DIY Bubble Romper with Gold Trim

This post originally appeared on The Sewing Rabbit and today I'm bringing it home.

Why, oh why, do the most adorable clothes come with the biggest price tags?? My sister-in-law has great taste in clothes...which can also be translated as expensive tastes. She recently had a baby girl and I came across this image on her Pinterest board when trying to decide what I'd sew as a gift for my new little niece.

via here and here

 

I fell in love with this gold trimmed bubble romper and decided to try my hand at knocking off the look. (Since I wasn't going to spend 115 Euro/$150 to buy it for a newborn!) It's an easy little outfit to whip up and is just as cute as the original.

Here's how to make one (these directions include measurements for a 6 month size although you could easily adapt it for older or younger babies):

Materials:
Main Fabric (I used a white swiss dot.)
Lining Fabric (Especially if you're using white but even if you're not, the lining gives a professional finish. In fact, if you want to make button holes at the top, the romper would be fully reversible!)
Piping in whatever color you want
3/8" Elastic
2 Buttons

First make your piping (if you're making your own). You can go here for a tutorial on making your own piping. I used a gold swimsuit fabric to make my piping. It was a little fussy since it stretches, but it was the only soft gold fabric I could find and it was just the look I was going for.

Now cut 2 squares of your main fabric and 2 squares of lining fabric. The dimensions you need to cut for a 6 month size are 15"x15" for the body.

Also cut 2 3"x10"pieces in your main fabric for shoulder straps.

Take one lining piece and place it wrong side up on your working surface. Measure down from the top on one side and make a mark (with chalk or a pen - you will not see these marks later) at 1 5/8" and another mark at 2 1/4".
Then measure up from the bottom on both sides of your lining piece and make marks at 1" and 2".

Place your main fabric (right sides together) and sew down the sides using 5/8" seams. Trim the seam allowances and press the seams open.

Repeat for the lining. But leave open the area between each set of marks you made.

Now make the straps by folding each strap in half the long way (right sides together) and sewing 2 sides, leaving one end open. Trim the seam allowances, clip corners, turn the strap right side out and press.

Place the lining inside the main fabric tube with right sides together. Cut the crotch seam by doing the following: Find the center of the bottom of the romper and mark it with a pin. Make a mark 2.25 inches in from the bottom edge. Then measure and mark out to the side of the center 1 3/8 inches on each side. Use tailor's chalk or a pen (you won't see the finished markings) to draw a curved line connecting these points. Cut along your line.



Roll the outer fabric layer down from the top edge a few inches to keep it out of your way for now. At the back of the romper, measure in from each side 3.5 inches and pin your straps with raw edges at the top. (I put the straps 4" in from the side, as you can see from the picture below, but I think 3.5 is better.)

Then pin the piping with the raw edge aligned with the top of the romper all the way around. Roll the top layer of fabric back up and secure it with pins or clips.



Stitch using a 5/8" seam allowance. To finish off the piping, make sure to overlap the ends where they meet at the side seam. When you stitch over them and turn the piece right side out, your piping will look like this where the edges come together.

With the piece still inside out, prepare the leg openings. You can do this by pressing the main fabric and the lining toward the wrong side 5/8" all the way around each leg opening.

Now fold the main fabric up and out of the way entirely from the lining. We are going to be sewing the crotch seam so that the raw edges are all enclosed in the final garment and you get a really professional finish.

Pin or clip the crotch of the lining together securely. Then put your arm in the left leg opening and pull the right leg hole carefully through until you see your pins.

You can now sew the crotch seam. (Be sure to pivot your needle at the center point.) 

Turn the sewn seam back through the leg opening then trim seams and clip the curves to be sure it stays flat.

Now make sure you have the main fabric with right sides facing (and the lining is completely out of the way). Repeat the steps above to sew the crotch of the main fabric.

Turn the garment right side out and press.

Now we need to create your elastic casing at the top. Sew a line one inch from the top of the jumper all the way around. Then sew a second line 1/2 lower than the first line. Note: Before you start sewing the casing, check the inside seam and measure where the elastic casing hole is to be sure it will stay open as you stitch.

To finish the legs sew the lower edge of each leg opening with a 3/8" seam and then sew another line 1/2" above the first stitching line. Again, make sure you will not sew over your casing lines before you begin sewing.

Cut three pieces of elastic, two for the leg openings and one for the top casing. (For the 6 month size I started with a 19" piece of elastic for the top and 11" for the legs.) Insert the elastic using a safety pin through your casing opening. Try the outfit on your little one before finalizing the length of elastic.

Then sew the ends of the elastic together. You can hand stitch the casing opening closed if you'd like.

When you try the jumper on your little girl, you will need to mark the strap placement and length. Then sew the straps to the front of the jumper by sewing along the elastic casing line (careful not to catch the elastic in your stitches).

Lastly, sew the buttons to the front and you're done!

 

It was so fun to have a darling little girl (Ruby) model the romper since my girls aren't babies anymore and I don't think my 5 year old can wear a bubble romper to Kindergarten this year. (tear)

 

Hope you enjoy your bubble romper! If you make one I'd love to see it!