Onesies to Undies: A Tutorial

When I started potty training my twins, I ran into the problem of 1) not having enough underwear, 2) not having enough money to BUY underwear, 3) the underwear I DID buy being too big for my skinny two year olds. So....I decided to make my own!

Undies from onesies are perfect for moms who want to potty train early (before age 2 or so. It is seriously hard to find underwear to fit itty bitty children) or for really small kids (like mine. The boys were swimming in the 2 year old trainers I bought from Wal-mart when we starting potty training last summer).

Here is my super-simple tutorial for turning your onesies... 

 

....into undies!!

Supplies:

Onesie (one one pictured above is an 18/24 month, I believe) And it has a stain. PERFECT!

1/4 inch elastic

Sewing supplies (machine, scissors, thread, pins)

Kid who needs underwear (ok, not really a "supply"...)

First, decide where you want to cut. I used a pair of store bought underwear as a guide. CUT!

Next, cut off the snaps along the seam

Fold the bottom part up and pin. Get creative about putting the fabric under your sewing machine foot. Zig-zag across. If you want to put the material right sides together so the raw edge doesn't show, go right ahead. I wanted to minimize the seam so it wouldn't scratch or be uncomfortable for...you know. Plus this way is WAY easier. 

Next, set your machine to a stretch stitch. It's the letter D on my machine. This is for stitching elastic. (whaddaya know?? You learn something new every day!)

Lay your elastic 1/4 from the edge. Don't cut the elastic to size. It is much easier to use a big long piece and then cut it off when you are done. 

Keeping your child's waist size in mind (hmmm....skinny minnie or buddah belly?), stretch the elastic accordingly. My kids are SKINNY so I pull it pretty tight. (If you are conflicted about how tight to pull it, make a pair, try it on your kid and then adjust accordingly for future pairs). 

See how the elastic bunches up the fabric as you sew? SO much easier than making a casing and threading the elastic through (believe me, I tried this way). And since you are sewing on knit, there are no worries about raveling. 

When you reach the end of your waistband, double over the ends of the elastic and backstitch the heck out of it. Then snip the elastic and threads. DONE!

If your machine doesn't have a stretch stitch, you can use a zig-zag (which is what I actually used here because I was so caught up in taking pictures for this exciting tutorial that I forgot to switch the setting on my machine....). 

There! Wasn't that easy?

I promptly tried the undies on my child--you should too!

 (Yes, he is 3.5 and can wear the 18-24 month onesie underwear. We're skinny like that in the Meng household)

You can even embellish your new undies by using the picture from the top of the onesie! Just cut out the picture and zig-zag around the edges.

Go ahead! Knock yourself out! You kid is going to pee through 25 a day when you start potty training. (ok, maybe that is just my kids....)

By the way, I made these unders last summer and they have held up beautifully. 

Hmm....now what to do with the top....if it WASN'T stained (and I had a daughter), it would be perfect for making the Little Two-fer dress! 

Oh, the refashioning possibilities!! 

Happy sewing!