Toddler Underwear from a Tee Shirt

Ashlee interrupting you really quick

K, how cute are these pick a boo lace socks? I just bought 1 of each (turquoise, pink, yellow and gray) for $8!! Wooohooo!! Head over to Pick Your Plum now!!! Anyway, back to Nat!

I said I wasn’t going to post this.  I don’t want you thinking I’m too crazy, but we’re past that point, right?!  You all know what a cheapskate I am!

So, without further ado, here’s my underwear tutorial!

A few months ago, I got about a million tee shirts off the clearance rack at Wal-Mart for $1.00.  Score!

I’ve refashioned a lot of them, but I've also had my boys wear some of them.  I love cheap shirts, and if my kiddos ruin their shirts, who cares?!  It cost a dollar!

Moving right along, one day, Monkey told me that he wanted to wear “big boy undies.”  I didn’t have any underwear in his size, so I did what any cheapskate good mother would do; I whipped up a few pairs for him.

I started off by making a pattern from freezer paper by using a Onesie as a guide.

Cut the Onesie where the waistband of the underwear would be:

Cut the side seams and open it up.

Lay it on some freezer paper and trace it.  Trace it a bit bigger for seam allowances.

Draw a curve where the snaps meet the front of the Onesie.

Cut out the pattern.  Cut out the pieces.

I was able to cut four pieces at one time by folding the shirt in half.  The only problem with this is that the undies now stretch the wrong way….   I should have folded the shirt the OTHER way.  Oh well…

Now you need to cut the waistband, the legs, and the faux fly from a contrasting fabric.  I used four different colors of knit from my stash. 

You’re going to have to measure your pattern to determine the length of the pieces you’ll need.  The waistband needs to be a little more than 2x longer than the top (or bottom) of the undies.

The waistband I cut was 3 1/2” wide.  The legs were 1 1/2”, and the fly pieces were 1”.  We’re going to fold all these pieces in half.  That’s why they’re cut wider.  Moving right along…

Press all the pieces in half lengthwise. 

Now, take the waistband, unfold the pressed edge, line the sides up and sew them together.  Fold the pressed edge back over.  You should now have a circular waistband.  The pressed edge is the top of the waistband.  See that seam?  That’s what you just sewed. 

Now, measure your victim’s waist and cut some elastic the same length.  Sew the ends together.

Wrap the waistband around the elastic.

Fold the waistband back over and sew the elastic into place on both sides of the seam.

Now, sew around the entire waistband as close to the elastic as you can.

Grab one of the main underwear pieces and line up your “faux fly” on the front and sew it into place.

Why the “faux fly” you might wonder?  Because Monkey is two, and won’t need the real fly until he is much older.  That’s why!  ;)

Next, take the leg pieces and line them up on the “legs” of the undies with all the raw edges together.  The pressed edge of the leg lining is going to be the outside of the legs.  Sew into place.  Do this for both legs.

Serge the raw edges; or don’t.  It’s knit, so it won’t fray.

Now, turn that serged or raw edge under and stitch over the top of it to hold it into place.  You don’t want the legs of the undies flipping out the wrong way.  Lengthen your stitch so it stretches better.

Fold the undies in half with the right sides together.  Make sure your side seams are lined up.

Sew the sides together and serge the raw edges.  (Or don’t…)

Now take the waistband and lower it inside the top of the undies with the raw edges lined up with the raw edge of the undies.  Make sure your waistband seam is in the back of the undies.

Pin the waistband to the undies and sew into place.  Serge or zig-zag the raw edges.

Flip the serged/zig-zagged edge down and stitch into place with a lengthened stitch.

…and you’re done! 

Now make as many pairs of toddler undies as you can!

Four pairs of toddler underwear for $1.00…not bad, eh?!

P.S.  These would be easy to make for a girl, too.  Just skip the “faux fly” step and use cute, girly fabric!  :)