Crafty



My sister crafting (courtesy of
http://everydaytranscendence.blogspot.com)

My sister, Erika, can craft. I oftentimes read her blog and marvel at the abundance of adorable creations that freely flow from her artistic fingertips. Most recently, she has begun making custom baby onesies with personalized embroidery. She gives these onesies to friends, family, and even ward members.

So when my sister-in-law became pregnant, I knew I wanted to make something for her and her baby. That's when the lightbulb turned on. Make a onesie.

The onesie Erika taught me to customize started off generic, white, and without personality, but through the help of fabric swatches, a pair of scissors, and some embroidery floss, this tiny article of clothing transformed before my eyes.

This transformation started not with fabric, but with paper. First, we cut out paper shapes (mine was an elephant, hers was a heart) to be turned into pattern pieces. We traced the images onto fusible paper, which would later be ironed onto patterned fabric. To ensure our designs faced the correct direction when transferred onto the onesie, we actually traced the pictures backwards.

After tracing our designs we cut them out, leaving about a quarter inch of paper on all sides. Erika then showed me how to iron the fusible paper to patterned fabric we had previously selected. Once attatched, we trimmed off the excess paper-fused material, leaving only the pattern of the elephant behind.

From this point, the pattern could now be attached to the onesie. Each piece of fusible paper had a removable peeling that allowed the shape to stick to the fabric. We ironed the pattern onto the onesie for additional reinforcement, and although the garment could be considered finised at this point, Erika wanted to take it a step further by adding a finishing touch of embroidery.

A onesie similar to the one I made

Using embroidery floss, Erika demonstrated how to make a blanket stitch on the onesie. While the stitch should have been simple to execute, I greatly struggled with the stitch. Between the meticulous placement of the needle and the particular looping of floss, I could not get the hang of this bizarre stitch. My sister guided my hand time after time, and eventually, I started to pick up the technique of this finishing touch to the personalized onesie.

As I worked on the onesies with my sister, she started sharing with me stories of all the onesies she has made and the people they now belong to. She told me about deciding what kind of pattern to include on the onesie based on the parent's personality and requests. By making these onesies, my sister is better able to connect with others and show her love for them. She not only shares a beautiful material gift to her recipients, she also shares the gift of herself. She shares herself. She shares her knowledge. She shares her love.

Today, creating these onesies has become a quick and simple process for my sister. For me however, making that onesie required fierce determination and intense focus. As one who lacks the skillful hand of a seamstress, I won't pretend that my onesie turned out beautifully. I won't say it's the best handiwork, I've ever done. But I promise, my pathetic little elephant onesie came from the heart. And that's what matters.