A "Charm"ing Baby Shower

This past weekend I had the pleasure of throwing my best friend a shower for her first baby girl!
I wanted to make it really special so I decided to have everyone make a onesie for baby Liv. 

I was a little nervous as to how it would turn out since most of the guests were non-quilters/crafters but it turned out to be absolutely wonderful! 
This would be a great event to host in your quilt shop or home. 

The whole set-up was very quick & easy!  

I briefly explained how to do it and the girls were off! 

The onesies turned out better than I could have ever expected and we all had so much fun!


  1. Onesies- an assortment of colors/patterns/sizes is a good idea (less than $3ea at Wal-Mart!)
  2. Fabric...Moda Charm Packs or Moda Layer Cakes- a variety makes it more fun and personalized.  Because onesies are so small, Moda Charm Packs are the PERFECT pre-cut for this project! You can also throw in some scraps.
  3. Lite Steam-a-Seam2 (they are packed with 5 sheets and 1 sheet= 1 onesie)
  4. Fabric Scissors- Karen Kay Buckley "Perfect Scissors" worked great because of the serrated edge. I used both the large and small size. The large for bigger pieces and the small for intricate letters or shapes. If you are hosting a large party have several pairs of scissors or it will slow the process down ALOT. I also brought my Elan set- also a large pair and small pair. It is important to use fabric scissors or the fabric will fray on the edges leaving it looking cheap and used.  
  5.  Steady Betty Pressing Surface and/or Ironing Board. Only having one ironing board, the Steady Betty was a great addition because it allowed for multiple people to press at one time. And we were able to put the Steady Betty directly on the counter because it is so small and light. 
  6. Iron-  Dritz Mighty Travel Iron- Just got this iron and I LOVE it. It is the perfect travel size and still gets really hot. It was great with the Steady Betty. 
  7. Pencils/Ball Point Pens- to draw/trace designs onto SteamASeam. Make sure to trace your design backwards (mirror image) so they will come out correct on the front side of the fabric. 
  8. Ideas/Samples- Print off some onesies you like from the internet or Pinterest to give some inspiration to your guests. You may also make a sample onesie to have sitting out as an example. 
  9. ArtBin- I got the Double Deep ArtBin storage container which held all of my goodies perfectly! Loved having everything together in one place.  
*Show everyone the sample onesies you printed off to get their brains thinking! Then have your guests team up and choose a onesie & coordinating charm pack/fabric. 



*TRACE or DRAW design on the STICKY side of the SteamASeam. (peal back corner to see which side is sticky) 
NOTE: Your design must be traced or drawn backwards (mirror image) onto the SteamASeam so when you transfer to the WRONG side of the fabric and eventually cut it out it will come out the correct direction. To achieve this you can draw it with a sharpie on a separate paper and then flip that paper over and lay under the SteamASeam to trace backwards. 



*CUT design out of STEAM-A-SEAM leaving about 1/4" - 1/2" around the design. 
*PEAL the smooth side of the SteamASeam away and press the Sticky Side of the design onto the WRONG side of your fabric and press for ~10 seconds to get the stickum to adhere to the fabric. 
*TEST by using your finger nail to pull back a corner of the SteamASeam to see if the stickum has transfered from the Paper to the Fabric. If not, press a bit more but not too long. 

                       

*CUT the DESIGN out exactly on the line you drew. 
*PEAL back the SteamASeam paper from the fabric leaving the stickum on the WRONG side of your fabric. 
*POSITION your design where you like on your onesie. 
*PRESS- Once you have it exactly where you like, Press that baby down! 
If you are layering, press one layer at a time. 
*JUMP up and down and scream, "I'm finished! I'm finished! Look how cute!" 
Finally give Momma your precious "made with love" onesie!
*Once the party is over you can take the onesies home and stitch the designs down by hand or machine.
I personally use blanket stitch on my machine. 


I hope you have as much fun making onesies as we did!

Check out this photo from an adorable baby BOY shower... 

PRINTABLE templates from the shower available here on Etsy...

ENJOY these CHRISTMAS templates for FREE! 
For more from the shower and additional printables 
visit my BeauTiedAffair blog. : )


33 comments:

  1. What a great idea!! I will be using this in the future, thanks for the templates too.

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  2. Brilliant! I almost never comment on blogs because I'm too lazy to click out of google reader, but I had to because this is such a terrific idea and I wanted to tell you how smart you are.

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  3. Just a Q. - do you need to soak and iron the charm squares to shrink them before attaching to the onesies? Thx!

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  4. Hi LazyQuilter! We did not preshrink our fabric. Some prefer to do so but I never have and have never had any problems. ;)

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  5. Absolutely Amazing idea. I will be using this for sure. Thanks for the inspiration and templates.

