ever attempting to make a quilt, but my first born just turned 2 and I can’t imagine getting rid of his baby clothes. What kind of fabric do you use for the back of the quilt?

    Reply
    1. Lindsay says:
      June 28, 2018 at 2:20 pm

      Hi MArtha! I used quilting cotton for the back. You could also use fleece fabric for a super soft backing.

      Reply
  12. Tina says:
    July 13, 2018 at 8:36 pm

    Can this quilt be made with brand new onesies or would that be too expensive?

    Reply
    1. Lindsay says:
      July 14, 2018 at 11:27 am

      You could make it with new onesies, but many people like used ones for the cost and the sentiment of making something from clothing. 🙂

      Reply

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