Decorating Onesies for Baby Shower Gifts – No Cricut Needed

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Before we knew baby girl would get so many new outfits from family and friends pre- and post-birth, my frugal husband and I stocked her closet with inexpensive, solid-colored onesies. We got some great deals on them, especially since I was buying onesies at the end of the season! However, I felt like they really could be improved to make cuter outfits if I could find the time. I didn’t find it before baby girl was born, but a few months after, I found myself wanting to personalize more and more of her outfits.

I decorated these onesies using several different methods that I want to share.  You can use these onesie decorating ideas if you’re wanting to make unique outfits for your own baby or if you want to make onesies as a baby shower gift.

Of course, you always have the option of decorating onesies with a Cricut, which is super popular these days.  I just don’t have the disposable income at this point to purchase a Cricut.  So, all my decorating onesies ideas can be done with no Cricut needed.

Decorating Onesies with a Fabric Bow

One very simple way of decorating onesies is to sew on a bow. Here, I made a bow out of scrap fabric and a little bit of ribbon and simply sewed it on for a cute look. Very easy to make and still very cute for a baby girl! I also like to make these fabric bows and use them on matching headbands to create an entire outfit.  You can add a monogram or some other design at the center of the onesie, but I like simplicity.

Onesie Decoration with Stencils

I’ve decorated three onesies with stencils so far.  I’ve had pretty good success with them!

DIY Glasses Onesies

I first decided our daughter definitely needed some optometry gear (my husband and I are both eye docs.) So, I made her two glasses onesies.  Here they are:

Here’s a brief tutorial how to decorate onesies with stencils and fabric paint.

Materials:

• Stencil (check Hobby Lobby, Walmart, Michael’s, etc for stencils)
• Fabric Paint (While I like Puffy paint, any paint works as long as it is safe for babies and won’t wash out)
• Foam brush or paint brush (foam worked great for me)
• Prewashed onesie
• Cardboard piece or something else stiff
• Few pieces of tape

Easy Instructions:

1) I started with a piece of cardboard inside the onesie to prevent any incidental leak through and taped the stencil to the onesie.

2) Then, using a foam brush, I dabbed the paint on the onesie.

3) I let it sit for several hours to dry and then removed the stencil. And voila! A super cute onesie that baby girl wears whenever her eye doctor parents want her to be cute.

For the second DIY glasses onesie, I used iron-on letters to personalize the onesie even further. I followed all the same steps as above but also used iron-on letters to put baby girl’s initials. I was a little worried about the letters, the paint, and my hot iron, but everything turned out great surprisingly!

We have worn this onesie more times than the previous, and the letters have been a little worse for wear after 5+ washes. I would recommend hand washing this onesie or maybe using a delicate cycle to preserve it for longer.

Bald and Beautiful Onesie

This onesie decorating idea came about because my child has so little hair that her big white head sticks out so much! We usually dress her in headbands or definitely girly outfits, but far too many times my husband has dressed her in a gender neutral outfit that ended up with her being referred to as a him! Why does everyone associate baldness with being a baby boy?  I’m still trying to figure that one out.

After I found some stencil stickers at Dollar Tree, I just had to try them out, and this onesie was born: The Bald and Beautiful. It was so simple to make. Prewash the onesie, stick the stencils, paint with a small brush with fabric-safe paint, and then remove the stickers. So easy!

We also have a family member who has been bald for a really long time, and it is a running joke in the family that our daughter is “bald like Barry.” Thus, I went ahead and wrote this on the back of the onesie while we were at it.  We then dressed her up in the onesie for his birthday party, and she was a hit!

Harry Potter Onesie:

I’ve already written a whole post about how I made this DIY Harry Potter onesie.  It involved me making the stencil myself using an internet image printed out.  It worked out great as well!

Decorating Onesies with Iron Ons

I seriously think onesies with iron ons may be the simplest onesies to make. I’m at that stage of life where I go to a lot of baby showers for friends who are pregnant. My husband and I have gotten bad about whenever we find cute gifts–toys, blankets, outfits, etc–on a really good sale, we buy and store them in a box for whoever has the next baby shower. I know, how unthoughtful. But truthfully, I just can’t keep up with all the babies that need to be showered! To redeem myself though, I have started adding personalized onesies to the baby shower gift bags. So easy, but still unique and thoughtful!

Here is one I made for my daughter as a trial run. I then bought a slew of 3-6 month onesies and started ironing more! Well, first I prewashed them all, but then I started ironing.

I also found other cute iron ons and have been making other fun onesies.  This one was a hit during the summertime.

Decorating Onesies with Sponges and Fabric Paint

You can also buy shaped sponges and use those when decorating onesies. Here, I use a heart stamp to decorate a onesie…it isn’t one of my best pieces, but with a better design, there is some potential to using sponges for unique outfit ideas.

 

And that’s just a few of the onesies I’ve decorated for our daughter as well as to bring for a baby shower gift.  They’re quick and easy to make, inexpensive, and thoughtful!