Saturday, February 23, 2013

Homemade: A toddler tank from a much too-small onesie.







































Over the years I have become pretty good at thrift shopping for my own clothes and, while I was pregnant, I discovered children's resale, too. Working at Buffalo Exchange all those years also taught me a lot about how to look. One of those tricks that I love to pass on is to always look in all sizes. Clothing brands are never consistent with others in the way they size items, and the same is true for both adult and children's clothing. 







































A few weeks ago, while rummaging through a cute little consignment shop for Ramona things,
an amazing little winter water factory romper caught my eye (the one I found is the tank version of the linked one). I just love the mushroom print! The problem was that it was size 3-6 months and Ramona will be 3 years old next month. As much as I would love to put a tiny baby in there, I still bought it and I was determined to make something out of it for my not-so-tiny baby. It was only $4.99, I mean I was practically forced to buy it! 


Here is what I did, and it only took me about 20 minutes:

▲Find a onesie or a romper (Thrifted is best, in my opinion. Especially since you're putting effort into it). Look in the little sizes, trust me! 
▲Mark how long you need the top to be by trying it on your kid.
▲Cut across an inch below where you want it to fall (after you take it off your child...).
▲Pin in place, and sew a hem across (I hand-sewed ours; I prefer the look of it and, well, I am without a sewing machine currently).
▲Put a cute kid in it!








































I recommend that you try the piece on your child before buying it, making sure that it will be long enough once you cut the snaps/legs off, and that it is big enough to go around their belly. My daughter is tall and skinny; If your child is a little chubbier, I wouldn't size down as far as 3-6 months. I was really surprised that such a small size would fit her in length, but it does! As I said before, all brands run differently. I guarantee your options will open up when you start to look in the smaller sizes, but you have to be willing to sew - just a bit!

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2 comments:

  1. cute idea! there are always those onesies that you are SO sad that they outgrow! We've also been able to take pants that our son has worn through and make them into shorts.

    Love that you hunt through thrift stores too! Some people get so overwhelmed when they walk into a thrift store. I've been doing it since high school, so it's fun looking for my son now too. :)

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  2. Oh absolutely, I wish I would've thought of this a little sooner while I still had some of those favorites! Thrifting just makes sense to me; I worked at Buffalo Exchange (an adult used clothing store) for many years, so shopping used for my daughter happened naturally for me. There will always be those new things you want, but they always make it to the second hand stores eventually :)

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