t-shirt romper instructions (way easy!!):
The size of the t-shirt depends on the length of the kid, my 2 yr old has several that are 8-10 kids size, but my oldest son at two years old could wear an adult small, also not all t-shirts are created equal, some are longer than others. A good way to judge is the t-shirt bottom goes to their knees, or just above. I have used a variety of closures, snaps put on with dritz snap pliers and dritz snaps (what I used 11 years ago), velcro, sew on snap tape, and snap source snap setter and snaps. Some of the fabric glues are really good now so the snap tape can probably be glued on, but the glue is a little stiff. Anyway I would find the center front and back of the t-shirt at the hem, and place the first snap there, and then place one more on each side about 1 1/2 inches apart, with three snaps total in the crotch. You may want to use an extra piece of material or interfacing to add a little more thickness for durability. If the t-shirt is a little baggy around the chest area, a little elastic can be sewn on the inside either on the sides or the back to gather the material a bit. I've even cut the sleeves off at the seam for summer. It won't need to be hemmed, as the t-shirt material won't fray, but if the sleeves are cut right at the seam it is hard to tell they are not hemmed.
I also recently inherited a huge box of t-shirts and made shorts, and tank tops for my youngest son. For the shorts I make two peice pattern shorts. I use the bottom of the t-shirt as the hem for the short legs. some t-shirts I've used just the back of the shirt, because of a pattern, and will mix the colors. Like one side red, the other side blue, then I use a sleeve to make a cargo pocket on the side, the end of the sleeve as the top hem of the pocket....using already made hem seams saves TONS of time!
And for the tank tops I just copied a tank top he already had and again used the bottom of the t-shirt as the pre-made hem. I serged (can zig zag) around the neck and arms, and then turn in and zig zag to lay the edge in for a finished look. Tank top probably took 10 minutes from cut to finish!
I love using pre-loved garments or material for new clothing. A big hint is finding an XL or Larger full length demin dress at a thrift store or good will and use that for making projects. You get quite a bit of quality prewashed, preshrunk material for around $4, a deal anyday!!!!
Donna
The size of the t-shirt depends on the length of the kid, my 2 yr old has several that are 8-10 kids size, but my oldest son at two years old could wear an adult small, also not all t-shirts are created equal, some are longer than others. A good way to judge is the t-shirt bottom goes to their knees, or just above. I have used a variety of closures, snaps put on with dritz snap pliers and dritz snaps (what I used 11 years ago), velcro, sew on snap tape, and snap source snap setter and snaps. Some of the fabric glues are really good now so the snap tape can probably be glued on, but the glue is a little stiff. Anyway I would find the center front and back of the t-shirt at the hem, and place the first snap there, and then place one more on each side about 1 1/2 inches apart, with three snaps total in the crotch. You may want to use an extra piece of material or interfacing to add a little more thickness for durability. If the t-shirt is a little baggy around the chest area, a little elastic can be sewn on the inside either on the sides or the back to gather the material a bit. I've even cut the sleeves off at the seam for summer. It won't need to be hemmed, as the t-shirt material won't fray, but if the sleeves are cut right at the seam it is hard to tell they are not hemmed.
I also recently inherited a huge box of t-shirts and made shorts, and tank tops for my youngest son. For the shorts I make two peice pattern shorts. I use the bottom of the t-shirt as the hem for the short legs. some t-shirts I've used just the back of the shirt, because of a pattern, and will mix the colors. Like one side red, the other side blue, then I use a sleeve to make a cargo pocket on the side, the end of the sleeve as the top hem of the pocket....using already made hem seams saves TONS of time!
And for the tank tops I just copied a tank top he already had and again used the bottom of the t-shirt as the pre-made hem. I serged (can zig zag) around the neck and arms, and then turn in and zig zag to lay the edge in for a finished look. Tank top probably took 10 minutes from cut to finish!
I love using pre-loved garments or material for new clothing. A big hint is finding an XL or Larger full length demin dress at a thrift store or good will and use that for making projects. You get quite a bit of quality prewashed, preshrunk material for around $4, a deal anyday!!!!
Donna
