Altering a Onsie into a tank.

A few years ago I was looking for some summer onsies for my grandchild.  I could only find ones with sleeves but I wanted a sleeveless tank style.  I looked all over!  I found 2 at a thrift shop but nothing new in the stores.  So I bought some onsies with sleeves and cut the sleeves off and finished the edges and now I had tank ones for summer.  Below I will walk you through the steps I had done the best I can.

Supplies: 
Sharp pins 
Sharp fabric scissors 
Sewing machine with a zig-zag
Matching thread
5/8" fold over elastic to match the garment or the neck trim.

To begin trim off the sleeves right along seamline removing the seam with the sleeve.

To begin trim off the sleeves right along seamline removing the seam with the sleeve.

Next photo should show you how sleeves should look once removed

On the side seam you will see the end of the underarm seam comes to a point.  If so, remove that point.  It isn't much to remove but it will get in the way when you add your seam finish tape.

Lay garment flat and you will notice that the curve of the armholes may be uneven.

Fold garment in half and compare the edges of both armholes edges together, side to side.

Trim away the uneven edges and make both sides look curved the same.

I am going to switch my photo to the blue onsie I was working on because I think the sewing part showed up better in the pictures.   Below is the stretchy fold over tape I bought.  I found this at Jo-ann's Fabric shop.

Working on the left armhole, right side out, you overlap the side seam under the arm about 3/4 inches and pin.  This tape has a chance on shifting on you when you sew along a curved armhole so it is helpful to have the overlap longer than you need it than shorter.  It could be trimmed once the armhole is pinned around.  

You will be applying both edges of the tape down at the same time, covering the inside and outside of the armhole.  Like most tape you will see one side along the edge of the tape is a tad wider than the fold of the other side.  This is to help you to grab both sides of the tape while sewing along the edge.  So the wide side of the tape goes on the inside of the garment, with the narrow side to the outside to insure a good seam.  If however your tape has an even fold, then you will have to sew far enough in from the seam edge to catch both layers.

As you pin the tape down try to maintain the curve of the armhole.  With a knit fabric it is very easy to pull the cut edge straight and have an uncurved edge finish.

Once you are all the way around, you may cut off the tape right at the side seam line.  Usually I do a fold on the edge of the tape to hide the edge, that makes a nice finish.  But in this case I felt it bulky and didn't want it to rub against the baby.  You may place a little "Frey Check" on this area or just hand sew the end.  I did the latter to finish the trim after I sewed the tape.

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Now continue the work on the other side since the left side of the armhole is pinned.  Begin pinning the right side of the tape 3/4" past the side seam toward the back part of the garment.

                                                     

 You will continue pinning around the armhole as you did the first one and cutting the tape at the seam.

Your work should look close to this and now you are ready to sew!

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I'm going to show you the stitch settings I used on my machine.  Practice on a piece a scrap fabric to make sure the setting is what you are looking for.

I begin sewing under the arm in the overlapped area.  It is now you can make any adjustments to how long the overlap is by trimming it.  Also make sure your overlapped layers lay nicely over each other.  Continue to sew all around the armhole and back stitch at the end.  Using a small zig-zag stitch as I did allows the armhole to stretch with movement without breaking the threads.  A done deal!

Finished and  Comfey!