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  6. A very clever idea. I've been to a baby shower where we all used the same template and presented the mom-to-be with baby bibs that we made ahead of time.

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  7. Love the idea. Short-cut products are always so helpful and take a lot of time out of the sewing process. I've bookmarked the page to use later =D

    Also I'm holding a swap on my blog. If you're interested feel free to check it out =D
    http://ibescheraldine.blogspot.com/p/swap-time.html"

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  8. What a great post. I'd been to baby showers before that were onesie showers but it was only to use fabric markers to decorate one that we each signed. This is SO much cuter. Thank you.

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  9. My daughter is pregnant and I am planning the shower for this spring. You have the most fun idea here. My daughter and I have a lot of crafty friends and they will have fun, thanks!

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  10. Thanks for the templates.They are great.

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  11. I love this idea! I saw it pinned to pinterest and thought that it was a really creative spin to add to the baby shower! Thanks for sharing!

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  12. What a nice idea and how very well explained. I would love to organise this for my frineds baby shower. Do you realy need to stitch the designs afterwards? Cuz I'm not very good at that at all :-)

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  13. I was wondering the same thing, do you need to machine stitch around afterwards, or will the appliqué stay on? Thank you!

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  14. This is a great idea! We did a dry-run this past week for a baby shower I am hosting this Saturday and found that the "Lite" version of the SteamASeam didn't hold as well and so I went and got the regular version of SteamASeam and wanted to know if you thought this should also work?

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  15. I love the group photo! Look how happy the Mama to be is. What a great idea!! Thank you for sharing!

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  16. Love this, doing it! Only...so the designs have to be stitched afterward to last? I heard the Lite SteamASeam would last through machine washing. Any feedback?

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  17. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  18. Awesome idea! I am planning a baby shower for my daughter next month and this is def on my agenda! I do have one question: In step #3 you say that you 'press' the SteamASeam to the fabric. Won't this ruin the other side of the SteamASeam that will attach to onesie? I looked at SteamASeam directions on line and it only says to stick it. Just wanted to clarify if you indeed meant 'press' or stick. Thanks Much!!

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  19. Great idea! Were there ever any answers to the above questions (regarding the light SteamASeam vs. regular, ruining the other side of the SteamASeam that will attach to the onesie, and do designs have to be stitched afterward)? I was wondering them myself.

    Also, can you attach the fabric to the SteamASeam prior to cutting the designs. It seems it would be easier for guests if they just cut the designs and then ironed them onto the onesies.

    Please advise.

    Thank you!!

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  20. Hi Ladies!

    Sorry for the delayed response. No you are totally fine to use which ever Steam-A-Seam you prefer. I just liked the light because it made it a little less stiff on the onesies. Either will work great! I agree, the light is a little harder to use but I liked the feel of it better. To each her own. :) Glad everyone is enjoying!

    And yes Danielle, you want to press with an iron so the heat will allow it to hold.

    The designs will definitely stay much better if you do stitch around them. But for those without a sewing machine, the designs will still last through a few washes before pealing. We made so many that we figured she had enough to go around without stitching them down. If you can sew them I would say go for it.

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  21. I could not figure out but can say these are most stylish and good, innovative designed template for the Baby Shower program. These are really nice. With all your efforts the mother would be glad to have received such as a good shower party.
    Diaper Cakes For Baby Showers

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  22. This is such a great I idea! It serves 2 purposes in my mind.
    1. Makes the shower super fun. Everyone is totally engaged!
    2. The mommy gets lots of onesies!!! Cute onesies!!!

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  23. Brilliant! It's like shower games, big girls' creative party class and gift-giving all in one! Thanks for sharing this wonderful idea!!

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  25. Nice idea! I think we can use the baby tees as baby shower decorations banner with DIY stencil or decorative letters with them... Thanks for sharing!

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  26. Great idea! Very clever and creative for all! (btw...peal is what you do with bells. Peel is what you do with fruit and Steam a Seam! xox)

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  27. What an awesome idea! So cute!! I could see something like this at a young childs birthday party too. Let them decide what they wanted on their t-shirts, and if they are old enough they could cut their own designs out, then have an adult do the ironing!
    C.D.Crady

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  28. Really good idea. If I were the Mom, I would like some small, medium and large ones to use as the baby grows instead of so many of the same size. Babies outgrow clothes so fast.

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  29. Truly, it was a charming baby shower. It was a lovely share, as always. I am also working on the DIY Easter themed baby shower and would be booking one of the garden themed event venues. It is my first time hosting the baby shower so need ideas for the fun games to play with the ladies. Can you provide any recommendations?

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